Top Headlines
Who Are the Potential Buyers of Refinitiv? – Profit & Loss
In October 2018 a consortium, led by the private equity firm Blackstone, concluded a deal to acquire 55% of the equity in Thomson Reuters Financial & Risk business, now rebranded as Refinitiv. No one in the market is under the illusion that Blackstone intends to maintain its ownership of Refinitiv, least of all the staff who work there.
Flash Crash or the New Norm? Deciphering January 3 – Profit & Loss
The foreign exchange industry got an early reminder of risk when on the second full day of trading this year the market saw another flash event. What, if anything, does this mean for FX market liquidity and volatility in the year ahead though?
One in Three Asset Management Firms Could Disappear, Says Invesco chief – Financial Times
A third of the asset management industry could disappear over the next five years, as mounting fee pressures and rising costs spur more closures and consolidation, according to Invesco’s chief executive.
Customer Retention in the Age of Electronic Trading – Greenwich Associates
Greenwich Associates finds that dealer-client relationships are becoming significantly less stable over time and that the relative stability advantage held by the bulge-bracket firms is eroding. This is due to the increasingly sophisticated ways in which the buy side is scrutinizing their executions, using tools originally designed to prove best execution and now deploying them for trading optimization.
As Fintechs Move from Incubation to Maturity, Collaboration Is Key to Innovation – Tabb Forum
While big banks may not have seen fintech startups as a threat years ago, technological advances and industry shifts have inspired a more active and forward-thinking approach to engagement.
Compression Reduces Central Clearing Costs – Markets Media
Compression has likely contributed to reducing capital requirements for members’ default fund contributions at central counterparties in the past two years, which has helped lower the overall cost of clearing.
Doing More with Less in a Post-Mifid II Environment – FX Week (subscription)
With the bulk of regulatory reporting behind them, banks are finding they are once again able to focus on their core business and what sets them apart from their competitors. But, with disappointing 2018 revenues, many of them will be looking to innovate and roll out new offerings that will also help them to reduce costs.
Regulatory News
UK Lawmakers Vote Against Leaving EU Without a Deal – The Wall Street Journal (subscription)
The surprise decision, coming a day after Parliament resoundingly rejected for a second time the deal the prime minister negotiated with the EU laying out conditions for the country’s orderly separation from its biggest trading partner, underlined that Mrs May has largely lost her grip on the Brexit process.
EU Asserts Power Over City’s Euro Clearing Role – Financial Times
The EU has given itself powers to press one of the City of London’s flagship businesses – clearinghouses – to move to the bloc as part of efforts to ensure financial stability after Brexit.
CFTC Preps for the Future of a Digital Market – Markets Media
The remarks of CFTC Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo presented during the 44th Annual International Futures Industry Conference.
Trump Shows Openness on Xi Summit Terms to Soothe China Concerns – Bloomberg
President Donald Trump acknowledged concerns in Beijing about the possibility of him walking away from a trade deal, offering to push back a summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping until a final deal is reached.
Cboe, Nasdaq and NYSE have all nabbed the US regulator’s attention in recent months for their market data and exchange fees. Ed Tilly thinks a growing segment of the market structure – dark pools – deserve the SEC’s time, too.
First Quarter IBOR Update: Time to Evaluate Fallback Plans – Tabb Group
During the first quarter of 2019, there was some global progress on the replacement of various interbank offered rates and a few developments to report, but progress isn’t nearly fast enough. TABB Group provides a status update as well as a to-do list, which includes evaluating fallback plans.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Monetary Authority of Singapore have announced the mutual recognition of certain derivatives trading venues in the United States and Singapore.
Crypto News
Billionaire Alan Howard Makes a Bet on Cryptocurrencies – Bloomberg
Hedge fund billionaire Alan Howard made sizable personal investments in cryptocurrencies last year and plans to put more of his own money into digital assets and the blockchain technology behind them.
Basel Committee Highlights Crypto Concerns – Profit & Loss
The Basel Committee, established under the auspices of the Bank for International Settlements, has issued a statement highlighting that “the continued growth of crypto-asset trading platforms and new financial products related to crypto-assets has the potential to raise financial stability concerns and increase risks faced by banks”.
DTCC Outlines Post-Trade Guidelines for Tokenised Securities – The Trade Crypto
DTCC has published guiding principles for the post-trade processing of tokenised securities, as it looks to promote safety and confidence around the new asset class.
Bcause to Adopt Nasdaq Technology – Profit & Loss
Bcause, which operates a digital mining facility and a cryptoasset spot market, derivatives exchange and clearing house, has announced that its markets will operate on Nasdaq’s matching engine, clearing and market surveillance technology.
SJMX, SJMBT Announce Strategic Partnerships – Profit & Loss
The San Juan Mercantile Exchange (SJMX) and its affiliate, the San Juan Mercantile Bank & Trust International (SJMBT), have partnered with CQG, Elysium Technology Group and Mercury Digital Assets. The three strategic partnerships are aimed at paving the way for the launch of a new digital asset exchange.
Company News
Exchange Chiefs Predict Mixed 2019 for Trading – Global Investor (subscription)
2019 would have to be exceptional in terms of trading volume to hit volumes seen in 2018, exchange leaders say.
Citi Kickstarts Hiring Drive for its New Singapore ‘Hub’ – eFinancialCareers
Citi will take on more technologists to work on a new electronic currency trading and pricing hub that it is launching in Singapore, says its global FX trading boss.
There were several resignations from Bank of America’s London macro trading business last week.
FIA Announces Diversity Initiative – FIA
The board of directors at FIA, the global trade organization for the futures, options and centrally cleared derivatives markets, has announced a new initiative to encourage and support diversity in the futures industry.
Regis-TR Opens UK Trade Repository, Plans Staff Hires – Global Investor (subscription)
Brexit and SFTR are top of mind for the Clearstream-owned trade data warehouse.
Stater Joins oneZero’s Ecosystem – Profit & Loss
Stater Global Markets, the London-based prime-of-prime brokerage, has joined oneZero’s EcoSystem network.
Market Savvy
Sterling Rally Falters Before Parliament’s Brexit Delay Vote – Reuters
Sterling fell from a nine-month high against the dollar on Thursday as traders braced for this week’s third parliamentary Brexit vote, this time on whether to delay Britain’s March 29 deadline for exiting the European Union.
Dollar Benefits as Sterling Swings Wildly on Brexit Votes – Reuters
The dollar gained on Thursday as the pound fell after a tense vote on Brexit that failed to deliver much clarity on where Britain’s relationship with the European Union was headed.