The European Union internal markets commissioner Charlie McCreevy has called for regulators to monitor brokers' and banks' dealings more closely to avoid defaults for their clients at hedge funds.
McCreevy said that although there were safeguards already in place, increased scrutiny should nevertheless be exercised over how margin calls and collateral are managed.
A survey carried out by NET2S, a consultancy specialising in capital markets technology, highlights a significant shortfall in adequate risk management in the portfolio management systems (PMS) vendor space. 56% of vendors fail to provide any form of risk management at all. Of those who do, only one third offer enough analytics and stress testing capabilities to be considered 'adequate' by NET2S.
Linedata Services, a financial technology provider, has released Version 6.6 of LongView Trading and Linedata Compliance, which offers new features and updates across both products, including an enhanced user interface.
Equiduct, the company that aims to facilitate compliance with the best execution provisions of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) by providing a single electronic entry point to exchanges, systematic internalisers and other marketplaces, has published a white paper that it claims "cuts through the debate and speculation to clearly highlight Best Execution requirements."
CounterpartyLink is adding information to its compliance data product to support the requirements of MiFID and the third EU Money Laundering Directive, both of which become law in November of this year.
Order Execution Services Holdings, Inc. (OES) says its PRO Securities, LLC subsidiary (PRO) is now operating as an outbound router exchange facility of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange (PHLX).
PRO is providing integral National Market System connectivity, sponsored access and agency brokerage services as part of the Philadelphia exchange's new XLE equities trading platform, and is helping enable the PHLX to be Regulation NMS-compliant prior to 5 March 2007.
The International Capital Market Association (ICMA), the self-regulatory body for the Euromarkets, has issued proposals for consultation on delivering enhanced post-trade transparency in the international bond markets.
Market data management software vendor Arcontech has released an application which it says will help banks and brokers with their best-execution obligations under MiFID by allowing users to check the prices of equities across European execution venues to ensure they remain in line with their best execution policy.
Equiduct, the start-up trading window that aims to take advantage of the best execution requirements of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) by providing a single point of entry to exchanges, "systematic internalisers" and other trading platforms, says it has secured funding and hired a COO.
Società Interbancaria per l’Automazione (Inter-bank Society for Automation, SIA) will launch, by the end of the year, two new technological services to enable each investor to identify the most suitable financial market on which to carry out its investment transactions and manage the relationship with the broker by means of an ‘electronic contract,’ the firm says.