Droit Financial Technologies, a provider of real-time solutions for derivatives pre-trade front-office decision-making and post-trade compliance reporting, has named its new advisory board, which will be headed by former International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) CEO Robert Pickel. The board also includes financial technology investor Mark Beeston and former UBS Group managing board member Seth… Read More >>
Are You Ready for Bitcoin?
If you haven’t heard of it before, my guess is that you are likely to become more acquainted with the crypto-currency Bitcoin. “As a non-political online money, Bitcoin is backed exclusively by code,” according to the Bitcoin Foundation website. “This means that — ultimately — it is only as good as its software design. By… Read More >>
CME Group to Slash 150 Jobs
CME Group is cutting its global workforce by five percent or approximately 150 positions, officials say, adding that the layoffs are part of a restructuring effort. Most of the job cuts will come from the exchange company’s technology division although there are cuts to come from corporate and administrative functions, officials add. “Our industry has… Read More >>
Blurred Lines: OTC Reforms for Voice Trading
(Editor’s note: This is the online version of the story appearing in the Fall 2014 edition of FTF News magazine, which will be available on the website later this month. The print edition of the magazine debuted at the SIBOS 2014 conference and exhibition in Boston last week. The event, put on by financial messaging… Read More >>
London Bullion Market Picks CME Platform
CME Group, the Chicago-based derivatives exchange company, reports that it has been appointed by the over-the-counter (OTC) silver market and the London Bullion Markets Association to provide an electronic solution to transform the London OTC silver spot price situation, according to a statement citing CME’s William Knottenbelt, senior managing director, EMEA. The CME Group’s transaction-based… Read More >>
New Derivatives Rules to Burden Ops
Josh Brodman must be a little nostalgic for the time—only about a year ago—when the fine print of the clearing and execution reforms for derivatives trading was still being finalized. At the time, he was an operations manager for a multi-strategy, event-driven fund with several billion under management. Life is much different now for Brodman,… Read More >>
Buy Side Avoiding SEFs
Buy-side firms have made great strides in the past five years in revamping their over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives trading infrastructures and processes even though they are avoiding swap execution facilities (SEFs) as often as they can, says Cynthia Meyn, executive vice president and senior operations manager for bond fund manager PIMCO, who spoke during a panel… Read More >>
The CFTC’s Case for More Cops
The CFTC has been fairly aggressive in writing and launching new regulations, particularly for the clearing and execution of over-the-counter derivatives — a key reform of the Dodd-Frank Act. Getting the follow-up support from Congress to effectively oversee these reforms has been a major challenge for the regulator. Undaunted, Mark P. Wetjen, the acting chairman… Read More >>
Demand Soars for Recs IT as SIFMA Pushes LEI Usage
Reconciliation Technology ‘Explosion’ in Europe & U.S., Says Aite No longer is reconciliation technology “solely applied” to reconciling cash accounts. That’s the word from market research firm Aite Group’s latest report, “Reconciliation Technology Solutions in 2014: Recs Get Ready to Rumble,” which also takes note of the “explosion in the number of different vendor solutions… Read More >>
CFTC to Revamp SDR Push as Aite Predicts CCP Woes
CFTC Calls for Comments for New SDR Rules The CFTC is taking its first major step in an overhaul of its swap data recordkeeping and reporting requirements with a call for public comment. The swaps data gathering is mandated by provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. This step follows the… Read More >>
