The US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority could soon be offering broker-dealers some badly-needed guidance on how they should handle cryptocurrencies and similar products. Industry sources tell FinOps Report that FINRA is in discussions with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Department of Trading and Markets about FINRA crafting a regulatory notice informing broker-dealers how to apply […]
Global Network Management: Artificial Intelligence the Charm?
For global custody network managers, analyzing the tsunami of data on dozens of local agent banks and markets to ensure the safety of client assets remains a sore spot. The use of artificial intelligence appears to be an elusive ideal, acknowledge panelists and attendees at a recent global custody event in New York hosted by […]
IRS Creates Legal,Ops Headaches for Escheated IRAs
(Editor’s Update on November 29, 2018): Tax operations, compliance and technology managers at US financial firms now have until January 1, 2020 to implement the Internal Revenue Service’s rule to withhold taxes on unclaimed individual retirement accounts. The IRS’ one-year extension is far less than the 18 months requested by the securities industry but provides […]
NY Court: Goldman’s Morse Can Sue Fidessa for Wrongful Termination
A New York appeals court has just sent a stern warning to Wall Street, fintech and other firms: you can’t fire any of your employees simply because of who they married to or are even romantically involved with. The Appellate Division of New York’s First Department ruled that Christopher Morse, now vice president of electronic […]
Margin: Tackling Initial Hurdle for Uncleared Swaps
First it was variation margin. Now it is initial margin for uncleared swap transactions causing compliance, operations and financial technology managers at fund management shops angst. As of September 1, 2019 many fund managers must know whether they meet the threshold for posting initial margin, calculate it correctly and set up the right custodial contracts […]
NY State of Mind for Cybersecurity: Take Three
jax_s fucking The US Labor Day weekend won’t be a happy one for some cybersecurity compliance, technology and operations managers at New York-based banks. They will likely be scrambling to successfully implement the third phase of New York’s onerous cybersecurity rules, effective September 3. Among the multitude of tasks to complete under 23 NYCRR 500 encrypting […]
Europe’s CSDR: Custodians Face Reporting Headaches
The European Central Securities Depositories Regulation (CSDR) is quickly turning into a misnomer for the legislation. Operations and IT managers at custodian banks must quickly develop new data consolidation and message reformatting workflow and technology to deliver the right information on settled and unsettled trades to local regulators in July 2019. Given that the pan- […]
CUSIP ID Codes Enter World of Blockchain
xjohwyx gallery Equities and bonds have identification numbers so why not tokenized asset offerings (TAOs). That’s the premise of a new agreement between blockchain startup Templum Markets and CUSIP Global Services (CGS) whose goal is to promote liquidity and post-trade operational efficiency for TAOs. North America’s national numbering agency will now issue CUSIPs or nine-digit […]
FATCA’s Responsible Officers: Grueling Certifications
Compliance and other C-level directors at foreign financial institutions serving as responsible officers under the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) don’t have much time left before they have to live up to their hefty obligations. Responsible officers (ROs). whose foreign financial firms signed agreements with the US Internal Revenue Service as participating foreign […]
Cryptofunds: The Tough Due Diligence Test
When it comes to investing in cryptofunds, institutional investors will need to be extra cautious deciphering the trading and operational risks involved. Knowing what to ask cryptofund managers won’t be as hard for institutional investors as understanding the answers they receive. “Even the savviest institutional investors might not be knowledgeable in the intricacies of the […]