Top Headlines
trueEX to Shut Swaps Trading Platform – Risk.net (subscription)
Interest rate swaps trading platform trueEX will close in less than a fortnight, reinventing itself as a cryptocurrency derivatives exchange. The platform’s exit leaves the swaps market in the hands of incumbents: broker-run platforms continue to dominate interdealer trading of interest rate swaps, while dealer-to-client trading will take place on Bloomberg and Tradeweb.
CCP Margin Buffers Too Big, Research Suggests – Risk.net (subscription)
Regulatory minimums that underpin the way clearing houses set initial margin requirements – designed to prevent the sudden ramping up of margins when prices collapse, making a crisis worse – may be needlessly conservative, constraining liquidity by tying up collateral and potentially discouraging market participants from clearing, two senior CCP risk experts have argued.
‘The Best Opportunity Since Lehman’: Rivals Eye Deutsche Bank Staff – Financial News (subscription)
As Germany’s biggest lender kicks off a huge restructuring that will end with a substantially downsized corporate and investment bank, even workers in business lines not affected are looking for opportunities elsewhere, according to headhunters and rival executives. Deutsche Bank could face a battle to prevent the departures of key employees disillusioned by years of failed strategy rethinks, they say.
Regulatory News
CFTC Clarifies Initial Margin Expectations – FOW (subscription)
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has confirmed that participants not meeting the $50 initial margin threshold do not need to post documentation.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission have approved a joint proposal to align the minimum margin required on security futures with other similar financial products. The proposal would set the minimum margin requirement for security futures at 15 percent of the current market value of each security future.
Hong Kong Seeks European Equivalence for Hibor and Honia – Risk.net (subscription)
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is going the equivalence route to get approval for its two local interest rates from European benchmark regulators, but for the territory’s all-important renminbi fixings, no clear path has been charted yet.
Crypto News
PBoC Sounds Alarm over Facebook’s Libra – FX Week (subscription)
A senior official at the People’s Bank of China says Facebook’s Libra must be kept under the control of central banks. PBoC officials voiced worries that the new digital currency could have destabilising effects on the financial system and said the bank would step up its own efforts to create an e-currency.
Goldman Sachs Set to Go ‘Further Than Ever Before’ with New Digital Asset Project – The Block
Goldman Sachs has launched a new crypto business within its incubator. The operation, which is separate from its business that trades cryptocurrency derivatives, will explore new digital asset opportunities for the bank. Insiders say Goldman could be setting its sights on launching something akin to JPMCoin, rival JPMorgan’s digital asset aimed at simplifying international transactions between itself and its wholesale clients.
With Brexit Sapping the City, Paris Sets its Sights on Blockchain – Financial News (subscription)
The French asset management association has called for regulators to make it easier for people to trade digital assets through investment funds in a bid to “kick-start” Paris’s role as a financial centre.
Bitmain Crypto-Billionaire Launches New Startup as Bitcoin Rises – Bloomberg (subscription)
Bitmain Technologies co-founder Wu Jihan has marshaled a group of the mining giant’s former employees to launch a new cryptocurrency financial services startup, hoping to capitalize on Bitcoin’s resurgence. Called Matrixport, Wu’s latest endeavor is a one-stop platform for over-the-counter trading, lending and custody for digital assets, chief executive officer Ge Yuesheng said.
EU Central Bank Won’t Add Bitcoin to Reserves, Says It’s Not a Currency – CoinTelegraph
The European Central Bank doubled down on its dismissive stance on bitcoin on July 9, refusing to recognize it as currency in a Q&A session. “Bitcoin is not a currency, it rather is an asset and it is very volatile,” officials wrote quoting chief economist, Philip Lane.
Company News
CLS Volumes Consistent with June Uptick – Profit & Loss
The average daily volume of FX trades submitted to CLS was $1.88 trillion in June, up 16.1% from May, but down very slightly from the $1.899 trillion recorded in June 2018.
Deutsche Bank Credit Analysts Tell Clients: ‘We’re Still Here’ – Bloomberg (subscription)
Deutsche Bank will combine equity research and research sales into what it calls the Company Research and Advisory Group “to strengthen ongoing connectivity with institutional clients,” according to Jim Reid, the global head of fundamental credit strategy,
SGX Invests in Research Platform Smartkarma – The Trade
Singapore Exchange has made a strategic investment in research platform provider Smartkarma on the back of a growing trend towards self-dedicated and independent research.
Feng Joins JP Morgan – Profit & Loss
Henry Feng has joined JP Morgan as vice president, currencies and emerging markets trading, in Hong Kong.
Market Savvy
Markets Underestimate Risk of Sterling Brexit Volatility: BlackRock – Reuters
Currency markets are underestimating the chance of big Brexit-related swings in the value of sterling over the next 12 months, BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager, has warned.
Sterling Pinned Near Two-Year Lows Despite Upbeat Growth Data – Reuters
Sterling held near its lowest level for more than two years on Wednesday as better-than-expected readings on the British economy did little to lift the gloom.
Dollar Holds on to Gains as Investors Rein in Pricing for Big Rate Cuts – Reuters
The dollar neared a three-week high against a basket of major currencies on Wednesday as investors continued to unwind bets on deep US interest rate cuts, pushing Treasury yields higher.