SEC Further Delays Rule 606

On September 4, in response to a new request from the Financial Information Forum and the Security Traders Association, the SEC extended the compliance deadline for Rule 606 amendments. This represents the second extension for the routing practices regulation, which was first proposed in November 2018 with an original deadline of May 2019, and subsequently delayed to October 2019. The latest extension pushes the implementation deadline back to January 1, 2020 for all broker-dealers for Rule 606(a) and for self-routing broker-dealers for Rule 606(b), and to April 1, 2020 for broker-dealers who outsource routing activity.

FRTB Impact a Triple Threat, Finds ISDA

Final market risk capital rules will lead to a higher increase in bank capital requirements than previous estimates given by international regulators earlier this year, an undisclosed industry study has found, as reported by Risk.net – leading to concerns that the capital hike could force firms to scale back trading activities to meet the new rules.

In January 2019, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision estimated the new regime would result in a 22% weighted average increase in capital. But a recent study by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) found that the impact could in fact be three times higher than expected.

New Money Laundering Division for FinCEN

The US-based Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has launched its Global Investigations Division (GID), which will be responsible for implementing targeted investigation strategies rooted in FinCEN’s unique authorities under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) to combat illicit finance threats and related crimes, both domestically and internationally.

Matthew Stiglitz, a former Principal Deputy Chief in the US Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, will lead GID.

Australian and Singaporean Benchmarks Achieve EU Equivalence

From August 19, 2019 the legal and supervisory frameworks of Australia and of Singapore are held as equivalent to the EU benchmark regime, according to recent decisions published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The decisions are applicable to the administrators of financial benchmarks that are declared significant benchmarks by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, and that are designated benchmarks based on Singapore’s Securities and Futures (Designated Benchmarks) Order 2018.

STOXX Registers as BMR Administrator

STOXX, the operator of Deutsche Boerse Group, has registered with ESMA as a benchmark administrator under the European Union’s Benchmark Regulation (BMR). The regulation was introduced by the EU following the high profile LIBOR manipulation scandals of 2012, and came into force in January 2018. Benchmark rate users have until January 1, 2020 to use non-authorised EU benchmarks or until December 31, 2021 to use third-party (non-EU) benchmarks.

CISI Selects Bloomberg Buy-side Solutions

China Industrial Securities International Financial Group (CISI), a full-service financial group listed in Hong Kong, has adopted a broad range of Bloomberg’s buy-side solutions including its buy-side order management system, transaction cost analysis, liquidity assessment and Bloomberg Vault. These solutions will enable the group to navigate a fast-evolving global regulatory environment as it positions for international growth. Pan Li, head of asset management at CISI, says: “Bloomberg remains our technology partner of choice. We believe its advanced technology will help us differentiate our offering and attract new clients globally.”

Axioma Enhances Canada Equity Risk Model

Axioma, a provider of enterprise risk management, portfolio management and regulatory reporting solutions, has added a new Canada equity risk model (AXCA4) to its next-generation Equity Factor Risk Model suite. The release builds on existing risk models, offering enhanced country-specific content to meet the risk-management needs of investors. The estimation universe for the Canada model contains over 440 stocks and ETFs, with coverage history from 1995. The enhanced data includes deep daily history and, for the first time, macro factors for residual gold and oil sensitivity.

Blaze Portfolio Partners Itiviti to Access NYFIX Services

Blaze Portfolio, a provider of scalable investment portfolio rebalancing and real-time trade order management software, has joined Itiviti’s Global Alliance Program, giving clients access to Itiviti’s NYFIX suite of services including a FIX connectivity network, monitoring and execution reporting. Blaze is also using NYFIX Matching, Itiviti’s post-trade solution that streamlines affirmation, allocation and confirmation matching services. Its clients also have access to Itiviti’s Transaction Cost Analysis services, a solution for measuring trade performance.

EDI Adds Costs Basis Solution

Exchange Data International (EDI), a provider of corporate actions, pricing and reference data, has introduced Worldwide Equity Cost Basis, a service that enables users to track both a security’s cost basis, its evolution and its descendant’s cost basis and evolution up to the current date. The service is part of the company’s expansion into value added services.

Sterling Trading Tech Releases Market Data Entitlement System

Sterling Trading Tech has released a market data entitlement system, The Sterling Entitlement Manager, that allows Sterling and its clients to follow compliance regulations when onboarding subscribers by using an automated verification process. The subscribers’ market data is then activated on the trading platform once approval from an exchange is granted. The solution is designed to make onboarding quick and efficient for traders by supporting electronically signed market data agreements. Sterling contracted industry expert MDMS (Market Data Management Solutions) to assist in developing the solution.