Hybrid working situations are becoming the norm for many financial services firms and their staff members. Despite executives who fear their minions are taking advantage of the time away from the office, staff members, especially younger employees, like splitting time between the office and home office. So, this is another exploration of gadgetry that can… Read More >>
Should the GAO Audit the CFTC?
Caroline D. Pham, a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) commissioner, started the Open Meeting on May 10 with a bang — she wants the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate the CFTC because she thinks the regulator has expanded its jurisdiction without a proper mandate, and, as a consequence, has strayed far from its… Read More >>
The SEC Is Charging More to Regulate You
As the SEC very publicly takes on major matters such as its climate disclosure requirements — the fate of which is playing out in court and in Congress — the regulator has quietly moved ahead with an increase in the rate that securities exchanges and broker-dealers pay to be regulated by the commission. “Starting on… Read More >>
NY State Wants Firms to Report Ransomware
The state of New York has amended its “first-in-the-nation” cybersecurity regulations and will be requiring financial services firms to report ransomware amounts just as cyberattacks are increasing, according to the regulator New York State Department of Financial Services (NYS DFS) and New York Governor Kathy Hochul. In addition to the ransomware reporting, the updated regulations… Read More >>
We Must Take Care of 9/11 Responders & Survivors
It’s hard to fathom that more than two decades have passed since Sept. 11, 2001. For some, many of the events of that day are simultaneously the past and the present. They have instant memories that are real and painful. For others, there are constant reminders of 9/11 because of the diseases and chronic healthcare… Read More >>
Will Europe Move to T+1?
The move to a shorter settlement cycle for European equities has many more moving parts than the transition in the U.S. and Canada, which are moving fast from the current trading day plus two (T+2) settlement cycle to the shorter, one-day, T+1 time frame for equity markets. In addition, Europe does yet face pressure from… Read More >>
T. Rowe Price & Others to Test Public Blockchains
While the hype surrounding blockchain technology cooled long ago, the hope remains that it will yield trading technology breakthroughs. With that hope in mind, T. Rowe Price Associates, WisdomTree, Wellington Management, and Cumberland are “an initial cohort” of financial services firms participating in a test of public blockchain infrastructure. They will explore the benefits of… Read More >>
Reporter’s Notebook: Merrill Lynch & the FX Fees Case
When crypto companies allegedly scam their clients, it’s often a disaster for the kids and old folks who are convinced to “invest.” But we expect better, much better, from Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, a pillar of the financial services world. That’s one reason it’s troubling to learn that the U. S. Securities and… Read More >>
BlackRock Tops the Broadridge FB50 List
Despite volatile markets last year, the current Fund Brand 50 (FB50) rankings of the best-performing, third-party asset management brands revealed that seven of the top 10 asset managers held the same position in 2022 as they did the year before. The annual study is sponsored by Broadridge Financial Solutions, a provider of securities operations systems,… Read More >>
CFTC Mandates UPIs for Swaps Records & Reporting
Without much fanfare, the CFTC in mid-February ordered registered entities and swap counterparties to use the unique product identifiers (UPIs) supplied by the Derivatives Service Bureau (DSB) for swaps in the credit, equity, foreign exchange, and interest rate asset classes to bolster transparency and compliance with CFTC swap recordkeeping and reporting requirements. In addition, the… Read More >>
