Latest Blogs
|
Neil Vernon |
Trade recs: on the fast track or stuck in the sidings?The average tier one investment bank today is dealing with a very complex trade processing infrastructure. You’d expect the infrastructure to resemble a high speed rail line fully optimised to deliver trades from execution venue to settlement in the shortest possible time. The reality is that most banks are dealing with multiple branch lines, sidings and frequent level crossings which all serve to provide significant obstacles to the journey of the average trade. It is not unusual for trades to go through 80 or more applications from execution to settlement and along the way be subject to reformatting, reshaping and netting whilst also being amended and cancelled through a variety of bespoke processes. Jun 17, 2013 | Comments: 0 | Read more... |
|---|---|
|
Anne Plested, Fidessa |
MiFID II takes a leap forwardHurrah! Looks like the Council of the EU has finally agreed a common approach on MiFID II/MiFIR after 18 months of negotiations. Subject to EU formalities next week, yesterday’s agreement comes just two weeks before Ireland hands the Council presidency on to Lithuania. The trilogue process – European Commission vs European Parliament vs Council versions – can now get going in earnest. The pressure will be on to reach agreement on a Level 1 text by early 2014 at the latest so as to avoid running into the European parliamentary elections which were recently brought forward from June to May next year. Jun 14, 2013 | Comments: 0 | Read more... |
|
Steve Grob, Fidessa |
Where’s my TV remote?The recently proposed cap on European dark trading has caused quite a stir. It also illustrates how MiFID II policy-making has descended into almost Eurovision song contest levels of farce. The basic idea is to put a cap (currently proposed at 8%) on the level of trading that occurs away from lit markets. The rationale for this is to protect the regulator’s precious price formation process and so it sensibly excludes large block orders that wouldn’t have traded on an exchange anyway. But, bizarrely, the current proposal is for an absolute limit regardless of whether trading off exchange might actually result in a better outcome for the end investor. Jun 13, 2013 | Comments: 0 | Read more... |
|
Bernd Richter, Capco |
The RRP Challenge: How far have you progressed?Recovery and resolution planning (RRP) - yet more valuable resource diverted to compliance? Or can it be a source of deep structural understanding and competitive differentiation? To date, some 39 separate financial institutions have been the subject of EBA stipulations to comply and provide an RRP by the end of the year. With first deadlines looming, institutions must ask searching questions and overcome challenges in the following key areas: Certainty: Defining and creating the RRP Preparation: Getting ready for smooth and predictable implementation (should this ever prove necessary) Reality-alignment: Realising this is ‘more than documentation’ Future-proofing: Adopting an approach capable of being updated as circumstances change and, crucially, one that defines a structure optimised to avoid any actual implementation in the future Strategic and commercial awareness: Leveraging all the opportunities, making RRP preparation a source of real competitive advantage as well as compliance Financial institutions must now look at RRP implications and preparations. Jun 13, 2013 | Comments: 0 | Read more... |
|
Mark Brennan, Fidessa |
Uncertainty abides amidst a flurry of CFTC activityIt’s a busy – not to mention dramatic and uncertain – time for U.S. derivatives regulation. Consider the milestone of final SEF rules and yesterday’s “Category 2″ clearing deadline. Consider, too, the on-going uncertainty as to the pending expiration of the exemptive relief on Dodd-Frank’s cross border rules (also known as ‘extra-territoriality, or ‘ET’). CFTC Chairman Gensler remains a strong advocate for ET, despite the fact that three of the five commissioners wish to extend the deferral. Jun 12, 2013 | Comments: 0 | Read more... |
|
Christian Voigt, Fidessa |
Half a jobMiFID, the mother of all European financial regulation, rumbles on and on. The European Commission’s MiFID II consultation in 2011, the Ferber Report in March 2012, and the European Parliament vote in October 2012 were all highly anticipated and widely reported on. But despite the fact that the Council of Ministers has published more than 20 different drafts during the Cyprus and Ireland presidencies alone, it’s still unlikely that we’ll see a final text before the handover to Lithuania at the end of this month. Jun 10, 2013 | Comments: 0 | Read more... |
|
Steve Grob, Fidessa |
All set for a clear summerThere was an interesting footnote to the FT article on NYSE Euronext’s final shareholders’ approval of the ICE deal yesterday. It talked about how ICE Clear will be taking over clearing for Liffe as of 1st July. This is more than just a bit of corporate housekeeping and may well shape whether we really see competition in European derivatives trading. Right now Liffe clears through LCH and yes, this is the same clearing house that Nasdaq’s new derivatives market NLX will be using. Jun 04, 2013 | Comments: 0 | Read more... |
|
Anne Plested, Fidessa |
Double whammyThe latest published version of MiFIR is narrowing waivers, while widening its impact. Specifically, it has added a double cap limit to the pre-trade transparency reference price waiver. Limitations that may apply to the 4 existing waivers continue to evolve even as the Irish presidency of the Council of the European Union enters its final month before handing over to Lithuania. Article 4 a) was added to the text in December last year and has since switched between the use of a minimum threshold and the introduction (in March 2013) of a trading volume cap mechanism. Jun 03, 2013 | Comments: 0 | Read more... |
