The theft of personal details of millions of individuals in a U.S. government database might sound shocking, but it really isn’t given the latest stream of well-publicized hacking events in the retail, financial and insurance industries. Neiman Marcus, eBay, Home Depot, JP Morgan Chase, Sony and Anthem are among the high-profile casualties. Given that a cyber […]
News to Use: New AML Technology and Bitcoins
AML Tech Upgrade: To avoid doing business with the wrong customers and counterparties, financial firms can now rely on a new generation of software applications that go beyond traditional rules-based screening to far more sophisticated data analysis, says a new research report from Celent. The costs of not complying with anti-money laundering rules can be […]
Cybersecurity in the C-Suite: A Matter of “Need to Know”
Cybersecurity has been described as everything from a top-down corporate mission to a shopping list for software packages that monitor networks and systems for suspicious activity. Given the breadth and complexity of even identifying the risks, it’s no wonder that all sorts of management are discovering they’re now riding the cybersecurity bus. Nowhere is this accumulation of corporate […]
Central Clearing for US Sec Lending: Coming Soon?
Central clearing: it’s a well-established concept for settling equities, fixed-income and now swap transactions. But not in the US securities lending market, where Eurex Clearing now wants to establish a new service, but could face an uphill climb, despite enlisting two of the world’s largest custodian banks BNY Mellon and State Street to help out. Granted, OCC in […]
Custody Network Management: The Rise of the Super Risk Manager
Second article of our two-part series on third-party risk management. For the first article, click here. Hands-on relationship manager. System Analyst. Recruiter. Negotiator. Risk Manager. Hatchet man. Whoa! Too many job descriptions requiring far different different personalities and skills. They couldn’t possibly all be handled effectively by any single individual. These are just a some of […]
Vendor Risk Management: Financial Firms under the Gun
First of a two-part series on third-party risk. For the second article, click here. Activities can be outsourced, liabilities can’t. Financial firms may understand the legal distinction, but when it comes to managing the risk involved with using external technology providers, they are too often falling asleep at the wheel, warn operations and IT experts. The reason: […]
2015: Top Ops Goals for Surviving the Regulatory Crush
With the beginning of 2015 just hours away, middle and back office operations specialists across the globe should count on a visit from C-level executives to set the tone for the new year. Forget about praise for all the hard work in 2014. Everyone now has to roll up their sleeves to address a host […]
AIFMD Annex IV Reporting: Risk Scrutiny on Deadline
The Alternative Investment Fund Manager Directive Annex IV. The long phrase describes at least three hundred points of reference data and other risk metrics alternative fund managers must provide regulators if they want to grab a “passport” to market their funds across European borders. That passport allows them to operate by a single set of rules, rather than […]
Chief Compliance Officers: Five Steps to Hiring the Right Team
You may as well act as though you’re responsible for everything, because you’re going to have to live with the results. If that sounds like the motto of an executive who doesn’t want to delegate, it isn’t. It’s knowing that taking personal control is sometimes the only right thing to do. That is definitely the case when it […]
Money Market Fund Managers: SEC Ships New Operational Challenges
After years of uncertainty about how regulatory reform would play out, money market fund managers may be relieved to know finally how they will be regulated by new rules adopted by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. But the news won’t be particularly comforting to the operations, compliance and technology staff of the funds, which represent a third of […]