FINRA, the U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, has penalized Worden Capital Management LLC “more than” $1.2 million in restitution, plus a fine of $350,000 on charges that the firm “excessively traded” customer accounts. Worden has agreed to pay. In addition, the firm must also “retain an independent consultant to conduct a comprehensive review of the relevant… Read More >>
BlueCrest & SEC Resolve Charges of Investor Harm
BlueCrest Capital Management has settled charges via the SEC that it failed its investors by assigning its best human traders to a proprietary hedge fund while its external investors were serviced by an allegedly mediocre algorithm. The U.S. regulator reports that the hedge fund “has agreed to pay $170 million to settle charges arising from… Read More >>
DTCC Acquires Sapient’s Compliance Reporting Platform
DTCC to Add Sapient’s CMRS to Report Hub Post-trade systems and services vendor DTCC has acquired a platform for compliance management reporting, dubbed the Compliance Management Reporting System (CMRS), from consultancy Publicis Sapient, and will integrate CMRS with a pre- and post-trade reporting solution, the DTCC Report Hub service, officials say. The combined offerings are… Read More >>
CFTC Enforcers Report Banner Year for 2020
’Tis the season for annual reports, and one of the most instructive is from the regulator Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and its Division of Enforcement. When it comes to the CFTC’s mission to “be tough on those who break the rules,” as Division of Enforcement Acting Director Vince McGonagle puts it in a commission… Read More >>
Mutualized Ops Automation Cuts Costs by 20%: DTCC
Post-trade systems and services provider DTCC is making its case for the cost-cutting value of mutualized, automated securities operations after surveying nine global broker-dealers that use its key offerings. The DTCC defines mutualization as “sharing the cost of utilitarian functions” that involves the adoption of “a no-touch processing workflow,” officials say. “Ultimately, the scale and… Read More >>
Clayton to Step Down as SEC Chairman
SEC Chairman Walter Joseph “Jay” Clayton III confirmed earlier this week that he will be stepping down from his post by the end of December instead of June 2021, paving the way for President-Elect Joe Biden to appoint a successor in time for the start of the new administration. When he steps down, Clayton, a… Read More >>
Deutsche Bank Sells Postbank Systems to TCS
Sale Underscores Deutsche Bank’s Transformation Deutsche Bank is selling Postbank Systems AG to outsourcing giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a key milestone in the bank’s efforts to streamline operations and transform itself. “Under the terms of the transaction, TCS will acquire 100 percent of the shares of Postbank Systems AG from Deutsche Bank AG,” according… Read More >>
Firms Should Fund Ops Despite Fee Woes: Q&A
(FTF News recently got time to talk with David Campbell, vice president, strategy and business development — message automation for Broadridge Financial Solutions, about the company’s win via the 2020 FTF News Technology Innovation Awards. The systems and services provider to Wall Street firms got the most votes to win the honor of Best RegTech… Read More >>
Morgan Stanley Fined $60M for Data Security Problems
Morgan Stanley will pay a civil monetary penalty of $60 million to resolve charges via the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) that the firm’s information security practices did not comply with the OCC’s standards. The incidents that drew the attention of the OCC are the allegedly mismanaged 2016 disposal of the hardware… Read More >>
CFTC Fines Citi for Glitchy Audio Recording System
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has fined specific Citibank swap dealers who erased key 2018 recordings that were meant for preservation and review by the CFTC’s division of enforcement. The CFTC’s $4.5 million penalty hits Citibank N.A. and Citigroup Energy Inc., two registered swap dealers, and Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., a registered swap dealer and… Read More >>