Providers of shareholder recordkeeping services for US mutual funds and non-equity accounts could soon face more regulatory oversight if the US Securities and Exchange Commission has its way. The SEC’s lengthy concept release issued late last year suggests that the US regulatory agency wants rules to keep up with the changing times. To that end, […]
UK Watchdogs Put C-Level Execs on the Hotseat
When it comes to accepting liability for regulatory wrongdoing, the top UK bank executives will no longer be able to hide behind the Queen’s royal we. As of March 6, C-level officials at UK banks and other bank-like organizations will find themselves individually liable for not only their own wrongdoing, but also for the financial […]
US T+2 Playbook: Rush to Affirmation
Make certain your trades are affirmed as quickly as possible. (And fix your T+2 failures now, rather than later). Speeding up affirmations is one of dozens of recommendations operations and technology managers at fund management, broker-dealer and custodian banks will find if they read through the 164 pages of an implementation playbook just issued by […]
US Post-Trade Matching: Omgeo, Bloomberg or SS&C?
The mundane world of post-trade matching just got a long-awaited shakeup. What has been a virtual monopoly in the post-trade matching market is about to become a horse race, since the US Securities and Exchange Commission has approved Bloomberg and SS&C Technologies to enter the business of post-trade matching services in competition with incumbent Omgeo. In allowing […]
TrueEx: A True Alternative Swaps Post-Trade Provider?
Does the swaps market really need another standalone post-trade service provider? That’s the question emerging from trueEx’s announcement that it has split off its post-trade services from its swap execution platform for interest rate swaps. The answer: it isn’t clear. It could well-be that the new truePTS will offer “next-generation” services as TrueEx’s Chief Executive […]
Target2Securities: Are Fund Managers Paying Enough Attention? (Updated)
(The information in this article was updated on December 11 to reflect the European Central Bank’s new changes to the T2S migration timetable). When first envisioned in 2008, Target2 Securities (T2S) was hailed by the European Central Bank as a single settlement platform to reduce the post-trade processing costs associated with domestic and cross-border European securities […]
US Anti-Bribery Corruption Laws: Guilty Until Proven Innocent?
Know-your-customer isn’t the only motto financial firms should live by. The US Securities and Exchange Commission has put human resource, compliance and risk departments of financial institutions on high alert that they have to know a lot more about candidates for internships and employment, as evidenced in a recent multimillion dollar penalty paid by BNY […]
Australia’s Take on T+2: Why Worry?
When it comes to reducing the time it takes to settle trades from three days to two days, the Australian and US markets appear to be a study in 0pposites, just like the seasons. Although C-level operations and technology executives may be sweating in the blazing summer heat down under, they sound cool when speaking […]
US Swing Pricing: Getting the Process Right
The US mutual fund managers may soon be following in the footsteps of their European peers in adopting swing pricing, but how ready are they to overcome the operational and compliance challenges? If the tone of discussions at a recent standing-room-only event hosted in New York City by the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (ALFI) is any indication, the answer is […]
Europe’s New AML Directive: Keep Digging for Customer Data
As if knowing the basics about your customer weren’t difficult enough, how about knowing a lot more, verifying what you think you know, and doing the same when it comes to the customer’s direct and indirect investors and controlling parties. That is what European regulators will eventually require from financial institutions doing business in the […]