SFTR Legislation Enters Official Journal of the EU

The seven delegated regulations and three implementing regulations comprising Securities Financing Transactions Regulation (SFTR) level II legislation were published in the Official Journal of the EU on March 22, 2019, making the regime legally binding.

According to the International Securities Lending Association, the reporting obligations deadlines will be as follows: April 11, 2020, reporting obligation for credit institutions and investment firms as well as all third country regulated firms; July 11, 2020, reporting obligation for CSDs and CCPs; October 11, 2020, reporting obligation for all other financial counterparties; January 11, 2021, reporting obligation for all non-financial counterparties.

CellTrust SL2 Reports 1900% YOY Revenue Growth

US-based CellTrust Corporation, which provides enterprise mobile communications compliance solutions, on March 25 announced a 1900% growth in revenue for 2018 over 2017. “As the RegTech market rapidly expands around the world, CellTrust is meeting the technology and geographic mobility demands,” explained Sean Moshir, CellTrust’s Chairman and CEO. “The number of financial enterprises and countries our SL2 mobile compliance solution is being used in has grown significantly, as have revenue and market share.”

“We are on track to release the next version of our flagship CellTrust SL2 application mid-2019,” added Sean Moshir, Chairman and CEO.

Thasos Releases 2019 REIT Performance Update

Thasos, an alternative data firm that transforms real-time locations from mobile phones into actionable insights, has published its 2019 REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) Performance Update, providing insights into the state of US retail REITs. Using a new methodology, Thasos Trade Area, the study reports activities such as foot traffic at US malls. Greg Skibiski, founder and CEO of Thasos, says: “The granularity of our data provides insights never before available and will be critical in uncovering opportunities for investors.” The report follows Bloomberg’s addition of Thasos data to its Enterprise Access Point solution.

Arab Bank Builds Mobile Trading App on Integral platform

Arab Bank (Switzerland) has deployed a trading app built on the Integral platform to expand its mobile trading services targeted at institutional and corporate customers. The bank aims to provide an end-to-end FX solution, having worked with Integral and its BankFX cloud-based platform since 2014 to provide a single dealer platform for clients.

FlexTrade Partners OpenFin for Desktop Interoperability

FlexTrade is the latest application vendor to partner OpenFin. The partnership will provide buy-side traders with interoperability and improved workflows between the FlexTrader execution management system, FlexNow cloud-based trading system and other OpenFin third-party applications. The company has also joined the Financial Desktop Connectivity and Collaboration Consortium, FDC3, that was founded by OpenFin in 2017 and is now operated within the independent governance framework of FINOS, which published Version 1.0 of the FDC3 standard designed to bring universal connectivity to the financial industry’s desktop applications in March 2019.

Numerix Adds ISDA SIMM Margin Module to Oneview Derivatives Pricing and Risk System

Numerix, a provider of risk technology, has added an initial margin module using ISDA’s Standard Initial Margin Model (ISDA SIMM) methodology to its derivatives pricing and risk system, Numerix Oneview. Built on cutting-edge derivative models and a high-performance compute engine, Oneview provides a holistic view of the entire derivatives business across the front and middle offices. As an officially licensed vendor of ISDA SIMM, Numerix will offer a fully-featured initial margin solution for institutions that trade non-cleared derivatives.

The final phases of uncleared margin rules come into effect from September 1, 2019.

Trading Technologies Strengthens APAC Presence though deal with Philip Futures

Trading Technologies (TT), a provider of trading software, infrastructure and data solutions, has entered into an agreement with Singapore-based brokerage Phillip Futures to distribute the TT futures trading platform. Under the agreement, Phillip Futures will provide direct access to TT’s suite of trading tools, including Autospreader, integrated trade surveillance, and charting and analytics. TT’s platform will deliver faster execution for click and algorithmic traders, while its SaaS delivery model will allow users to trade from desktops and mobile devices.

Virtu Financial and MarketAxess Partner to Offer ETF and Fixed Income Products

Virtu Financial and MarketAxess have partnered to provide access to global exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and fixed income securities. The partnership will provide disclosed and anonymous ETF trading via a request-for-quote (RFQ) protocol. Doug Cifu, Virtu F CEO says clients of MarketAxess will have access to Virtu’s leading RFQ hub and will benefit from the seamless integration of RFQ hub’s ETF trading analytics services. In addition, RFQ hub will have access to the MarketAxess fixed income platform.

KRM22 Deploys Irisium Market Surveillance App on OpenFin OS

KRM22 has deployed its market surveillance desktop application Irisium on the OpenFin OS, making it the first compliance vendor to run on the operating system, which supports application interoperability. Irisium provides analytics tools to help financial services firms identify and manage potential risks including market abuse, fraud and operational issues. Using the app in the OpenFin environment will give clients access to an integrated desktop, enhanced user experience, and improved workflows to meet their market surveillance obligations.

Saxo Bank and Brown Advisory Cooperate to Offer Ethical Stocks to SaxoSelect Clients

Saxo Bank, a fintech focused on multi-asset trading and investment, and Brown Advisory, a global investment manager with a history in sustainable investing, have cooperated to add a digital investment portfolio, Ethical Selection, to the SaxoSelect universe. The portfolio offers a cost-effective way to invest in a sustainable, all-cap, 30-40 stock portfolio comprising US listed companies. Brown Advisory’s research goes beyond negative screening and evaluates every company’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) attributes to maintain a focus on companies that use sustainability drivers to add value to shareholders.