OSSTRA to Debut a Repo Confirmation Service In an effort to bring more automation to repo operations, post-trade vendor OSTTRA has launched a repo confirmation service that is built upon the MarkitWire electronic trade processing platform, officials say. MarkitWire is from MarkitServ, which is part of the OSSTRA joint venture between CME Group and S&P… Read More >>
Should Buy-Side IT Teams Embrace Open Source?
(FTF News recently reached out to Madeleine Dassule, partner and co-head, technology, at Wellington Management. Dassule has joined the Fintech Open Source Foundation (FINOS) board of directors, a move that coincided with Wellington joining the nonprofit organization. FINOS is a proponent of open source technology, open standards, and collaborative efforts among software development groups in… Read More >>
Israel’s Central Bank Mulls a Potential ‘Digital Shekel’
There’s a move afoot to take the crypto out of cryptocurrency. How? Simply by pegging its value to the value of the fiat currency issued by a country’s central bank. Those not-so-crypto digital currencies are called “central bank digital currencies” or CBDCs. “Many countries are developing CBDCs, and some have even implemented them,” say our… Read More >>
How to Navigate Inflation, a Pandemic & War: Q&A
(Trading and risk management teams at global securities firms are facing a perfect storm of rising inflation, the ripple effects of the pandemic, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Gil Guillaumey, head of strategy — capital markets at Adenza, recently answered questions from FTF News about these concerns and about the best ways forward amid… Read More >>
Market Maker Adopts Torstone Platform & Other News
Torstone to Provide Post-Trade Ops to Tower Research Capital Market maker Tower Research Capital reports that it will be using the post-trade services of vendor Torstone Technology to grow and diversify its traded asset classes, officials say. “As we continue to diversify into new asset classes and trading strategies, at ever-increasing volumes, we need… Read More >>
SEC Officials Must Finalize CAT Data Security: SIFMA
Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr., president and CEO of SIFMA, is calling upon the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to pick up the pace when it comes to a data security proposal for the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) system, which is slated to go live in July. The CAT system is the result of SEC Rule… Read More >>
CFTC Hopes Carbon Offsets Forum Will Spur Innovation
Rostin Behnam, the chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), is hoping to jumpstart industry interest in carbon offsets via the regulator’s first-ever Voluntary Carbon Convening, slated for June 2 via the CFTC’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. “As climate change is a collective action problem, I believe a joint effort between the CFTC and… Read More >>
FINRA Fines Two Crowdfunding Portals
FINRA is taking aim at two companies known for crowdfunding. First, a definition of crowdfunding, courtesy of Investopedia: “Crowdfunding is the use of small amounts of capital from a large number of individuals to finance a new business venture. Crowdfunding makes use of … social media and crowdfunding websites to bring investors and entrepreneurs together,… Read More >>
Broadridge’s LTX Forms Buy-Side Advisory Group
Post-trade systems and services provider Broadridge Financial Solutions has formed a buy-side advisory group to advance its LTX electronic trading platform via improved liquidity, transparency and execution quality for buy-side traders working in corporate bonds, officials say. Launched in 2020, the LTX platform, which uses artificial intelligence (A.I.) technologies and the RFX trading protocol, targets… Read More >>
SEC Moves Comment Deadlines on Key Rules & Other News
Public Gets More Time to Respond to SEC Proposals Bowing to industry requests for more time, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is extending the public comment period for three new rules in the proposal stage. Industry participants were given more time to comment upon the proposed rule “to enhance and standardize climate-related disclosures… Read More >>