Forefront Fintech Digest Week in Review: April 22 – 26
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Broker News
Jane Street Loses Bid for Restraining Order Against Millennium Management
Financial Times | Will Schmitt
A judge in Manhattan on Friday declined to issue a temporary restraining order against Millennium Management after Jane Street demanded the hedge fund stop using a secretive international options scheme that the high-speed trading firm counts as one of its most lucrative strategies. US district judge Paul Engelmayer said Jane Street had not demonstrated irreparable harm since two of its former employees, Douglas Schadewald and Daniel Spottiswood, defected in February to Millennium.
BMO Capital Markets Co-Head of Electronic Trading Departs
The TRADE News | Annabel Smith
BMO Capital Markets managing director and co-head of electronic trading has left the bank, The TRADE can reveal. Wald is departing after four years in his most recent role, according to an update on his social media. “After 10 years as co-founder of Clearpool and MD at BMO, I have decided to take some time away from electronic trading. It has been an amazing journey,” said Wald in an update. “I have had the pleasure of working alongside some of the best and brightest people in the industry.”
Turning a Vault Into a Bomb Shelter: How Citigroup Has Kept Its Bank Running Inside Ukraine
Wall Street Journal | David Benoit
A piece of shrapnel from a Russian missile hangs on the wall of Citigroup banker Alexander McWhorter’s office in Kyiv. He got it from a client whose factory was struck early in the war, a token of their long relationship and their plans to rebuild. Two years into the Ukrainian war, Citigroup is the only U.S. bank around, navigating a sometimes treacherous landscape. McWhorter, the bank’s top executive in the country, juggles keeping Citi’s staff alive with the role of helping giant companies such as McDonald’s and Unilever stay open.
Exchange, ATS & Clearing News
New York Stock Exchange Tests Views on Round-The-Clock Trading
Financial Times | Jennifer Hughes
The New York Stock Exchange is polling market participants on the merits of trading stocks around the clock as regulators scrutinise an application for the first 24/7 bourse. The survey by the NYSE, part of Intercontinental Exchange, was put out by its data analytics team rather than its management, but it highlights the growing interest in trading the likes of Nvidia or Apple overnight between 8pm and 4am Eastern time. The issue has become a hot topic in recent years, prompted in part by the 24/7 operation of cryptocurrency trading and the rise in retail investor activity first spurred by coronavirus pandemic lockdowns.
Chris Edmonds Takes the Reins at ICE Fixed Income and Data Services
WatersTechnology | Nyela Graham
Chris Edmonds and Jeffrey Sprecher first met in the late ‘90s. Sprecher’s Intercontinental Exchange, or ICE, was in its infancy, aiming to provide a network for over-the-counter energy commodity trading. Edmonds was working his way up the corporate ladder in the energy trading business, where he had started in 1997 as an OTC natural gas broker at ICAP. In essence, the two were competitors. But today, Edmonds says he was impressed with ICE’s ability to see the market not just in terms of dollar signs and math problems, but technology and how it would shape the future.
Nasdaq Reshuffles Tech Divisions Post-Adenza
WatersTechnology | Nyela Graham
The story of capital markets is a story of evolution. Burgeoning asset classes, emerging technologies, and new regulatory requirements mean that the financial institutions of the 21st century are not the same as those of the previous one. Over the past six years, exchange operator Nasdaq has purchased six tech outfits, including the anti-money laundering and fraud platform Verafin, alternative data provider Quandl, and eVestment, a buy-side analytics provider.
Cboe Global Plans to Wind Down Digital Asset Trading Platform
Bloomberg News | Dave Liedtka
Cboe Global Markets Inc., the first mainstream exchange to let people buy and sell Bitcoin futures, is closing down its spot digital asset trading platform and folding its crypto operations into existing derivatives and clearing business lines. The changes are being made as part of a strategic review, taking into consideration the lack of regulatory clarity in the digital asset market, Cboe said in a statement Thursday. In December 2017, Cboe became the first major U.S. exchange to offer an investment product pegged to the wildly fluctuating cryptocurrency.
Vendor News
FactSet Enhances Portfolio Management Solutions with PM Hub
Tradders Magazine | Staff
FactSet, a global financial digital platform and enterprise solutions provider, today announced a major enhancement to its portfolio management solutions with PM Hub. PM Hub empowers institutional portfolio managers with an innovative solution that streamlines portfolio management and seamlessly integrates with research and trading workflows.
SimCorp Introduces New Flagship Platform SimCorp One
Traders Magazine | Staff
SimCorp today announced the introduction of its new flagship integrated platform solution for the global buy-side, SimCorp One. SimCorp One includes Dimension, Axioma, Client Communications, Data Management Services, Business Services as well as SimCorp’s ecosystem of third-party solutions — all connected to the industry-leading Investment Book Of Records (IBOR).
Philip Slavin Steps Down at Taskize
Global Trading | Lucy Carter
Philip Slavin, co-founder of Taskize, has stepped down as CEO of the company. He has held the role for two years. James Pike, head of business development, is serving as interim CEO until a permanent successor is appointed. Antonio Queiroz, chief digital officer of Euroclear and chairman of Taskize, said: “I would like to sincerely thank Philip for both his energy and leadership. He has worked tirelessly to cement Taskize’s position as Euroclear’s preferred client service channel.”
Buy-Side News
Hedge Fund Brevan Howard Cuts 10% of Staff Amid Poor Performance
Financial Times | Costas Mourselas
Macro hedge fund Brevan Howard is cutting about a hundred jobs amid a period of poor performance at the firm. Brevan, which manages about $35bn in assets, is shedding just under 10 per cent of its 1,100-person workforce, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. About 80 per cent of the cuts are in middle- and back-office roles, while most of the remaining 20 per cent are in systematic trading, which uses computer and data to make winning bets. The firm axed about 10 per cent of its traders last month as part of a semi-annual performance review, the person added.
Schroders CEO to Retire Next Year
Markets Media | Staff
Schroders plc announces that after a decade on the Board, Peter Harrison has signalled his intention to retire as Group Chief Executive (CEO) next year. A thorough and extensive search for his successor will now be launched. The Board anticipates an orderly transition during 2025 and Peter will remain as a director of the Company throughout this period. Elizabeth Corley, Chair of Schroders plc, said: “The Board recognises that in Peter, Schroders has had an outstanding CEO over the past eight years."
Recommended by LinkedIn
Move Aside, Big Banks: Giant Funds Now Rule Wall Street
Wall Street Journal | Matt Wirz
Giant investment companies are taking over the financial system. Top firms now control sums rivaling the economies of many large countries. They are pushing into new business areas, blurring the lines that define who does what on Wall Street and nudging once-dominant banks toward the sidelines. Today, traditional and alternative asset managers control twice as many assets as U.S. banks, giving them increasing control over the purse strings of the U.S. economy.
Non-Compete Ban Is 'Game Changer' for Hedge Funds
Financial News | Bilal Jafar
The Federal Trade Commission’s ban on non-competes will be a “game changer” for hedge funds, recruiters say, as the sector prepares for greater competition. The move will allow portfolio managers and quantitative researchers to switch firms more easily, but is a blow to large hedge funds paying law firms big bucks to enforce strict non-compete clauses, according to headhunters.
M&A / Investment News
Citi-Backed Talos Acquires Crypto Risk Management Platform Cloudwall
The Block | Yogita Khatri
Talos, a crypto trading software provider backed by heavyweights including Citibank and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), has fully acquired Cloudwall, a crypto risk management platform. The size of the deal wasn't disclosed, but Talos said Cloudwall will improve its existing crypto portfolio management system to help its institutional clients manage risks and optimize their portfolios.
HSBC Leads Funding in HQLAᵡ DLT Platform
Markets Media | Staff
HQLAᵡ has successfully closed a Series C strategic investment round led by HSBC, with contribution from existing shareholders including BNP Paribas, BNY Mellon, Citigroup, Deutsche Börse Group, Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan. The funding will fuel the continued development and expansion of the HQLAX Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) platform and support the growth of its client footprint.
Lutnick Lands Wall Street Giants for His Future Fight With CME
Bloomberg News | Katherine Doherty & Sridhar Natarajan
Howard Lutnick is lining up some of Wall Street’s biggest power players for a fresh challenge to the behemoth of futures trading and interest-rate derivatives, CME Group Inc. The chief executive officer of Cantor Fitzgerald got backing from Bank of America Corp., Barclays Plc, Citadel Securities, Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Jump Trading as he prepares to launch his new futures exchange.
Regulatory & Legal News
FICC Takes Flak Over Treasury Clearing Proposal
Risk.net | Paulina Pielichata
A proposal to overhaul the way investors access the services of the sole central counterparty for US Treasuries will do little to increase clearing capacity as dealers will still be allowed to bundle their clearing and execution services, say market participants. “We and a lot of other people were pushing to decouple access to clearing and executing counterparty as part of this change. They did not do that,” says a regulatory executive at a market-making firm.
Regulators Restart Bid to Curb Bonus Pay on Wall Street
Wall Street Journal | Andrew Ackerman
Long-dormant efforts to restrict Wall Street pay have returned to the agenda as regulators make another push to address unfinished business from a 2010 financial overhaul. Banking regulators are planning to revive a proposal that would require big banks to defer compensation for executives and take back more of their bonuses if losses pile up, according to people familiar with the matter. Officials from the six agencies involved in developing the restrictions, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency—are pushing to propose the measure in the coming days, the people said.
Two SEC Lawyers Resign After Agency Censured for Abuse of Power in Crypto Case
Bloomberg News | Austin Weinstein
Two Securities and Exchange Commission lawyers resigned after a federal judge sanctioned and sharply rebuked the Wall Street regulator for “gross abuse” of power in a crypto case. Michael Welsh and Joseph Watkins stepped down this month after an SEC official told them that they would be terminated if they stayed, according to people familiar with the matter. The pair were lead attorneys on a case against Digital Licensing Inc., a crypto platform known as DEBT Box.
Crypto & Digital Asset News
Crypto’s Comeback on Full Display at Rain-Soaked Dubai Gathering
Bloomberg News | Hannah Miller
It was a rough start for the Dubai edition of the Token2049 crypto conference as massive flooding from heavy rainfall earlier this week caused attendees’ flights to be delayed, diverted or outright canceled. Many arrivals endured hours-long bus rides from the airport, missing luggage and hotels with power outages. But once the event began Thursday, any sign of trouble evaporated. Instead, a party-like atmosphere overtook the beach resort where the event took place as attendees celebrated rising crypto prices and declared a new bull market for the industry.
Crossover Markets Reports $3.15 Billion in Q1 Volumes
Press Release | N/A
Crossover Markets Group, Inc., a digital asset technology firm focused on meeting the unique liquidity requirements of institutions, today announced several key performance indicators from Q1 trading on its flagship digital assets platform CROSSx. Crossover’s Q1 2024 Highlights: CROSSx executed $3,153,752,406 in notional trading volume. CROSSx executed 415,450 trades. CROSSx processed over 141 billion quotes.
Hong Kong Crypto ETF Launches Will Test Ambition to Be Digital-Asset Hub
Bloomberg News | Suvashree Ghosh & Sarah Zheng
Hong Kong is set to follow in the footsteps of the US by listing a batch of cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds, providing a window on whether the city is making progress on fashioning a hub for digital assets. Some of China’s top asset managers are in the final leg of preparations for the spot-Bitcoin and Ether ETFs to begin trading by the end of April. The launches will likely invite comparison with a slew of three-month-old US Bitcoin funds that took Wall Street by storm, garnering $56 billion in assets to date.
Binance Unveils Spot Copy Trading Feature in Automated Strategy Tools Expansion
The Block | James Hunt
Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, is set to roll out a new spot copy trading tool — enabling users to follow and automatically execute the same trades as some of the platform’s top traders. “At Binance, we’re always listening to our users and incorporating their feedback into our products. Our users give us great ideas because, very often, they know what works best for them,” Binance CTO Rohit Wad said in a statement shared with The Block.