TS Imagine Launches Real-Time Integrated Swap Management Module

TS Imagine has introduced a new module to its cross-asset platform, offering a fully integrated system for managing swap economics and risk. Designed for synthetic prime brokerage desks and asset managers, the solution replaces traditional end-of-day reconciliation with a unified, real-time intraday view. By consolidating swap positions and corresponding cash equity hedges within a single system, the module eliminates manual processes and significantly reduces operational overhead.

The module is available across TS Imagine’s existing suite, including SwapSmart, RiskSmart+, and TradeSmart. It provides users with immediate visibility into risk and hedge discrepancies while offering native P&L attribution. This architecture supports a broad range of instruments, such as total return swaps (TRS), basket swaps, and CFDs, and has already been validated by large institutional synthetic prime brokerage clients.

To assist with regulatory demands, the solution features embedded P&L attribution that automates Volcker Rule reporting. By providing full VO2 to VO11 decomposition, the system removes the need for manual overlays and streamlines compliance. This modular approach ensures that regardless of their role in the investment lifecycle, users can manage complex swap portfolios with greater accuracy and fewer reconciliation breaks.

CME Group to Launch Avalanche and Sui Futures

CME Group is expanding its cryptocurrency product suite with the introduction of Avalanche (AVAX) and Sui (SUI) futures. Scheduled for launch on 4^th May subject to regulatory approval, these new contracts aim to provide market participants with increased flexibility and capital efficiency. The offering includes both standard and micro-sized contracts to cater to a broad range of investors, with AVAX units set at 5,000 and 500 tokens, and SUI units at 50,000 and 5,000 tokens respectively.

The expansion comes amid significant growth in CME Group’s digital asset markets, which saw March average daily volumes rise by 19% year-on-year, reaching approximately $8 billion in daily notional value. Industry leaders from Volatility Shares and Plus500US have welcomed the move, noting that it addresses the rising institutional demand for regulated, sound products in the high-growth crypto sector.

These new contracts join a growing list of recently added derivatives, including Cardano, Chainlink, and Stellar. Furthermore, CME Group has confirmed that starting 29 May, its cryptocurrency futures and options will transition to 24/7 trading. This shift is designed to enhance market accessibility and allow global customers to manage risk more effectively across evolving digital asset markets.

Bloomberg Expands MAC3 Risk Models for Enhanced Portfolio and Risk Forecasting Across Public and Private Investments

Bloomberg has expanded its MAC3 multi-asset risk models to cover private markets, extending the platform’s portfolio and risk forecasting capabilities beyond traditional public asset classes into private equity, private credit, real estate, infrastructure, hedge funds and liquid alternatives. The update reflects growing demand among institutional investors for more consistent measurement of risk across portfolios spanning both public and private investments. Bloomberg presents the expansion as a way to bring those exposures into a broader portfolio risk framework.

“Institutional investors are increasingly allocating across both public and private markets, yet risk is often measured in silos,” said Jose Menchero, Head of Portfolio Analytics Research at Bloomberg. “With these new models, MAC3 delivers a consistent, cross-asset factor framework that enables Bloomberg clients to understand and manage risk seamlessly across their entire portfolio in an increasingly complex investment landscape.”

Bloomberg MAC3 is a multi-asset class risk factor model that combines quantitative research techniques with Bloomberg security data to provide institutional investors with a unified view of risk across the portfolio. The platform currently includes more than 3,000 individual risk factors and supports risk forecasting, risk attribution, performance attribution, stress testing and optimization. The model also offers six time horizons, ranging from a responsive daily model to a stable long-term model, giving firms flexibility to align risk forecasts with different investment decision-making processes.

The new private markets capability adds MAC3 models for private asset funds, hedge funds and liquid alternative funds, allowing investors to forecast and decompose risk more consistently across public and private markets and support a total portfolio view across asset types. Bloomberg says the private fund model is constructed using dedicated private-asset factors and data on approximately 50,000 private funds covering private equity, private credit, real estate and infrastructure strategies, alongside hedge funds and liquid alternatives.

Across the alternatives fund suite, the models capture exposures across strategies, regions, sectors, styles and key macro sensitivities including rates, commodities, volatility and FX. Bloomberg says this can help investors identify shared risk drivers across managers and strategies, supporting portfolio construction, risk budgeting and governance at total portfolio level. Bloomberg’s MAC3 risk models are available to Terminal subscribers, who can use them to explore portfolio risk across public and private assets. Bloomberg PORT Enterprise customers can also license the underlying risk data, including risk factor exposures, volatilities, correlations and historical returns, with programmatic access available via API.

More broadly, Bloomberg positions MAC3 and PORT Enterprise as part of its wider buyside solutions suite, spanning research management, order and execution management, portfolio and risk analytics, trade compliance and operations. In that sense, the private markets expansion extends Bloomberg’s effort to support cross-asset investment workflows through a common data and analytics foundation.

Trading Technologies Launches Automated Support for EEX Gas Spot Contracts

Trading Technologies International, Inc. (TT) has announced full support for European Energy Exchange (EEX) Gas Spot contracts through its capital markets technology platform. The new offering includes a comprehensive suite of trade execution tools and a bespoke auto-matching capability, a first for these specific contracts. Currently available for testing and simulation, the connectivity aims to streamline gas storage and trading operations by removing the necessity for manual order submission and trade aggregation.

The solution provides a trading experience comparable to listed derivatives, allowing institutional and commercial energy traders to manage gas spot and futures markets on a single platform. The integration of TT’s APIs and automated tools, including the Autospreader and execution algorithms, allows market participants to automate various trading tasks and streamline their operations. This launch follows two years of expanded growth for TT within the physical spot and over-the-counter energy sectors.

This development addresses high demand among energy traders for automated solutions in the EEX Gas Spot market. Developed with input from major industry participants, the platform leverages TT’s three decades of experience in institutional trading technology.

Abanca Portugal Implements Murex MX.3 Platform for Capital Markets

Abanca Portugal has successfully deployed MX.3, the fully integrated front-to-back-to-risk platform provided by Murex. This implementation follows the bank’s recent acquisition of EuroBic (formerly Banco BIC) and marks a significant step in the firm’s strategic expansion across the Iberian region. The transition to a unified infrastructure allows the institution to replace fragmented legacy systems with a modern, scalable solution for its capital markets operations.

The MX.3 platform enables Abanca Portugal to manage the entire trade life cycle within a single system. Its capabilities cover pricing, trading, middle-office workflows, and back-office processing, alongside collateral management and market and credit risk assessment. By consolidating these functions, the bank aims to improve operational efficiency, strengthen internal risk controls, and reduce the time required to bring new products to market across various asset classes.

Murex has highlighted that this go-live reinforces its presence in the Portuguese market. For Abanca, the platform serves as a technological cornerstone designed to support long-term growth and regulatory compliance. The collaboration ensures that the bank’s Portuguese operations are now equipped with the same technology used to elevate risk and operational performance throughout the wider Abanca Corporación Bancaria group.

FIX Trading Community Urges Regulatory Alignment in Response to FCA Consultations

The FIX Trading Community has called for significant changes to UK financial regulation in its formal response to FCA consultations on the UK consolidated tape and transaction reporting. Executive Director Jim Kaye emphasised that harmonising UK reporting rules more closely with EU standards would reduce complexity, lower the reporting burden, and improve the quality of market data. By addressing current concerns with post-trade transparency, the association aims to boost investor confidence in UK-based liquidity.

Regarding the 2027 equities consolidated tape, FIX recommends a single provider to ensure a “single source of truth.” Key proposals include aligning off-venue transparency exemptions with off-book exchange trades, removing duplicative reporting for trades already captured by EU Approved Publication Arrangements, and introducing disclosures for trade execution methodology. The association also seeks clearer regulatory guidelines for order chains and cross-border transactions to eliminate ambiguity in reporting responsibilities.

On transaction reporting, FIX advocates for a pragmatic approach to data sourcing, including the use of Legal Entity Identifiers for trusts and the FCA’s FIRDS as a primary data source. The response suggests removing specific RTS 22 fields while preserving essential transparency data. However, the association cautioned that proposed changes to data points, such as DEA indicators, may require significant system upgrades for firms. Overall, the recommendations focus on simplifying logic and maintaining data quality to support market integrity.

LSEG and Dell Technologies Announce Multi-Year Private Cloud Collaboration

LSEG has entered into a multi-year agreement with Dell Technologies to develop a new private cloud platform and optimise its existing on-premises infrastructure. This initiative is designed to bolster the resilience and performance of various Data & Analytics and Markets platforms that function outside of LSEG’s current public cloud environments.

As part of this collaboration, Dell will assist in the design and implementation of a secure, high-performance infrastructure by integrating its servers, storage, and automation software. This unified system aligns with LSEG’s broader multi-cloud strategy, serving as a complement to its established public cloud partnerships.

The project aims to provide the financial markets with enhanced operational flexibility and continuous availability. By leveraging Dell’s automation capabilities, LSEG intends to maintain full control over its environment while meeting the stringent security and regulatory requirements essential for global market infrastructure.

Avelacom Expands Latin American Reach with Direct Connection to nuam Exchange Infrastructure

Avelacom, the global provider of low-latency network solutions, has expanded its presence in Latin America by establishing a direct connection to nuam, the holding company integrating the stock exchanges of Chile, Colombia, and Peru. The company has deployed a new physical point of presence (PoP) at the Equinix ST1 data centre in Santiago, Chile. This infrastructure allows institutional clients to access real-time market data and order routing through ultra-low latency connectivity, supporting both individual and unified access across all three nuam markets.

The expansion builds on Avelacom’s existing regional footprint, which includes support for the Brazilian Exchange (B3) since 2020 and a partnership with Argentina’s BYMA. By linking Chile, Colombia, and Peru to its established networks in Brazil and Argentina, Avelacom has created a comprehensive infrastructure layer. This connectivity enables efficient cross-market trading and arbitrage strategies between Latin American markets and major global financial hubs in North America, Europe, and Asia.

This development reflects a shift toward more integrated, cross-border trading strategies within the region. By providing predictable performance and high-speed access, the infrastructure is specifically designed for latency-sensitive operations, such as algorithmic trading and market making, ensuring that global investors can operate with the reliability and speed required for modern financial environments.

SEC Approves Cost-Saving Measures for the Consolidated Audit Trail

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved an amendment to the National Market System Plan to implement various cost-saving measures for the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT). This decision includes exemptive relief from specific requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, aiming to reduce the financial burden of the CAT while maintaining its core regulatory functions. The amendment builds upon previous efforts from 2025 to streamline the system’s budget and operational efficiency.

Key changes under the new amendment include the deletion of CAT data older than three years, the relaxation of certain data processing deadlines, and the implementation of a spending cap for future modifications. Furthermore, the plan participants will cease creating interim lifecycle linkages unless requested and will stop reporting rejected messages. These technical adjustments are designed to simplify the infrastructure and reduce the volume of data managed by the system.

The SEC estimates that these measures will result in annual cost savings of between $50 million and $70 million compared to the 2025 CAT budget. When measured against the savings from the 2025 exemptive relief, the new amendment is expected to provide an additional $19.4 million to $24.1 million in incremental reductions. SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins noted that while this represents significant progress, a comprehensive review of the CAT’s long-term sustainability remains ongoing.

SmartTrade Launches Agentic Copilot with MCP-Enabled Sovereign AI Architecture

SmartTrade Technologies has launched smartTrade Agentic Copilot (STAC), a significant upgrade to its AI-enabled trading and payments ecosystem. The new system introduces an MCP-enabled Sovereign AI architecture that allows banks to deploy advanced agentic AI technology whilst maintaining strict security, compliance and latency requirements. Built on three core principles: full client segregation; guaranteed data privacy with zero leakage to public models; and open-standard Model Context Protocol governance, the system ensures each AI stack operates within a secure, private perimeter unique to each client.

The platform extends beyond the first-generation smartCopilot’s natural language analytics capabilities to encompass all solution modules and workflows. Key features include conversational interrogation of algorithmic decisions, human-approved machine learning recommendations for pricing optimisation, autonomous monitoring of business signals such as client churn risk and liquidity imbalances, and integrated access to smartTrade’s knowledge base for reference data management.

Developed by smartTrade Advanced Innovation Labs and hosted on MetaCloud, the system leverages Equinix infrastructure and AWS tools including Amazon Bedrock to deliver a production-ready, fully isolated foundation for financial institutions.