Anti-money laundering managers at banks and other financial institutions need to adapt their customer onboarding and transaction-monitoring approaches to cryptocurrency investors or risk regulatory fines, warn AML experts. Cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, already are involved in nearly ten percent of the total US$2 trillion of dirty money that is washed annually. That percentage is […]
FINRA Rule 4210: Managers Beware of Margin Calls
With less than 100 days left before new Rule 4210 of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority becomes effective, broker-dealers aren’t the only ones that should be preparing for new margin requirements for to-be-announced (TBAs) transactions and other forward settling fixed-income trades. Even if indirectly, investment management firms will also be in the regulatory crosshairs. Time is […]
FINRA New Ops Certification: Two Exams Better?
What is the difference between a stock, a bond, a derivative, an exchange-traded fund and other financial products? What are customer suitability rules, margin rules and custody rules? These might sound like simple questions, but for US brokerage operations managers who must abide by changes in test formats imposed by the US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority […]
FINRA to Broker-Dealers: Are You Liquid Enough?
Risk and financial reporting managers at clearing firms and large broker-dealers could soon have to recode their back office systems and establish new procedures. Why? To quickly inform the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) whether they have a liquidity problem and report a lot more information about their financing deals. The self-regulatory agency for broker-dealers […]
FINRA to Broker-Dealers: Justify Order Routing Perks
Brokerage compliance managers might have to scale back their holiday plans. The US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is revisiting broker-dealer order routing, and it wants answers by the end of this month. Last month, the self-regulatory agency for broker-dealers sent an undisclosed number of broker-dealers a request for detailed information on how they quantify […]
Global Network Management: Are My Assets Safe?
Global network managers of custodian banks are redefining the word relationship when it comes to monitoring local agent banks that safekeep assets of underlying clients in multiple countries. It is no longer enough to make a sporadic visit or have a phone call. Global network managers have become detectives sifting through mounts of data to […]
Alt Fund Managers: What Needs to Be Fixed Before the SEC Exam
Hedge fund and private equity fund managers top the list of firms having the most angst, when it comes to worrying about passing an exam by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. They also are likely to have the the most work preparing for an exam. A recent survey of C-level executives conducted by compliance […]
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 […]
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 […]