It’s been just over a year since swap execution facilities (SEF) inauspiciously opened for business on Oct. 2, 2013 – “A day that I’ll never forget,” in the words of one SEF operator present at the SEFCON V conference on Wednesday. Panelists at the event, sponsored by the Wholesale Markets Brokers’ Association, highlighted how far… Read More >>
Are You Ready for Bitcoin?
If you haven’t heard of it before, my guess is that you are likely to become more acquainted with the crypto-currency Bitcoin. “As a non-political online money, Bitcoin is backed exclusively by code,” according to the Bitcoin Foundation website. “This means that — ultimately — it is only as good as its software design. By… Read More >>
Q&A: OMSes Take On SEFs
Dan Gavin, director of product management of Eze Software Group, answers FTF News’ questions about the role that order management systems (OMSes) are playing in helping firms connect to swap execution facilities (SEFs). Gavin is arguing that firms should leverage their OMS deployments as the single point of entry for SEFs. Q: What are… Read More >>
SEC: Dodd Frank to Rule Overseas Derivatives
The SEC is compelling the overseas branches of U.S. banks to conduct their derivatives transactions according to the rules of the 2010 Dodd-Frank law, officials say. The regulatory commission has adopted new rules governing derivatives transactions that will define when these foreign financial institutions must register with U.S. regulators and when they should comply with… Read More >>
Buy Side Avoiding SEFs
Buy-side firms have made great strides in the past five years in revamping their over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives trading infrastructures and processes even though they are avoiding swap execution facilities (SEFs) as often as they can, says Cynthia Meyn, executive vice president and senior operations manager for bond fund manager PIMCO, who spoke during a panel… Read More >>
Q&A: Ex-CEO ‘Very Involved’ with Javelin
Last month, the pioneering swap execution facility Javelin SEF made a major change at the top when John “Wally” Sullivan took over for James Cawley, who stepped down as CEO. Cawley founded Javelin Capital Markets, the parent company of Javelin SEF, and he took on a very public role in helping shape the rules and… Read More >>
Traiana Upgrades CreditLink
Traiana, a vendor of pre-trade risk and post-trade processing solutions, has launched a version of CreditLink, a credit-checking hub for derivatives that includes services to streamline post-trade processing of trades conducted via swap execution facilities (SEFs). In particular, the upgrade will help firms manage the allocations process for bunched orders, and to monitor limits across… Read More >>
CEO Shuffle at Javelin SEF
Javelin SEF has a new CEO John “Wally” Sullivan following the departure last week of James Cawley, who is also the founder of Javelin Capital Markets, the parent company of the pioneering swap execution facility. Licensed by the CFTC last fall, Javelin SEF is one of the pioneering over-the-counter derivatives execution platforms for interest rate… Read More >>
2013: The Year in Ops
Last year was one of two steps forward and one step back as far as post-trade operations. As in previous years, regulatory overhauls particularly for over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives drove operations for the industry while there were some interesting disruptions such as the emergence of FIX for post-trade efforts. What follows is my interpretation of the… Read More >>
FinTech Predictions and Battles Ahead in 2014
While overshadowed by the holidays, the season of predictions is upon us and there will be many financial technology prognostications for 2014. Overall, there are already signs that, yes, Virginia, we may have reasons to be jolly next year. If nothing else, we’ll be very busy. For starters, investment in risk management technologies, services and… Read More >>
