Last week’s raids on Deutsche Bank’s headquarters in Frankfurt and key bank branches by approximately 170 German law enforcement officials have sent shock waves throughout the financial services world. This must have been especially nerve-wracking news for those firms working so hard to stay within the difficult lines of compliance. Essentially, the German authorities say… Read More >>
CFTC Tightens Uncleared Swap Margin Requirements
Just in time for the winter holidays, the CFTC approved a final rule to tighten its uncleared swap margin requirements, known as the CFTC Margin Rule, and the changes made an appearance in the Federal Register, Vol. 83, no. 227, Monday, Nov. 26, 2018. Essentially, the changes will take effect by the end of this… Read More >>
A Few Reasons to Be Thankful in 2018
For this blog, I usually focus on the rarely seen, between-the-lines aspects of the major securities operations issues and trends that we cover via FTF News. I have tackled many subjects over the years and I hope I have brought more light than heat to many matters essential to helping firms optimize their operations. But,… Read More >>
E.U. Derivatives Reporting Will Get Funky After Brexit
The U.K. and E.U. negotiations over Brexit appear to be at a critical moment as the negotiators for both sides have just presented a preliminary agreement. U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May will unveil the deal to her cabinet and England this week. However, the initial pushback to the agreement has ranged from negative to skeptical,… Read More >>
Bakkt to the Future?
Much has been happening in the crypto-asset space and it is difficult to sort out how much of it will become reality for financial services firms especially for operations staffs. Given this uncertainty, an emerging platform dubbed Bakkt promises to be “an open and regulated, global ecosystem for digital assets.” It has been getting attention… Read More >>
DLT Passes Canadian Tests for Ops Usage
A little over a week ago, news broke that Payments Canada, the Bank of Canada, TMX Group, Accenture and R3 have been able to show that distributed ledger technology (DLT), the ballyhooed blockchain framework at the core of Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies, has passed an initial test of its ability to facilitate equity clearing and… Read More >>
U.S. Securities Industry Spends $25B on AML Compliance
A few weeks back I focused on the fines and penalties that firms paid to government authorities for violating anti-money laundering (AML) restrictions, know your customer (KYC) requirements, and economic sanctions. This time, however, I am focusing upon the money that the securities industry spends to be AML compliant, which as it turns out, is… Read More >>
Key Swaps Rules Get SEC Spotlight
Amid the stampede to emerging and disruptive technologies, a few more Earthly matters must be resolved within the realm of securities operations. One of those matters is the final resolution of the SEC’s proposed rules and amendments that govern capital, margining, and segregation requirements for securities-based swaps. These guidelines are important to “security-based swap dealers… Read More >>
The Fed Wants Faster Interbank Settlements
The usually aloof and austere Federal Reserve Board is hinting that it may want to enter the 21st Century. A little out of the blue, the Fed has announced that it wants public input about the creation of a real-time interbank settlement system for faster payments that could affect a wide variety of financial transactions…. Read More >>
Is the U.S. Treasury Market Ready for Change?
The U.S. Treasury market could see “rapid and dramatic change” that could result in a clearing monopoly being replaced by “a more competitive European model,” according to a new report from market research firm Greenwich Associates. The report, dubbed “Invisible Frontiers: How Clearing Shapes U.S. Treasury Market Structure,” argues that “the market structure for U.S…. Read More >>
