ION Achieves Independent Software Vendor Status for Algorithmic Trading on BSE

ION has been registered as an Independent Software Vendor for algorithmic trading on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). This registration enables BSE members to use ION’s Fidessa trading platform for algorithmic trading on the exchange.

Following its earlier approval as an equities trading vendor on BSE in June 2024, ION’s certification affirms Fidessa’s compliance with the exchange’s rules and regulatory standards. The platform offers an integrated suite of algorithms, supporting real-time performance monitoring and automated workflows to optimise trading operations. With over 55% of trades in India driven by algorithmic trading, Fidessa’s solution aims to enhance efficiency and reduce costs for market participants.

Robert Cioffi, Global Head of Equities Product Management at ION Markets, commented: “As a registered vendor on BSE, ION now offers seamless access to advanced algorithmic trading capabilities, fully integrated within the Fidessa trading platform. India remains a key strategic market for ION and this empanelment enhances our ability to meet the region’s evolving needs. We are proud to contribute to the growth of Indian capital markets by enabling cutting-edge algorithmic trading.”

Sandeep Sabnani, Product Strategy and Growth, Equities at ION Markets, added: “ION’s registration as a vendor for algorithmic trading on BSE is a significant step forward, demonstrating the trust and confidence in our Fidessa platform. This achievement reinforces our dedication to providing market participants with advanced technology solutions tailored to the needs of the Indian capital markets.”

Founded in 1875, BSE is Asia’s oldest stock exchange, providing a key platform for capital raising and hosting over 5,700 listings.

S&P Capital IQ Pro Expands Fixed Income Coverage with 4.6 Million New Municipal Securities

S&P Global Market Intelligence has added 4.6 million municipal securities to its S&P Capital IQ Pro platform, increasing total municipal market coverage to nearly 6 million securities. The update includes enriched data such as liquidity scores, end-of-day pricing, bond schedules, and enhanced terms and conditions. These additions aim to improve risk assessment, market liquidity insights, and portfolio management for investors and issuers.

The platform enhancements follow S&P Global’s merger with IHS Markit in 2022. Other recent updates to S&P Capital IQ Pro include the launch of Document Intelligence, an AI-powered document analysis tool integrated with ChatIQ, and the expansion of IQ Newsletters to provide mid-day market summaries for the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Powered by generative AI, these newsletters keep users informed with real-time news and insights.

Bank of Hangzhou Implements Murex’s FRTB Solution to Meet China’s New Regulatory Standards

The Bank of Hangzhou has expanded its use of Murex’s MX.3 platform by implementing the Fundamental Review of the Trading Book (FRTB) solution using the Standardized Approach (SA). This move ensures compliance with the updated market risk capital rules set by China’s National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA), which adopted Basel Committee guidelines in November 2023.

The bank initially deployed MX.3 in 2021 to manage capital markets activities across front-office, back-office, and risk functions. Following a detailed evaluation, the bank selected Murex’s preconfigured FRTB-SA solution to meet the January 2025 compliance deadline. The integration was completed in eight months, streamlining risk management processes and reducing manual reconciliation efforts.

Murex leveraged its experience from over 40 FRTB projects to assist in the implementation. The seamless integration of the FRTB solution with the existing MX.3 platform has enhanced the bank’s operational efficiency, improved model validation, and accelerated the launch of new products, positioning the bank for future growth in a more stringent regulatory environment.

Snowflake Opens Regional Headquarters in Saudi Arabia

Data cloud giant Snowflake has opened a Middle East regional headquarters in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh.

The company said it would serve the wider Middle East from the new office, taking advantage of the kingdom’s Vision 2030 programme of modernising its tech base.

ClearToken Joins Bank of England’s Digital Securities Sandbox

ClearToken, the clearing house for digital markets, has been accepted into the Bank of England’s Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS), marking a significant milestone in its journey to becoming a Digital Securities Depository (DSD). The DSS, overseen by the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), provides a regulatory framework for testing innovative technologies in a live environment. ClearToken’s successful passage through “Gate 1” demonstrates its commitment to developing the financial market infrastructure (FMI) essential for the evolution of digital asset and tokenisation markets, according to the company.

ClearToken emphasises the importance of robust legal and regulatory systems in enabling market stability, settlement finality, and the institutional adoption of digital assets. Looking ahead, ClearToken will continue testing its DSD platform and shortly plans to release a white paper on the regulatory impacts of a DSD on digital asset markets.

London Stock Exchange Group Launches Historical Analytics via Snowflake

The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has introduced a Historical Analytics solution, available via the Snowflake platform. The offering integrates LSEG’s Pricing Services with Yield Book Analytics to deliver over 20 years of pricing data for more than 2.9 million bonds. By leveraging Snowflake’s cloud infrastructure, customers gain flexible, streamlined access to a powerful, unified analytics service.

Historical Analytics supports diverse use cases, including regulatory reporting, risk management, security valuation, portfolio analysis, and index strategy development. It enables accurate regulatory reporting, portfolio performance evaluation, trade strategy assessments, and historical simulations for custom benchmark creation. This solution is designed to meet the evolving needs of financial institutions by providing advanced analytics in a convenient and scalable format.

Emily Prince, Group Head of Analytics at LSEG commented: “The combination of Yield Book’s trusted, in-depth analytics and LSEG’s expertise in evaluated pricing delivers a robust and comprehensive suite of tools to empower clients. These tools allow customers to back-test portfolios, optimise strategies, and manage risk effectively. By offering this through Snowflake, we ensure seamless access to advanced analytics, enabling more efficient, scalable, and integrated solutions for our clients.”

Genesis Global Unveils Developer Portal with AI-Driven Tools for Faster Financial Application Development

Genesis Global has launched a new developer portal to enhance the efficiency of creating financial markets-grade applications, promising a tenfold improvement in speed for developers and technical business analysts in the financial sector. The portal offers access to the Genesis Application Platform, featuring free trials, training, documentation, and robust support resources.

Key features include the Genesis Launchpad, a hosted environment for project development during free trials, equipped with tools like Genesis Create for no-code full-stack project building and Genesis View for converting UI designs into front-end code. Enhanced AI-driven functionalities include an intelligent agent that autogenerates data models and configurations and upgrades to spreadsheet converters for efficient data integration. Additionally, the platform introduces customisable project templates for common financial use cases.

The portal also consolidates training via the Genesis Academy, extensive technical documentation, step-by-step guides, and comprehensive developer support.

Stephen Murphy, CEO and co-founder of Genesis Global, commented: “Whether it’s to lower their enormous technology costs by upgrading legacy systems and reducing dependencies on vendors or to grow revenue by bringing innovation to the market, financial firms need a dramatically faster way to build and deploy new software. Our new portal is a gateway to the platform, giving developers tools and resources to rapidly deliver the financial markets-grade applications firms need to operate more efficiently, reduce risk and expand their businesses.”

Tej Sidhu, Chief Technology Officer at Genesis Global, added: “Improving developer productivity is key to translating technology investment to competitive advantage. When clients use our AI agents to jump-start projects, they have confidence that the resulting code comes from an industry-specific and governed framework. Accessing the benefits of AI within the guardrails provided by the Genesis platform enables financial markets firms to fast-track innovation without compromising resilience, compliance and security.”

Horizon Partners with SOLOWIN to Enhance Trading Infrastructure for Equities and Virtual Asset ETFs

Horizon Trading Solutions, the electronic trading and algorithmic technology provider, has joined forces with SOLOWIN HOLDINGS, a financial services firm catering to high-net-worth and institutional investors. The partnership integrates Horizon’s algorithmic technology and order management system (OMS) into Solomon JFZ’s trading system, enhancing its capabilities for equities and spot virtual asset ETFs.

Horizon’s Managed & Hosted Services model provides colocation infrastructure and 24/5 support for rapid order execution on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Additional tools like real-time latency monitoring and specialised position management modules optimise trading efficiency for latency-sensitive institutional traders.

As a key participating dealer for virtual asset ETFs managed by China Asset Management and Harvest Global Investments, Solomon JFZ now holds the largest client assets in spot virtual asset ETFs in Hong Kong, the first market globally to support in-kind subscriptions and redemptions for such products.

Thomas Tam, Chief Executive Officer of SOLOWIN, commented: “Horizon is one of the world’s leading providers of electronic trading solutions and algorithmic technology, renowned for its trusted position and proven expertise in designing comprehensive institutional OMS and algo-based solutions. Partnering with such a reliable technology service provider will undoubtedly enhance trading execution, improve efficiency and increase adaptability for our clients, particularly for newly onboarded institutional trading clients.”

Emmanuel Faure, Head of APAC & MENA at Horizon Trading Solutions, added: “We are excited to partner with SOLOWIN to bring advanced OMS and algorithmic solutions to the forefront of virtual asset trading in Asia. This collaboration highlights Horizon’s commitment to innovation and high-performance trading technology, as markets evolve from traditional to digital assets.”

Trading Technologies Expands Energy Market Access with Nord Pool Integration

Trading Technologies International, Inc. (TT), provider of capital markets technology, has integrated Nord Pool for intraday trading, available from December. The move enables TT clients to trade on the two leading European power spot exchanges, Nord Pool and EPEX SPOT, which TT integrated earlier this year. Developed in partnership with a major European energy supplier, the new connection enhances TT’s offerings in physical energy markets.

TT’s algorithmic and automated trading solutions support diverse trading strategies through tools like Autospreader, as well as broker and third-party algorithms. Nord Pool, majority-owned by Euronext, operates in 16 European countries and serves businesses across 20 nations.

Alun Green, TT’s EVP Managing Director, Futures & Options, commented: “With this new connection, market participants will, for the first time, be able to use a single screen to trade intraday physical power on Nord Pool and EPEX SPOT alongside the world’s most popular financial energy products. Our high-speed, colocated platform gives traders unparalleled tools that include award-winning algorithmic and automated trading functionality along with robust risk management capabilities. We’re excited to bring this technology to traditional energy-related companies as well as hedge funds, commodity trading advisors and systematic traders. These firms want to use our sophisticated tools and execution algos to hedge and take positions in related markets from one platform, which can bring a new customer base to these exchanges.”

EDX Markets Implements Eventus Validus Platform for Enhanced Trade Surveillance

Eventus, the trade surveillance and financial risk solutions provider, has announced that EDX Markets, a digital asset technology firm catering exclusively to institutional clients, has adopted the Eventus Validus platform for trade surveillance. The collaboration aims to enhance the safety and efficiency of EDX’s marketplace operations.

Founded in 2022 and backed by major Wall Street firms, EDX Markets launched in 2023 to offer secure digital asset trading with improved liquidity and risk minimisation via its central clearinghouse.

EDX Markets CEO Tony Acuña-Rohter commented: “We selected Eventus for this important technology due to the firm’s deep experience in digital assets. The Validus platform is widely accepted by regulators around the globe and was seamless to integrate into our marketplace thanks to its cloud deployment and flexible connectivity capabilities.”

Josh Hoffberg, EDX Head of Market Operations, added: “It’s extremely important that we get trade surveillance right. Eventus onboarded our engineers and integrated their trade surveillance capabilities onto our marketplace well ahead of the launch of our New Matching Engine. The Validus platform also provides us with a strong solution that is easy to use and has intuitive market visualization tools that provide us with a comprehensive view of overall activity. We look forward to leveraging the automation tools and extended surveillance capabilities Validus offers as we continue to scale and grow.”

Eventus CEO Travis Schwab said: “EDX has created an experience for institutional investors that mirrors what they have in traditional finance. Minimizing risk is a key part of that experience, and we’re pleased to equip EDX’s marketplace with our surveillance tools, further reinforcing the integrity of the platform.”

With this partnership, Eventus extends its global footprint, now serving nearly 20 digital asset venues worldwide. This deployment reinforces the companies’ commitment to robust institutional trading infrastructure and compliance.