Showing all posts by Magnus Almqvist

Investor Protection Questions Your Firm Can’t Afford to Ignore

Posted by & filed under Capital Markets, Compliance, Risk & Reg Reform.

A version of this blog post was originally published on the Chartis RiskTech Forum.

It’s 2007. Imagine a small-cap company, such as a family-run farm, and imagine the farmer needs to renew a loan he has with his bank. The bank salesman thinks in terms of rolling over a swap, and proposes a structured product protecting his client from rising interest rates. The downside is the collateral flow if interest rates hike south. The farmer, not as concerned about falling interest rates as he is about borrowing money, looks to the upside of protection if interest rates go up and perhaps doesn’t understand that a loan could carry risk if interest rates go down. He does not ask, and it’s pretty obvious he does not fully understand the product he is buying. But he trusts his banker. From the farmer’s viewpoint, the bank is a trusted institution with the best interests of its clients at heart.

For a Competitive Advantage, Firms Require Integrated Compliance and Surveillance Systems

Posted by & filed under Capital Markets, Compliance, Global Markets, Risk & Reg Reform, Transparency.

In the wake of a long series of high-profile international failings in market conduct and outright fraud, the Hong Kong capital markets are today under increased scrutiny to ensure trading in the region remains fair, transparent and orderly. The key overarching objective in Hong Kong – and around the world – is to ensure investor trust remains high.

Clearly, there is now a business case for actors within capital markets to invest in efficient surveillance systems.

Brazilian Capital Markets: Evolution Demands Automated Compliance Solutions

Posted by & filed under Capital Markets, Compliance, Global Markets, Risk & Reg Reform.

A version of this blog post was originally published by Brasil Econômico.

The Brazilian capital markets are continuing their exciting evolution into a high-liquidity, low-entry trading and investment space.

To date, Brazil’s BM&FBOVESPA has not shared its in-house clearing services with rivals, preventing the emergence of a competitive exchange landscape similar to what we see in the U.S. and Europe. In addition, buying equities is still a novelty for most individual investors in the country.

With trading largely focused on large-cap companies and executed by institutional traders, the emphasis on active, automated and near real-time market abuse and insider trading detection is just emerging on the Brazilian scene.

Surveillance and Monitoring in the Looking Glass

Posted by & filed under Capital Markets, Compliance, Efficiency, Regulations, Risk & Reg Reform, Solutions: Compliance, Technology, Transparency.

This blog post originally appeared on Wall Street & Technology and Advanced Trading.

The ESMA guidelines on automated trading (2012/122) – dictating that anyone using and/or providing direct market access (DMA) needs automated controls and surveillance in place, coupled with the buy side’s increased interest in execution, has resulted in the buy side looking at more sophisticated, and in some cases automated, surveillance and monitoring solutions. Spot checks will not be adequate to meet regulator expectations in 2013.

3 Key Facets of Market Monitoring and Surveillance

Posted by & filed under Capital Markets, Compliance, Efficiency, Global Markets, Global Trading, Regulations, Risk & Reg Reform, Risk Management, Solutions: Compliance, Technology, Transparency.

We’re now experiencing a new technology shift…

It’s no wonder, then, that there is an increased focus from regulators on market monitoring and surveillance tools, and their use among market participants. These can roughly be divided into three areas: pre-trade checks, real-time monitoring, and post-trade surveillance.

MARKET SURVEILLANCE: UNDER PRESSURE AND RAISING THE STAKES

Posted by & filed under Capital Markets, Regulations, Solutions: Compliance, Solutions: Trading.

It is clear that the financial services industry now stands at a crossroads. It can choose to display corporate responsibility, fully engage in the legislative process and prudently manage compliance risk. The alternative – stonewalling regulator efforts and ignoring public criticism – will inevitably lead to a decline of not only the industry’s reputation but [...]

COMPLIANCE AND SURVEILLANCE: A COMPETITIVE EDGE IN EUROPE

Posted by & filed under Capital Markets, Global Markets, Regulations, Solutions: Compliance.

This blog post originally appeared on TabbFORUM. Spending on market surveillance solutions covering pan-European equities and derivatives markets is set to grow by at least eight percent in 2012, increasing from €105M in 2011 to €126M by 2014, according to recent research from TABB Group. Rebecca Healey, a senior analyst with TABB Group, sets the [...]

REGULATION AND COMPLIANCE: HERE TO STAY

Posted by & filed under Capital Markets, Events, Regulations, Solutions: Compliance, Solutions: Trading.

This blog post also appears on ATMonitor. The overarching objective of increasing market resilience and stability during periods of turmoil is shared by most, if not all, market actors. But that is where the agreements seem to end. How to achieve this, and how successful the regulators can hope to be is something that could [...]