With nods to established players and voter enthusiasm for other providers hitting their stride, Financial Technologies Forum (FTF) has unveiled the winners of the 2023 FTF News Technology Innovation Awards competition. The 30 winners of the FTF Awards competition — now in its 12th year — are being honored for achievements during 2022. “It’s not… Read More >>
Scotiabank & HSBC Fined for Recordkeeping & Phone Woes
Using a mobile phone can get pricey if you’re not careful. That’s a lesson two banks have learned the hard way, each paying multi-million dollar penalties for alleged “recordkeeping and supervision failures for widespread use of unapproved communication methods.” The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed and settled charges against the Bank of… Read More >>
The SEC Wants More Reporting via Form PF
A regulatory change of importance got lost in the avalanche of news that we deal with every day — the SEC is adopting amendments to Form PF, the confidential reporting form launched 12 years ago for hedge funds and private equity funds. “Currently, advisers to private funds file Form PF on a quarterly or annual… Read More >>
FINRA to Tag Errant Firms as ‘Restricted’
If you’re a broker-dealer firm, you might want to mark June 1, 2023 on your calendar. That’s the enforcement start date for a new FINRA designation: Restricted. Restricted as in there’s a history of misconduct allegations against the firm. And restricted because the firm presents a “high degree of risk to the investing public.” So… Read More >>
Mizuho Capital Markets Settles CFTC Case for $6.8M
Mizuho Capital Markets (MCM) will pay more than $6.8 million to settle allegations brought by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) that the swap dealer mishandled key foreign exchange (FX) forward transactions and put its clients at a disadvantage, officials say. The CFTC order settles charges against the New York-based bank holding company and will… Read More >>
Coinbase Sues SEC for Crypto Clarity
A big cryptography firm is suing a big government regulator. It may be a pivotal moment in the sometimes fraught relationship between crypto and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s chief legal officer, says that the crypto exchange is taking “another formal step to seek regulatory clarity from SEC for the crypto… Read More >>
Barclays Capital Fined $2.5M via LOPR Reporting Case
Barclays Capital Inc., a member of FINRA, the broker-dealer industry’s self-regulatory authority since 2007, has agreed to a censure and a $2.5 million fine for allegedly failing to report, or inaccurately reporting, over-the-counter (OTC) options positions to the Large Options Positions Reporting (LOPR) system. That alleged reporting hiccup happened approximately 4.3 million times from January… Read More >>
Will Europe Move to T+1?
The move to a shorter settlement cycle for European equities has many more moving parts than the transition in the U.S. and Canada, which are moving fast from the current trading day plus two (T+2) settlement cycle to the shorter, one-day, T+1 time frame for equity markets. In addition, Europe does yet face pressure from… Read More >>
Goldman Sachs Settles Swap Violations Case for $15M
Goldman Sachs & Co. is settling a case of alleged swap-trading violations with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for $15 million. The regulator alleges that the firm in 2015 and 2016 “failed to provide the clients with the transparency that the regulations require.” In particular, the CFTC “found that Goldman failed to disclose dozens… Read More >>
Reporter’s Notebook: Merrill Lynch & the FX Fees Case
When crypto companies allegedly scam their clients, it’s often a disaster for the kids and old folks who are convinced to “invest.” But we expect better, much better, from Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, a pillar of the financial services world. That’s one reason it’s troubling to learn that the U. S. Securities and… Read More >>
