The SIFMA trade association and its Asset Management Group (AMG) have published the “2026 SIFMA Master Treasury Securities Clearing Agreement: Done-Away” and the schedule to the agreement to help industry participants moving to clearing in the Treasury market meet the clearing documentation needs, officials say. “Done-away Treasury clearing refers to the process in which trades… Read More >>
Should the SEC Run the CAT System?
A major industry player — the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) — is pushing for the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) to be under the control of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In an odd twist, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), a self-regulatory organization (SRO) for broker-dealers, is in general agreement with… Read More >>
SIFMA Disaster Exercise Explores Responses to ‘Polycrisis’ Events
What is the best way for a securities firm to respond to and survive a Category 5 hurricane, a transatlantic cable cut, a financial market infrastructure (FMI) outage, and a zero-day cybersecurity attack from a state actor, especially if these disasters happened simultaneously? While the aforementioned sounds like a Grade B movie, those are the… Read More >>
SIFMA Conducts Tests of Industry BCP/DR Plans
Late last month, securities firms, market infrastructure providers, and key third-party organizations participated in the 2025 SIFMA Industry Business Continuity Test, which scrutinized the capabilities of firms, markets, and utilities to operate during and after a crisis, according to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA). The testing on Saturday, Oct. 25, was industry-wide,… Read More >>
SIFMA Updates Agreement Model for Bond Purchases
SIFMA officials report that they have updated the SIFMA Model Bond Purchase Agreement for Negotiated Municipal Securities Underwritings, which is intended for use in connection with governmental tax or revenue-supported securities such as fixed, variable rate, auction, and credit enhanced securities. The SIFMA model agreement “is not intended for use in connection with conduit financing… Read More >>
U.S. Regulators Warn Against Potential Cyber Attacks
As a fragile ceasefire pauses the Israel-Iran conflict, U.S. regulators and financial services industry leaders are sounding the alarm over an increased risk of cyberattacks targeting U.S. financial institutions. The warning comes as President Donald Trump — speaking at a White House press conference on June 27 — declined to rule out a second round… Read More >>
Key Groups Challenge SEC’s Cyberattack Disclosure Processes
Key securities industry trade associations are challenging the disclosure procedures of a cybersecurity rule adopted in 2023 by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), asking the regulator to return to a principles-based disclosure regime. SIFMA, the American Bankers Association (ABA), the Bank Policy Institute (BPI), the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), and the… Read More >>
The Treasury Clearing Reprieve Could Prevent Pitfalls
The SEC’s decision to move key deadlines for its own rule requiring centralized clearing for U.S. Treasuries and Treasury-backed repurchase contracts that were formerly cleared bilaterally has been met with approval by major industry participants. However, major market players acknowledge that the industry needs a breather to catch up to the regulator’s requirements. In particular,… Read More >>
DTCC Pilot Pushes Automation for Corporate Actions Processing
DTCC officials have just announced that they are forging ahead with a two-phased pilot program to bring more automation to corporate actions (CA) processing. The effort is intended to deliver “new efficiencies and capabilities that address decades-long asset services challenges around the sourcing of corporate actions announcements,” according to the DTCC. “The pilot, which includes… Read More >>
The SEC Wants Electronic Filing for All Forms
Late last month, the SEC put forward amendments intended to “modernize its information collection and analysis methods by, among other things, proposing that a number of filings be submitted to the Commission electronically on EDGAR [the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval] system using structured data where appropriate,” according to the regulator’s announcement. Many in… Read More >>
