Once considered a dreary administrative task, collateral management is moving to high visibility for fund management shops, forced by new regulations to rethink their the use of the assets that back numerous transactions. Now a target for cost control with the ultimate goal of wringing revenue out of it, collateral management is coming out of the back room. “Depending on the types of […]
Phone Monitoring Records: Mining for Profit?
Three years after the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) began requiring financial firms to record all mobile phone communications related to securities transactions, compliance remains dangerously weak. “Financial firms need to start thinking about just how they will comply and what additional benefits they can obtain for the costs involved,” says Rik Turner, senior analyst at […]
FINRA’s CARDS: Time to Get Ready
The US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s proposal to collect megatons of customer account information is far from being implemented, but behind the scenes, operations, technology and data management specialists are rushing to make the necessary preparations for the first phase expected in 2015. The reason: despite all the lobbying against the initiative coined CARDS, short for […]
Plan Sponsors: Take Charge of Forex Trading Costs
Watch the watchers. That’s the mantra of a growing number asset owners, who are depending on fund managers and custodians to protect their financial interests. These asset owners are now adopting — or should be adopting — a “trust but verify” philosophy when it comes to choosing who executes and how their foreign exchange transactions should be […]
Europe’s Consolidated Tape: Reality or Pipedream?
While the European Parliament has finally voted its support for the new version of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID), one of its most controversial goals — establishing a central source of post-trade prices from regulated markets — is still far from fruition. The new MiFID mandate may include some stepping-stone dates, but the language of […]
Bad European Data Validation Rules Give Banks Reporting Jitters
It’s hard enough for bank operations and financial reporting specialists to fill out all the data points and formats required by regulators in filing mandatory documentation evidencing financial soundness. But when a major banking regulatory watchdog — the European Banking Authority — issues 290 incorrect data validation rules, the whole reporting process can go awry […]
Middle Office Takes Center Stage in T+2
Once the unsung sibling of the front and back office, the middle-office could finally get its long overdue recognition as the US prepares to shorten its trade settlement cycle from three days to two. Squeezed between traders praised for making lucrative deals and operations experts at the end of the line moving cash and securities around to meet settlement obligations, […]
US Cost-Basis Reporting: Pay Up Now or Pay A Lot More Later
US tax experts are sounding a loud alarm bell for financial-firm clients this tax season. They had better be prepared to comply with the Internal Revenue Service’s new cost-basis reporting rules for debt instruments, or be prepared to face the music. They won’t like the tune. The IRS will fine not only investors, but also […]
“Let Us Do It”: Data Utilities Target Mid-Office Data Drudgery
Data utility — it’s a buzzword, which has cropped up sporadically in the data management arena and is now making a comeback, albeit in diverse flavors. The latest wave of incarnations: a reference data utility launched by IBM and GoldenSource, and a know-your-customer (KYC) data utility disclosed by global messaging network SWIFT. Their unveilings earlier this […]
New Swaps Clearing Rules Trigger Services Shakedown
Brave new ideas, especially when they are mandated by regulators, typically trigger a messy shakedown of systems and services — out with the old, in with the new with a lot of cost and waste lying by the roadside for others to benefit. Such is the case with the multi-faceted regulatory drive to squeeze potential systemic risk out […]