(Editor’s note: This is the first in a two-part series on the changing regulatory environment for derivatives trading and processing in Europe. Click Here for Part II – European Regulator Pushes for More OTC Margin and Collateral Requirements While the U.S. is looking toward the next phase of regulatory reform for over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives markets,… Read More >>
The First Conviction in the LIBOR Scandal
The situation sounds almost like a bad, high-concept synopsis for a Hollywood movie — maybe “Rain Man” meets “Wall Street” — but the reality is far less glamorous. In the U.K., Tom Hayes, described by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) as “the first individual to be charged and stand trial” in an ongoing criminal investigation… Read More >>
Bank of America Vet Joins Holley Holland
Bank of America (BofA) veteran Marty Rose has joined Holley Holland, the self-described “business transformation experts” to build the change management consultancy’s U.S. business, including opportunities in Charlotte, North Carolina, and throughout the region, officials say. Rose, who will be based in Charlotte, has left her post as chief operating office (COO) of the EST… Read More >>
Five Years On, Dodd-Frank’s Ops Changes Are Here to Stay
The U.S. financial services industry — including its collective back- and middle-offices in particular — has undergone sweeping changes since the Great Recession, the vast majority of which are directly attributable to the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act. The law was contentious from the very beginning, so it’s perhaps unsurprising that opinion on its… Read More >>
ISDA: Regulatory Harmony Needed After Five Years of Dodd-Frank
Despite greater transparency and the reduction in counterparty risk via the Dodd-Frank Act, the next stage of reform for derivatives trading should be focused on regulatory regimes that “are consistent and harmonized across borders, and to ensure they support risk management that enables economic activity and growth,” say officials at the International Swaps and Derivatives… Read More >>
CFTC to Keep Using DTCC-SWIFT LEI Utility
Regulator CFTC has issued an order extending the designation of a utility operated by the DTCC and SWIFT as the provider of legal entity identifiers (LEIs) for the commission’s swap data recordkeeping and reporting rules, officials say. The DTCC-SWIFT utility — which had initially been referred to via the utility’s website and in educational and… Read More >>
Avox Receives ISO 27001 Certification
Avox, the DTCC’s wholly owned subsidiary specializing in legal entity reference data, reports that it has received International Standard Organization (ISO) 27001 certification from the British Standards Institution. The ISO 27001information security standard “certifies that Avox has the requisite information security controls in place to protect client data,” Avox says. “The certification is awarded only… Read More >>
RJO Takes a Hosted Leap into Recs Automation
Chicago-based futures brokerage and clearing firm, R. J. O’Brien & Associates (RJO) has gone from manual reconciliation to a hosted system that has allowed staff members to leapfrog into automation, even shrinking one process from a tedious 48-hour effort to minutes, says Jamal Oulhadj, senior managing director and chief risk officer of RJO. Since last… Read More >>
Orient Securities Moves Into Shanghai Stock Exchange Market
Orc, a specialist in electronic trading technology for listed derivatives, reports that China’s Orient Securities Co. Ltd. has picked Orc’s Trading Bricks platform for its options market making operations on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE). Trading Bricks “will support Orient Securities’ expanding market making operations in China,” Orc says in a statement, which notes also… Read More >>
ISDA Endorses Semiannual Single-Name Credit Default Swaps
Derivatives industry group the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) is officially urging that the single-name (single company) credit default swap (CDS) roll protocol frequency be changed from a quarterly to a semiannual basis, officials say. In a prepared statement, ISDA officials say the change is in response to market feedback and is aimed at… Read More >>