The Federal Reserve Board on Monday, March 16, proposed that banking organizations be required to include their existing Legal Entity Identifiers (LEIs) on certain regulatory reporting forms, officials say. The LEI standard is a 20-character alphanumeric code that is universal and uniquely corresponds to a single legal entity. The LEI reference code enables easier identification… Read More >>
Cryptocurrencies Gain Ground Amid Real Money
The world of cryptocurrencies is an alternate yet visible reality that is gaining ground slowly but surely amid the established Matrix of supposedly real money. To recap, the main digital/cryptocurrency is the non-political online Bitcoin “backed exclusively by code,” according to the Bitcoin Foundation website. “This means that — ultimately — it is only as… Read More >>
Watson Wheatley Adds Equity Module to i-Recs
Reconciliation systems vendor Watson Wheatley Financial Systems (WWFS) has released a new Total Equity Module for Derivatives Reconciliation for its i-Recs platform, officials say. The module facilitates matching of any margin traded instruments, and its “unique methodology” can help solve “the book cost differences that appear on derivative instruments,” according to a company statement. The… Read More >>
ISITC Survey Indicates Technology Spending Up
Industry trade and standards group ISITC has just released the results of its annual membership survey and has found that a high percentage of respondents, 88 percent, say that firms will benefit from increased spending on technology in 2015. Operational challenges with alternative and non-traditional investments and regulatory change may be on the spending list… Read More >>
CME Group Fills Top Post in Asia-Pacific
CME Group, operator of key derivatives exchanges, reports that it has named Christopher Fix managing director and head of Asia Pacific. Fix, who joins the company in June, will be based in Singapore and report to London-based William Knottenbelt, senior managing director and head of International, CME Group. Fix will be “responsible for leading CME… Read More >>
RJO European Affiliate Buys Kyte Group from GFI
Chicago brokerage R.J. O’Brien and Associates’ (RJO) European affiliate R.J. O’Brien Europe Ltd. (RJO Europe) will acquire interdealer broker GFI Group’s subsidiary The Kyte Group Ltd., officials say. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, and the UK Financial Conduct Authority has approved the transaction, which is expected to close no later than March 17,… Read More >>
Our Special Report on the Key Ops Issues for 2015
Making predictions about the Top Ops issues for 2015 is more challenging than you might think, given the many facets of securities operations. We began our predictions coverage at the end of 2014 by reaching out to industry analysts and participants such as Virginie O’Shea, a senior analyst with Aite Group; Tim Lind, global head… Read More >>
ISDA Takes Aim at Derivatives Reporting Roadblocks
One of the key components of the 2010 Dodd-Frank law was an effort to increase the transparency of the notoriously opaque derivatives markets, which played a major role in the Great Recession. Five years down the line and regulators have made significant progress toward achieving that goal, according to industry group International Swaps and Derivatives… Read More >>
CFTC Unveils Market Risk Advisory Committee
The CFTC has unveiled the names of the members of its new market risk advisory committee. The committee, chartered in 2014, is meant to supports efforts to “to detect and mitigate risks within the market to industry participants, consumers, and the broader financial community,” the CFTC says in a statement. “This year, the committee intends… Read More >>
CFTC Roundtable to Focus on DCO Wind-Down
CFTC staff members will be holding a public roundtable on March 5, 2015, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., to cover issues related to the “recovery and orderly wind-down of derivatives clearing organizations (DCOs),” officials say. The roundtable will be an opportunity for the regulator to gather input from stakeholders such as DCOs and their… Read More >>
