A New York judge’s recent ruling that lenders to financially ailing cosmetics giant Revlon can keep US$500 million in payments they mistakenly received from Citibank is prompting operations managers of syndicate loan desks at rival banks to take a closer look at their technology, internal procedures and any offshore work. Citibank is considered an anomaly […]
New IDs for Digital Assets: FIGIs or ISO-Backed Codes?
Does the financial services industry need more than one identification standard for digital assets? Can standards for identifying traditional assets even apply for the digital asset market? Those are the two questions trading, compliance and operations managers at fund management firms, custodians, exchanges, and issuers of digital tokens will soon answer now that they have […]
Want to be AML Whistleblower? Not So Fast
You work in the anti-money laundering department of a major bank or brokerage and overhear a conversation about how suspicious activity reports are not being filed on a particular client; how the transaction monitoring system is not working properly; or how wire transfers are being made to a country or individual on a US sanctions […]
Operational Resilience 2021: The Human Factor
Operational resilience will replace business continuity as the mantra for operations, IT and risk managers at fund management firms, banks and brokers in 2021 requiring a whole new combination of procedures, human interactions and even a bit of technology spend. Operational resilience goes far beyond business continuity. “Operational resilience takes a much broader approach to […]
Fund Middle Office 2021: Year of Fair Valuation
Middle-office accounting managers at US fund management firms will likely be talking a lot more in 2021 with C-level management, third party valuation agents, and boards of directors to figure out just what the terms fair and material mean when it comes to pricing non-exchange traded assets in their portfolios following the Securities and Exchange […]
Blockchain Attorney Klayman Battles MoFo Over Blocked Partnership
Did Joshua Ashley Klayman, one of the US’ top blockchain attorneys, cost herself a partnership in a prominent global law firm, because she chose to focus on the novel field of blockchain and smart contracts, because was female, or because she got pregnant and took three maternity leaves? Those are among the many questions that […]
Wells Fargo’s Comp Plan: Will SEC’s Ops Rules Hurt Investors?
The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s plan for how investors in Wells Fargo’s stock will be compensated a total of US$500 million for the bank’s past wrongdoing could end up marred in operational snafus making it harder for some investors to be paid and disincentivizing others from filing the paperwork to collect any compensation. That’s […]
FREE WEBINAR: The Crypto Asset Market: What Fund Managers Should Know Before Investing
Hosted by CrossTower Save the Date: November 4, 2020 Time: 4:30 PM EST Contact: events@crosstower.com Cryptoassets aren’t just for retail investors any more. Hedge fund managers and some traditional fund managers have been buying Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a buffer against inflation and market volatility has led to far higher returns on investment for […]
AML Managers Question FinCEN’s New Effectiveness Test
Define effectiveness. That’s what anti-money laundering compliance directors and legal experts want the US Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to do after it announced late last month that it would update regulations issued under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). “Does anybody know what effective means?” was the question posed by over a dozen AML […]
SEC Fines Northern Trust for Not Stopping Criminal Hedge Fund Manager
The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent US$152,553 fine against mega hedge fund administrator Northern Trust provides a clear sign the regulatory agency will continue to hold a service provider accountable for any wrongdoing committed by its client if the SEC thinks it could have prevented the bad apple’s actions. The New York headquartered L-R […]