UBS Financial Services Inc. has reached an $8 million settlement with the SEC over allegations that the firm had compliance failures via the sales of exchange-traded products (ETPs) tied to market volatility. UBS Financial Services Inc. is a broker-dealer and investment adviser that has had dual registration with the SEC since 1971, according to the… Read More >>
CFTC Divisions Push SEFs to Dump LIBOR
CFTC Says Firms Need to Embrace SOFR Soon The CFTC wants participants in derivatives markets and the swap execution facilities (SEFs) to remember that they could face “financial, conduct, litigation, operational, and reputational risks” if they fail to adequately prepare for “a smooth and timely” London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (Libor) transition to the Secured Overnight… Read More >>
BlackRock Raises Base Salaries & Expectations
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, appears to be growing even bigger according to its second quarter results. In the wake of this enviable growth, the firm has done the rarely thinkable — announced plans to raise base salaries by 8 percent “for all active employees up to and including the director level” by September… Read More >>
SmartStream & Acadia Target Collateral Interest Payments
SmartStream System to Use Acadia’s Margin Manager Post-trade solutions vendor SmartStream Technologies is partnering with Acadia, the former AcadiaSoft, which changed its name and mission from a collateral management automation provider to an integrated risk management services vendor for derivatives transactions, officials say. The SmartStream TLM Collateral Management solution “will work alongside Acadia’s interest statements… Read More >>
Merrill Lynch Pays $11M+ to Settle UIT Case
FINRA, the self-regulatory authority for broker-dealers, has fined Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. $3.25 million for “failing to reasonably supervise” early unit investment trust rollovers. In addition to the fine, the firm will be paying $8.4 million in restitution to “harmed” customers. In the usual formulation, Merrill Lynch neither confirms nor denies the… Read More >>
Crypto Undermines SEC’s Mission: Sen. Elizabeth Warren
Sen. Warren Urges SEC to Consider Crypto Regs Wall Street critic U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is asking Gary Gensler, the chair of the SEC, via a recent letter, to investigate the ways that cryptocurrency exchanges “may be undermining the SEC’s mission” as a regulator of securities trading markets. The letter from Warren, who is… Read More >>
BNY Mellon Buys Milestone to Expand NAV Wares
The Bank of New York Mellon Corp. is acquiring Milestone Group, a fund management technology vendor, so that BNY Mellon can provide its custody banking clients with more digital solutions for net asset value (NAV) support, officials say. The Milestone Group offers the pControl platform for fund and investment automation. The acquisition will help BNY… Read More >>
Westpac Could Pay $87M in Corporate Actions Remediation
Australia’s Westpac Banking Corp. has agreed to spend as much as $87 million in remediation for past corporate actions notification problems that may have caused clients to miss out on actionable information, confirm bank officials and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Westpac officials initially reported to ASIC in July 2019 that there may… Read More >>
Broadridge Buys J&J Unit to Bolster RegTech Services
Broadridge Financial Solutions is bolstering its regulatory compliance services for broker-dealers via an acquisition of the cloud-based Execution Compliance and Surveillance Service (ECS) assets of Wall Street consultancy Jordan & Jordan (J&J), officials say. J&J officials describe their ECS offering as a managed service that includes “comprehensive reviews to assess compliance with various aspects of… Read More >>
RJO Relaunches & Fills President’s Post
RJO Promotes Staniford to President Chicago-based R.J. O’Brien & Associates (RJO), which is generally regarded as the oldest and largest independent futures brokerage and clearing firm in the United States, reports that Daniel Staniford has been named president. Staniford will “act on behalf of RJO and all of its global affiliates and related entities, including… Read More >>
