NYSDFS Approves Bakkt Marketplace The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS) has approved the application of Bakkt Marketplace, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bakkt Holdings, LLC, for virtual currency and money transmitter licenses, Financial Services Superintendent Linda A. Lacewell reports. The licenses will allow Bakkt Marketplace, a digital currency trading platform,… Read More >>
NYDFS Issues Cyber Alert About Microsoft Exchange
Hackers Are Exploiting Microsoft Exchange Weaknesses Following media reports of cybersecurity vulnerabilities via the popular Microsoft Exchange Server, the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has issued a letter to the financial services industry that “urges all regulated entities with vulnerable Microsoft Exchange services to act immediately.” The letter from the Cybersecurity… Read More >>
Gensler’s SEC Chair Nomination Advances Amid GOP Pushback
Gary Gensler, President Joe Biden’s nominee for SEC chairman, last week won the approval of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee by a vote of 14 in favor to 10 against, signaling some resistance among Republicans as his nomination moves to a full vote before the U.S. Senate. If approved by the Senate, Gensler and the… Read More >>
SEC to Patrol for ESG & Climate Change Sins
Climate change, a.k.a. global warming, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concerns are getting real for financial services firms, particularly those working in securities trading. This is also true for the regulators overseeing them such as the SEC. A case in point is our story this week about a $247 billion pension fund, the New… Read More >>
FTF News Launches Live Interviews
At FTF and FTF News, we have a history of trying new ways of providing you with compelling, relevant content about major trends, changes, and innovations in the securities operations industry. We hope you like what we are doing, and we appreciate your support for the news service, which launched 10 years ago! In keeping… Read More >>
NICE Actimize Targets All Trading Floor Communication
Much of the communication happening in securities and commodities trading rooms has to be recorded for regulatory compliance purposes, and NICE Actimize has launched a solution that captures traditional, unified, and mobile channels via a single, cloud-based platform. The vendor says that the new NTR-X extends the capabilities of the NICE Trading Recording (NTR) compliance… Read More >>
Biden Moves to Revamp the SEC & CFTC
President Joe Biden appears to be getting the SEC and CFTC that he wants after a bumpy transition period, and a rush of departures as the new team takes over. For starters, the Biden team has nominated Gary Gensler, the former chairman of the CFTC, to be the next chairman of the SEC. Gensler served… Read More >>
SIFMA Draws Attention to CAT Data Issues
The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) has had securities industry data breaches on its mind lately. First, SIFMA is calling on the SEC to temporarily halt the technical specification process for the Customer and Account Information System (CAIS) of the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) because the industry group is questioning whether the data… Read More >>
CME Group & IHS Markit to Form Post-Trade JV
Joint Venture to Launch in Summer 2021 CME Group, an operator of derivatives trading venues, and IHS Markit, an information and analytics vendor, are forming a joint venture of post-trade processing and risk mitigation services that will bring together CME Group’s Traiana, TriOptima, and Reset companies with IHS Markit’s MarkitSERV. Traiana, TriOptima and Reset offer… Read More >>
ATS for Digital Securities Wins Regulatory Approval
Regulated broker-dealer Oasis Pro Markets reports that it has received approval from FINRA and the SEC for its cutting-edge digital security Alternative Trading System (ATS), which allows subscribers to trade digital/blockchain securities, and to make payments for them via digital cash such as Stablecoins. It’s important for Oasis to offer this kind of an ATS… Read More >>
