AkinovA Deploys Trading Platform on OpenFin

AkinovA, an electronic marketplace for the transfer and trading of re/insurance risk, has selected OpenFin for the deployment of its trading platform. The integration with OpenFin allows users to access the AkinovA marketplace with an easy-to-use interface that looks and feels like a native app experience while enabling instant deployment and upgrades. AkinovA is the first insurtech company running on OpenFin.

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.

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.

Sensiple Partners TNS to Bring MiFID II Compliance Solution to Frankfurt

Capital markets specialist Sensiple is bringing its regtech product SETREGA for MiFID II, SFTR and EMIR compliance and reporting to the FR2 data centre in Frankfurt as part of an agreement with Transaction Network Services (TNS). Sensiple will use TNS’s managed hosting, colocation and connectivity service to give market participants fast, secure and efficient access to its regulatory data processing and reporting systems. Sensiple on TNS’s Software-as-a-Service solution replaces Sensiple’s existing client-hosted model.

US Congress Approves Major Study into MiFID II Research

The US House of Representatives has passed a bipartisan bill requiring the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to study the provision of investment research for small issuers. It will require the SEC to explore a broad range of issues including among others the demand for research by institutional and retail investors; the availability of research; the volume of research over time; current competition in the research market; the costs of research; potential conflicts of interest in the production and distribution process; and the impact of different payment mechanisms. The bill has now been passed to the Senate for approval.

Melissa Launches Mobile KYC App

Identity verification specialist Melissa has launched Melissa KYC, a mobile-based unified compliance toolset providing end-to-end identity verification including ID card and document authentication, biometrics, and liveness confirmation. The app claims to capture identity documentation in under three minutes using facial recognition technology, while its verification feature uses real-time, multi-sourced data to authenticate each submission.