Treasury & Capital Markets/TCM


Collateral management moves to centre stage

Collateral management as it is currently known will no longer exist within a few years as increased regulatory demands, rising levels of automation and growth of industry tools to optimise collateral transform the industry, according to a new survey and report by Sapient Global Markets.

Wall Street vendor launches FX smart order router

Lucera Financial Infrastructures has launched LumeFX, a technology platform that aims to help market participants increase their chances of finding a fill by using a smart order router to find FX liquidity.

Uniting entity data – the missed opportunity

In a post-2008 crisis landscape dominated by regulatory reform, compliance is only part of the issue. If firms can address how they manage multiple data sets and deploy a truly enterprise-wide model, they can capitalise on the real opportunity – achieving a competitive advantage.

Big Data and data management in capital markets

The capital markets industry continues to be amongst the top data driven industries. Electronic trading generates millions of market messages during a given day. With diminishing returns in high-frequency trading, focus has shifted from high-speed trading to looking for patterns in large volumes of market data for financial information and use cases.

Breaking bit

Bitcoin is the poster child of the cryptocurrency world, but it’s not alone. Michael Mainelli and Bob McDowell take a look at the real-world implications of the rise of AltCoins

Firms still struggling with SEFs for swaps trading says IPC survey

Trading firms are still struggling with the Dodd-Frank requirement for certain swaps to be traded on registered Swap Execution Facilities. According to a survey conducted by trading communications vendor IPC Systems, 60% of survey respondents said the industry as a whole was behind on meeting the deadlines on SEF trading, though only 39% said their […]

Bitcoin: the indestructible currency?

Despite the high profile media scandals surrounding the demise of the Mt Gox exchange and the Silk Road trading website, Bitcoin is evolving rapidly and will soon present a better, more stable and accountable alternative to the fiat currencies most of us trust and use every day, according to Mark Lamb, chief executive of London-based Bitcoin exchange Coinfloor.

EBS rolls out mobile FX app

FX trading service EBS has launched Watch EBS, a new mobile app that is designed to show users the global spot FX market in as close to real time as possible.

CFTC calls for international swaps data sharing deal

Global standards and approaches to regulation need to focus more on removing risk from the financial system rather than on compliance – but to do so international regulators will need to harmonise their efforts and embrace technology to a much greater degree.

ABN Amro launches global FIX trading push

ABN Amro Clearing has launched a new global trading platform for equities and futures which it says can route clients between Asia, Europe and the US using a single FIX connection.

FIX publishes guidelines for equities TCA

Industry standards organisation the FIX Trading Community has published its guidelines for transaction cost analysis in equities, which it says will help to create a better market by clearing up the competing methodologies and definitions that are currently in use.

Futures algos come of age

Long-only institutional investors are increasingly turning towards advanced futures trading strategies that have previously been the preserve of hedge funds and proprietary trading shops, according to a new report published by Tabb Group and Fidessa.

ISDA begins radical overhaul of ISDAFIX swap rates

The International Swaps and Derivatives Association has set a date for the first stage of sweeping changes to the ISDAFIX benchmark for annual swap rates, as part of a major global push to clean up rates and make them more accountable.

Capital markets on a firmer footing for 2014

Following the tumultuous change that came in the wake of the subprime crisis, capital markets firms have yet to regain a strong foothold but 2014 is showing increasing evidence of a shift to a higher gear.

Bitcoin boom prompts banking dilemma

Bitcoin is more traceable but less regulated, less expensive but more volatile, and more decentralised but less accountable, than a regular currency. Feeling confused? That’s not the half of it, according to Ernst & Young.

Caplin targets regional banks with FX platform as a service

Smaller regional banks may want a single-dealer FX platform; unfortunately, they’re not cheap, so UK technology company Caplin Systems is targeting regional banks that want a single-dealer FX platform without building it themselves.

Is it safe to trust the machines?

Bank algos may superficially appear to be well-tested – but the process may be open to any number of unexpected flaws, according to Steve Wilcockson, industry manager at big data specialist firm MathWorks.

Breaking dawn: the new reality for the buy-side

Enlightened buy-side firms are facing the challenges of high-touch regulation, fragmented liquidity and ongoing cost pressures head on and developing new business models and approaches at every stage of their workflow.

Exchange tie-ups “not worth the air miles they are written with”

The wisdom of emerging market exchange deals was a subject of controversy at the Mondo Visione exchange forum in London on Wednesday, with some participants lambasting such deals as “not worth the air miles they were written on”. Others had a more positive view.

T2S: time to seize the day

To prepare for the overhaul to settlement in Europe, financial institutions need to face up to T2S and work closely with their settlement service providers to ensure that they maximise the business benefits. It’s time to seize the opportunities presented by the T2S initiative.

Markit masses support for open messaging service

Financial information services company Markit is aiming to create the largest financial markets messaging community and remove barriers to cross-market communication through its open messaging initiative and supporting technology, Markit Collaboration Services.

Securities settlement: the guessing game

With implementation of Europe’s Target2-Securities beginning in 2015, financial institutions are still defining their strategies and business models. Some questions remain to be answered.

Stand by for light speed: high performance computing in financial services

Most debates about High Performance Computing in financial services quickly turn into conversations about high frequency trading, but there are many more reasons for getting the best of out of systems. Electronics and computer technology have always been pushing the boundaries of smaller, faster, cheaper (or at least, ‘more affordable’) and financial services firms have always been quick to take advantage of the latest advances.