With the two-day settlement cycle on the horizon in the US, market players have their hands full, ensuring they have adapted their front, middle and back-office operations correctly before September 5. However, one major concern about the changeover has just been relieved. The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq have eliminated September 5 as an […]
Cybersecurity: Asset Managers Face Ratings Threat
Regulatory fines aren’t the only thing asset managers need to worry about when it comes to ensuring they have a strong cybersecurity program in place. A new study just released by Moody’s Investors Services about the cybersecurity preparedness of US fund management firms suggests that asset managers could face a credit ratings downgrade if they can’t protect their critical data. That data could include anything […]
Sanctions Compliance: True Match is Hard to Find
Filing suspicious activity reports is hard enough for financial firms, but complying with sanctions is even worse. Matching up a name on a database to a government sanctions list is only the first line of defense against doing business with an individual or corporation or country prohibited by the US or another foreign government. Based on the […]
Compliance Officers: Uniform CFTC and SEC Rules?
What possible difference could a few words make? Apparently a lot for chief compliance officers of large swap dealers, fund managers, and clearing firms. They must be breathing a sigh of relief now that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has proposed to harmonize the rules for CCOs with those of the Securities and Exchange Commission. […]
US Broker Pushes SEC to Make Blockchain Rules
US financial firms, concerned about how to implement blockchain technology without running afoul of future regulations, might soon find some long overdue guidance from the Securities and Exchange Commission. The US regulatory agency has been called to action by Ouisa Capital, a New York broker-dealer that operates an alternative trading system (ATS) for trading unregistered securities. […]
Colorado Raises the Bar in Buyside Cybersecurity
Banks might not be the only financial institutions needing dedicated chief information security officers (CISOs) to oversee and enforce a cybersecurity program. As FinOps Report goes to press, the Colorado Division of Securities is set to finalize rules which, as of July 15, will make the state the first in the US to require fund managers and broker-dealers […]
New Tax on US Convertible Bonds: Taxing Air?
The US Internal Revenue Service wants withholding agents to collect tax on upticks of the rights of convertible bondholders, despite protests that the levy is nothing more than “tax on air.” That’s how some tax attorneys and operations specialists view the IRS’ Section 305(c) rule on taxing adjustments to the conversion ratio of US convertible financial instruments, as […]
Global Data Protection Reg: Not Just a Tech Exercise
Europe’s new General Data Protection Regulation, effective May 2018, will require financial firms to do a lot more than invest in technology to protect sensitive data from a cybersecurity breach or other loss. Compliance, operations,marketing, sales and even human resource managers at financial firms across the globe will need to establish the right processes and […]
Numbering Agencies Invest in New OTC ISIN Bureau
Swap dealers and other financial market players can now rest assured that a new numbering agency for over-the-counter derivatives contracts will have sufficient funding to be launched just in time to meet the reporting requirements of the second incarnation of Europe’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID). That doesn’t mean they will be entirely satisfied with who the Association […]
US T+2: SEC Joins the Bandwagon
The Securities and Exchange Commission may have just given its official blessing to a shortened trade settlement cycle in the US come September 5, but the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. (DTCC), its member firms and service providers have already been working long and hard on operational adjustments and industry-wide testing. All this effort will hopefully […]