Forefront Fintech Digest Week in Review: November 4 - November 8
Forefront Communications Group Inc.
Propelling fintechs and financial institutions with specialized marketing and communications.
Your free weekly roundup of everything happening in fintech and capital markets. Sign up here to receive our Forefront Fintech Digest in your email inbox every weekday at 9:00 am ET.
Broker News
Ken Griffin’s Money Machine: Market Maker Citadel Securities
Financial Times | Costas Mourselas, Jennifer Hughes, Joshua Franklin & Harriet Agnew?
In July, Ken Griffin paid a record $45mn for a near-immaculate 11-foot tall stegosaurus skeleton called “Apex” — a fitting purchase for a billionaire that many consider to be at the apex of finance.cIn a Sotheby’s press release announcing the sale, Griffin said: “Apex was born in America and is going to stay in America”. It was a heavy hint of Republican-supporting Griffin’s thinly-veiled political ambitions, which are being bankrolled by his estimated $43bn fortune. The two companies to which he owes that wealth have similarly gargantuan aspirations — but no such geographical sensitivities.
BNY Expands iFlow’s Fixed Income and Equities Insights
Traders Magazine | Staff
The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, a global financial services company, announced the expansion of its iFlow1 product offering, with more extensive fixed income and equity data analytics. iFlow provides a unique vantage point of insights into BNY’s more than $50 trillion in assets2 under custody and/or administration, revealing global asset allocation trends and market-moving reactions, to investment managers and asset owners.?
Hamza Hoummady Made Head of European Rates Trading at Barclays
The DESK | Dan Barnes
Barclays Investment Bank has named Hamza Hoummady as head of European rates trading, promoting him from head of EMEA non-linear rates trading, rates structuring and rates strats, a role he took on in 2022. In a statement the bank said, “Hamza will continue to work with macro sales, trading, research and investment banking to develop the best-in-class integrated solutions our clients need to navigate this dynamic market.”
JPMorgan CEO Dimon to Remain at Bank and Has No Plans to Join Trump Administration, Source Says
Reuters | Nupur Anand
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon will remain at the bank and has no plans to join Donald Trump's administration despite questions about whether he would take a senior government role after the U.S. presidential election, a source said. Dimon, 68, has been the subject of repeated speculation in recent weeks as a candidate for Treasury secretary by both Republicans and Democrats, but he said last month that his chances of taking an official post were "almost nil". Reuters was the first to report his intentions to stay at the helm.
CIBC Hires Mizuho’s Rob Cicchetti in US Capital-Markets Push
Bloomberg News | Christine Dobby
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce hired three bankers, including Mizuho Securities veteran Rob Cicchetti, to build out its US asset-backed securities business. Cicchetti, who’s based in New York and has 25 years of experience in sector, has joined the bank as managing director and head of US asset-backed securities origination, the bank said Friday. “Building out our US ABS trading and investing platform is a key strategic driver in our continued expansion of our US global markets franchise,” Brad Larson, managing director and head of global credit financing in the US, said in an internal announcement.
Exchange, ATS & Clearing News
As NYSE Moves Toward Overnight Trading, Can One ATS Keep Its Lead?
WatersTechnology | Emma Hilary Gould
In New York City, the stock exchanges may be the last businesses that don’t stay open all night. But after the New York Stock Exchange announced in October plans to extend its trading hours on its electronic exchange, NYSE Arca, that might change. The flow of market data will have to change, too. Until apparently recently, the late-night equities scene seemed like a difficult business for an exchange to break into.?
Lutnick “Very Happy” with FMX Futures Exchange Launch
Markets Media | Shanny Basar
BGC Group, the brokerage and financial technology firm, expects the growth trajectory and market share of its new futures trading g venue to exceed its experience with its FMX US Treasury business. The FMX Futures Exchange launched on 23 September 2024 with SOFR futures and five futures commission merchants (FCMs) – Goldman Sachs; JP Morgan, Marex, RBC, and Wells Fargo. Howard Lutnick, chairman and the chief executive of BGC Group, said on the third quarter results call on 31 October that the firm expects to connect an additional five to 10 of the largest FCMs for the launch of US Treasury futures in the first quarter of 2025.
Plato Partnership Proposes New Standards for Tackling Market Outages
The TRADE News | Wesley Bray
Not-for-profit member organisation Plato Partnership has announced new standards for managing cash equities market outages. The new standards have been developed by Plato member firms with discussions having taken place between European exchanges including Deutsche B?rse, Euronext, SIX Swiss Exchange and Nasdaq OMX.
CME Customers Criticise Futures Exchange After it Wins Approval to Also Act as Broker
Financial Times | Nikou Asgari & Jennifer Hughes
Customers of CME Group have strongly criticised the US futures exchange after it was given the green light to become one of their main competitors. Banks and small brokers have sharply criticised the Chicago group after it won approval last week to also act as a futures broker — blurring the traditional dividing line between operating an exchange and being a member of it.
LSE Mulls FTSE Index Rule Change to Draw Foreign Listings
Bloomberg News | Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro & Joe Easton
The London Stock Exchange Group PLC is having early discussions about a potential rule change to allow shares that trade in foreign currencies to join major UK indexes, according to people familiar with the matter, in what would be one of its boldest moves yet to attract listings. Under the potential rule change, companies with London-listed shares denominated in currencies other than the pound could be added to FTSE UK indices, said people familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the deliberations are private.
Vendor News
Broadridge Launches Digital Asset Information Platform
Markets Media | Staff
Broadridge Financial Solutions, announced the launch of Broadridge? ClearFi, a new suite of products to help financial intermediaries operating within the Digital Asset space to get out ahead of current and emerging disclosure regulations. ClearFi helps broker-dealers, exchanges, and wallet providers provide their clients and participants with useful on-chain and off-chain information about digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, stable coins, and DeFi innovations made available through their platforms.
AI Set to Overhaul Market Data Landscape by 2029, New Study Finds
WatersTechnology | Rebecca Natale
Burton-Taylor International Consulting has released a new report finding that generative AI will fundamentally change the market data industry, expecting that it may add nearly $2 billion to market data providers’ revenues by 2029. While consumers will still expect active market data partners that can understand and meet their clients’ workflows, the report noted that everything else—from infrastructure, to licensing, to analytics, to supplemental products, to delivery—stands to be re-shaped, thanks to advanced forms of AI and large language models.
Harnessing Artificial Intelligence on Future Trading Desks
The TRADE News | Annabel Smith
The future trading talent has a different educational background than what has been the norm for decades. Future traders will possess more technical skillsets and they will have quantitative and mathematical backgrounds. This shift has already taken place over the course of several years, and the trend will only continue for many years to come while the industry expands into the technological space.?The new talent is well versed in coding and mathematics. They know all products in depth from a theoretical point of view, and on top of this they have the ability to put their ideas into scripts and programs.
BofA Deploys Equities Tech Stack for e-FX
WatersTechnology | Cole Lipsky
As banks raced to invest in deploying advanced electronic trading offerings for foreign exchange, Bank of America was, by its own admission, lagging the competition. In single-dealer platform and spot FX algos, it was far from the top of the go-to liquidity providers. “We were very behind in e-trading,” acknowledges Carlos Fernandez-Aller, head of global FX and emerging markets macro at the bank. “When banks were developing their single-dealer platforms five to 10 years ago, we did not have the level of investment required.” But now the bank has scoped out a route to gain market share from top providers on the Street.
After Acquisitions, Exegy Looks to Consolidated Offering for Further Gains
WatersTechnology | Nyela Graham
Three years ago, hardware ticker plant appliance vendor Exegy made a strategic step forward. It bought Vela Trading Systems, with a plan to merge the assets of both companies under its own name. Exegy already had specialties in hardware and software, but bringing in Vela meant it could exert an even stronger grasp on the software side. And it didn’t stop there. The following year, it bought Enyx, a Paris-based provider of FPGA (field programmable gate arrays) trading solutions.
Buy-Side News
BlackRock’s Electronic Trading Head Daniel Mayston Departs
The TRADE News | Annabel Smith
BlackRock’s head of electronic trading and market structure for EMEA, Daniel Mayston, has left the asset management giant, The TRADE can reveal. A BlackRock spokesperson confirmed his departure. His next role is unconfirmed. The TRADE understands it is outside of trading. Mayston has been with BlackRock for almost two decades, originally joining in 2006 as a quantitative alpha and execution researcher. He took on the role of global head of trading research in 2013 before assuming his most recent and current role as electronic trading and market structure head for EMEA in 2016.
Repo Trading Becoming an Increasing Priority for the Buy-Side
The TRADE News | Claudia Preece
Repo is increasingly no longer just a bank topic anymore, said experts speaking at a closed Deutsche Boerse roundtable on Tuesday. The asset class is increasingly becoming a buy-side topic said experts as end clients are voluntarily joining the cleared repo environment, viewing it as a neat instrument to facilitate trading. Erik Müller, chief executive of Eurex Clearing described repo as “the oil in the wheels of financial markets,” and a key priority for the business going forward.
Why Quant Giant D.E. Shaw Seeks Out Academics, Doctors, and Veterans to Work at the $60 Billion Hedge Fund
Business Insider | Bradley Saacks
领英推荐
It was 2011, and Tim Willenken had just spent the past 12 years — four as an undergrad and eight in a doctoral program — preparing to be a philosophy professor. There was just one problem: He didn't want to be in academia anymore. He "had no idea where to start" looking for a job, knowing just about the professions he had been exposed to in graduate school — doctors, lawyers, and professors, he told Business Insider.
Goldman Sachs Strat MD That Left for Citadel Becomes Point72 Risk Chief
eFinancialCareers | Alex McMurray
The most recent addition to the executive team is Michael Fisher, who joined Point72 in New York this month as its chief risk officer. Fisher joined from hedge fund Citadel, where he spent three years as head of risk for global fixed income and macro. In his pre-hedge fund era, Fisher was a strat at Goldman. He joined as a PhD mathematician in 2003 and worked there for 17 years, making MD in 2011.
Schroders Names Tom Darnowski as CEO Americas
Markets Media | Staff
Schroders announces that Tom Darnowski, CFA, has been promoted to CEO Americas, effective January 1, 2025. Tom has been with Schroders for over ten years and most recently served as the firm’s Global Head of Product Strategy, where he oversaw Schroders’ global product range and explored innovative ways to meet client needs. Prior to this role, he served as Head of Product Development, North America, and eventually of the Americas. In these roles, he deepened his understanding of the client landscape across the U.S., Canadian and Latin American markets and led the development of investment products.
M&A / Investment News
Archax Group to Acquire Spanish Broker KSCM
Markets Media | Staff
Archax, the UK-based, FCA-regulated exchange, broker and custodian for digital assets, announced it has agreed to acquire the Spanish broker King & Shaxson Capital Markets, Sociedad de Valores, S.A. (KSCM), to be renamed Archax Markets Europe, S.A. The completion of the acquisition is subject to customary regulatory approvals in Spain. This deal will allow Archax to extend its existing regulated brokerage, Multi-Lateral Trading Facility (MTF) and custody capabilities into the EU region, as well as add crypto derivatives to its permissions.
TS Imagine Acquires PrimeOne
Traders Magazine | Anna Lyudvig?
TS Imagine has acquired PrimeOne, a provider of operational risk management solutions for the prime brokerage industry, from S&P Global, according to CEO Rob Flatley. “I am fortunate to be able to reunite with the PrimeOne team at a perfect time for TS Imagine,” he told Traders Magazine.?The combined team will operate under the TS Imagine brand, and global headquarters will remain in New York. EJ Liotta, leader of PrimeOne, will join TS Imagine’s executive team.
Saudi Bourse Plans to Dial Up M&A Amid Capital-Markets Push
Bloomberg News | Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro
Saudi Arabia’s stock exchange operator is eying mergers and acquisitions as a means to broaden the kingdom’s capital markets amid a flood of local offerings, a senior official said. “M&A will play more of a role in our future than it has done in our past,” Lee Hodgkinson, chief strategy officer at Saudi Tadawul Group Holding Co., said in an interview in London. The company will aim for “digestible” and “strategically relevant acquisitions,” he said, without providing details of any potential targets.
Wall Street Gets M&A Reboot With Trump Set to Undo Khan Era
Bloomberg News | Michelle F Davis, Yiqin Shen & Neil Campling
Donald Trump’s return to the White House is predicted to seed the ground for more big-ticket mergers and acquisitions. Trump swept to victory in Tuesday’s US presidential election after defeating Kamala Harris across key battleground states. The win boosted the so-called Trump Trade, sending the S&P and the US dollar higher. Bankers and lawyers say Trump’s pro-business focus will be a boon for M&A, giving further fuel to the nascent recovery in dealmaking.
BlackRock in Talks to Take Minority Stake in Millennium
Financial Times | Harriet Agnew, Ortenca Aliaj & Brooke Masters
BlackRock is in early-stage discussions with Millennium Management about a strategic partnership that could lead to the world’s largest asset manager taking an equity stake in one of the most profitable hedge fund managers, according to people familiar with the situation. Although any equity stake is likely to be small, the potential tie-up reflects how BlackRock is seeking to expand into alternative investments and shows how Millennium’s 76-year-old founder Izzy Englander is continuing to build out and diversify his business.
Regulatory & Legal News
Trump’s New Wall Street Watchdogs Are Coming—Likely With a Lot Less Bite
Wall Street Journal | Gina Heeb, Corrie Driebusch & AnnaMaria Andriotis
Wall Street is eagerly awaiting a raft of regulatory appointments from President-elect Donald Trump, who has said he wants to ease oversight to enable U.S. businesses to thrive. Executives are betting the new watchdogs will back off on efforts to make banks hold bigger capital cushions and strengthen consumer protections. A friendlier stance is expected toward crypto and bank consolidation, as well as new payment alternatives that could compete with banks.
Hedge Fund Basis Trade Faces Scrutiny as Regulators Mull Probe
Bloomberg News | Laura Noonan?
Hedge funds’ record bet on US Treasuries is facing fresh scrutiny as the world’s most powerful financial watchdog mulls a deep dive into the money-spinning trade. After running into difficulties with a mammoth project launched last year to gather data on the sprawling shadow banking system, the Financial Stability Board is now discussing a pivot to focus on a handful of priority areas, including the so-called basis trades, three people with knowledge of the matter said.
SEC Faces Rising Litigation Risk Over Rules, Watchdog Says
Bloomberg News | Andrew Ramonas?
Legal challenges over the SEC’s corporate climate disclosure and hedge fund fee reporting rules are a harbinger of more litigation to come over agency regulations, the agency inspector general’s office said. The Securities and Exchange Commission is facing heightened judicial scrutiny under Democrat Gary Gensler, the SEC’s chair since 2021, according to the Office of Inspector General’s annual report on the agency’s top management and performance challenges, released Monday.
Apollo’s Race Toward Private-Credit ETFs to Face SEC Scrutiny
Bloomberg News | Lydia Beyoud
As money managers push to bring private credit to public markets, investors in a new breed of exchange-traded fund will want to know how they can get out when markets are stressed. Their early plans aren’t resolving doubts. The Securities and Exchange Commission is set to review three recent filings for private-credit ETFs, including a proposed partnership between Apollo Global Management Inc. and State Street Corp.?
E.U. Task Force Urges CSDR Adjustment for T+1
FTF News | Faye Kilburn
European capital markets firms are navigating a long list of regulatory changes required to enable a smooth transition to a shortened, T+1 settlement cycle, likely in 2027 and in coordination with the UK. The European T+1 Industry Task Force, comprised of 21 trade associations, outlined these regulatory changes in a recent work paper — “High-level Roadmap for Adoption of T+1 in EU Securities Markets” — along with updates to document market standards and general practices they deem necessary.
Crypto?& Digital Asset News
UBS Joins Blackrock and Franklin Templeton With Tokenised Investment Fund
DL News | Aleks Gilbert
Swiss bank UBS is launching a tokenized investment fund on Ethereum, becoming the latest titan of traditional finance to embrace public blockchains. UBS follows BlackRock and Franklin Templeton, which have started tokenized funds backed by US Treasuries. Those funds are currently worth $530 million and $410 million, respectively, according to data from RWA.xyz. UBS’ USD Money Market Investment Fund Token, or uMINT, will be backed by “money market instruments,” according to a news release Friday. It was not immediately clear whether US Treasury assets would be included.
Coinbase Accused of Charging Substantial ‘Listing Fees’ by Justin Sun and Andre Cronje, Despite CEO’s Assertion That Listings Are Free
The Block | James Hunt
Tron founder Justin Sun joined Andre Cronje, the co-founder of Sonic Labs (formerly Fantom), in claiming that Coinbase charges substantial listing fees — despite the crypto exchange's CEO, Brian Armstrong, recently reasserting that asset listings are free. The posts relate back to comments on Binance from Moonrock Capital CEO Simon Dedic, who claimed he recently spoke with a tier-one crypto project that had raised close to nine figures and received a listing offer of 15% of their total token supply from the crypto exchange.
New Global Dollar Stablecoin Backed by Robinhood, Kraken, Paxos and Other Crypto Heavies
CoinDesk | Ian Allison
A group of heavy hitters in the cryptocurrency space are backing a new, regulation-focused stablecoin, the Global Dollar (USDG), which aims to return yield earned on its reserve assets to participants who help accelerate its adoption. Dubbed the Global Dollar Network, the original partners are Anchorage Digital, Bullish (the owner of CoinDesk), Galaxy Digital, Kraken, Nuvei, Paxos and Robinhood.
JPMorgan Renames Blockchain Platform to Kinexys, to Add On-Chain FX Settlement for USD, EUR
CoinDesk | Krisztian Sandor
JPMorgan rebranded its blockchain platform, formerly Onyx, as Kinexys as the banking giant doubled down on real-world asset tokenization efforts. The bank said it plans to introduce on-chain foreign exchange capabilities to the platform as early as the first quarter of 2025, paving the way for the "automation of 24/7, near real-time multicurrency clearing and settlement." The service will first be available for the U.S. dollar and euro with plans to expand to other currencies.
BlackRock’s Spot Bitcoin ETF Sees Record-Breaking $4 Billion Traded on Election Day
The Block | Danny Park
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) logged its largest daily trading volume on Wednesday, U.S. presidential election day, which saw pro-crypto Republican candidate Donald Trump reclaim the White House. “For context, that's more volume than stocks like Berkshire, Netflix or Visa saw today,” Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas commented on X. The ETF analyst reported earlier that IBIT had experienced $1 billion in trading volume in the first 20 minutes of trading on the day following Trump’s win.