Custodian bank operations managers should start planning to get their hands a lot dirtier in the proxy plumbing process. The new version of the European Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD) calls for them to respond to European issuer requests for identifying investors who hold more than 0.5 percent of a company’s stock, to forward proxy information […]
Morgan Stanley Fine: Lessons in Fee Recon Failures
Futures commision merchants had better pay far closer attention to their middle office fee reconciliation process, caution operations experts. Morgan Stanley’s recent US$500,000 fine from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for overbilling clients trading fees isn’t a large fine considering the FCM’s size. What is alarming is that Morgan Stanley is the fourth FCM […]
MiFID II and GDPR: Finding Where the Twain Must Meet
MiFID II and GDPR project teams had better get acquainted quickly. Although the objectives of the two European regulatory measures, might sound contradictory, financial firms must find a way to accommodate both, particularly when it comes to recording phone calls. They don’t have much time to create a strategy. MiFID II becomes effective in January […]
ISINs for OTC Derivatives: Is Licensing an Issue?
Update 9/25/2017: Financial firms using ANNA’s new Derivatives Service Bureau to receive ISIN codes for OTC derivatives can expect to receive rebates for overpaying far more quickly, DSB officials now say. Likewise, financial firms will also have to fork over more money if they have underpaid. Instead of waiting until the end of 2018 to recalculate […]
Countdown to US T+2: Five Last Minute Tips
It’s now or never when it comes being ready for the pending two-day settlement cycle in the US. With September 5, the day T+2 becomes effective, just around the corner, operations and IT managers are taking the opportunity to verify that their front, middle and back office systems are tweaked correctly. And that their counterparties […]
(Update) Bloomberg’s FIGIs: Global Accreditation for ID Codes Next?
Editor’s Update: The ballot concerning the FIGI becoming an ISO standard has been cancelled. On July 14, FinOps Report received confirmation from Steve Stevens, executive director of X9. “Bloomberg had requested that X9 ask the TC68 committee to withdraw the ballot from voting,” he said. “The request was agreed to by the X9 and TC68 withdrew the ballot. Since the […]
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 […]
Bloomberg Takes on DTCC in LEI Issuance (Updated)
Editor’s Note (6/2/2017): A spokesman for DTCC has informed FinOps Report that effective June 1, 2017, the GMEI Utility has reduced its fees to US$100 to register an LEI and US$80 to renew an LEI. For those who have questions on how the GMEI Utility can cut its fees so dramatically while meeting the GLEIF’s cost-recovery model, here is what […]
Irish Fund Admins Get Stern Offshoring Advice
Compliance and operations managers at fund administration shops in Ireland will need to keep closer tabs on middle and back-office activities outsourced to third-party firms or even offshore affiliates. In March, the Central Bank of Ireland sent chief executives of fund administrators in Ireland a stern letter about shortcomings in monitoring of offshore operational work with detailed guidance […]
Building Smarter 3rd-Party Cyber-Risk Programs
Financial firms needing to manage the cybersecurity risk of companies outside their own walls as well as they do their own can now count on a new risk assessment-as-a-service platform for help. Launched in March, the Denver-headquartered CyberGRX aims to take the gruntwork out of the due diligence process for third-party cybersecurity risk managers. It […]