Should Wall Street executives trading and processing digital securities transactions be legally required to pass licensing or mandatory in-house training programs? The answer to the question raised in a comment letter sent to the US Securities and Exchange Commission in April concerning its December 2020 framework for the custody of digital securities appears to be […]
Legal Experts Debate Personal Liability for Chief Compliance Officers
Chief compliance officers need a new operating model, not a new legal framework, to avoid being personally penalized unfairly by the US Securities and Exchange Commission for regulatory infractions, say some legal experts. The New York City Bar Association’s recent framework suggesting that the SEC be more understanding of the challenges faced by chief compliance […]
Archegos Debacle Prompts Holistic Counterparty Risk Management
The recent implosion of family office Archegos Capital Management should renew interest in counterparty risk management and the need for a holistic program, say some broker-dealer risk management experts. By JP Morgan’s estimates the fallout may have cost some prominent prime brokers, such as combined as much as US$10 billion in trading losses. Archegos’ betting […]
Supreme Court Expert’s Decision on MoneyGram Unclaimed Checks: The Ops Effect
Unclaimed property operations and compliance managers at banks and broker-dealers are quickly reviewing their procedures for “lost accounts” in a wake of a recent recommendation by a legal expert appointed by the US Supreme Court that Delaware must return millions of dollars worth of uncashed “official checks” issued by MoneyGram to over 20 other states. […]
Securities Class Action Settlements: Don’t Leave Money on the Table
Recovering monies from class action settlements should be a risk-free revenue generator, but that’s not the case for many money managers, broker-dealers and their custodians. Instead, the process is fraught with operational errors, which results in billions of dollars in uncollected compensation each year. The COVID-19 pandemic has not only changed the types of securities […]
New FX Benchmark Aims to Save Buy-Side Big Bucks
Are we getting the best foreign exchange conversion rate? Pension plans and other asset owners asking their fund managers that question might hear a resounding yes, but that’s not always the case as highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Not all benchmarks are created equal, according to London-based Raidne, which claims it has come up with a […]
ADRs: Will Blockchain Create a Better Mousetrap?
Unsponsored American Depositary Receipts could be a lot less expensive and more efficient for investors to own and to receive dividends and other corporate action distributions thanks to a new permission-based blockchain platform designed by RISE Financial Technologies, according to the Boston and London-based blockchain technology firm. RISE Financial predicts its new blockchain-based infrastructure, set to […]
NYSE Puts FINRA in Hotseat For Proxy Distribution Fee Oversight
The issue of which self-regulatory authority will take over the job of setting the maximum fees issuers must pay broker-dealers and banks to mail proxy materials to beneficial shareholders has pitted the New York Stock Exchange against the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. leaving proxy operations managers and corporate secretaries in a lurch. The NYSE, which […]
Schwab’s $1.2 M Customer Account Transfer Mistake: Now What?
Whoops, it happened again. This time it was a software glitch that led brokerage Charles Schwab to erroneously transfer US$1.2 million from a former retail client’s account to the customer’s new brokerage account at Fidelity Brokerage Services which has left operations managers at rival brokerages scratching their heads and Schwab forced to go to court. […]
Rule 605 Reports: Next for Transparency Data Overhaul?
More transparency — the mantra which has taken hold regarding Rule 606 reports — needs to make its way to Rule 605 reports, say trade execution experts and buy-side representatives who are hoping the US Securities and Exchange Commission will take action this year. US broker-dealers which forward orders to trading venues or market makers […]