State Street Corporation announced the launch and first securities loan of Direct Access Lending, a securities finance product that enables direct, principal loans between lending clients and borrowing clients. According to a story in MarketsMedia, State Street will leverage both its Agency Lending and Enhanced Custody programs to offer both sets of customers the benefits of each program required to operate in a peer-to-peer transaction while also enjoying an economic benefit associated with Direct Access loans. 

OpenFin announced that BNP Paribas has built and deployed their single dealer FX platform, Cortex LIVE, on OpenFin OS. The platform features a real-time market intelligence portal, Insight LIVE, data visualisation and a real-time digital trading assistant, ALiX. OpenFin’s ability to help clients deliver native desktop applications that can be connected to other workflows is improving user experience and productivity while reducing associated technology costs. As a result of building on OpenFin OS, Cortex LIVE can now be integrated with end client workflows and other complementary...

Nasdaq is aiming for more than 30% of its European data business to come from outside its traditional market data offerings. James McKeone, head of European data for Nasdaq’s global information services, was quoted in Markets Media as saying: “We are building a European data business and our ultimate aim is for upward of 30% of our business to come from outside our traditional exchange market data offerings.” The move fits in with the strategy that Adena Friedman, President and CEO of Nasdaq, has articulated for the exchange group. She described Nasdaq as “a...

Swiss exchange group SIX has announced the appointment of Marion Leslie to head up its Financial Information business. Leslie will take up the new role on January 1st, 2020, as well as a position on the SIX executive board, replacing the outgoing Robert Jeanbart, who is to retire in December this year. Having joined Refinitiv in 1994 when the firm was part of Thomson Reuters, Leslie has held a series of management positions with the data vendor and was most recently a managing director for enterprise, with responsibility for the data business in the areas of regulation, pricing, and...

Please join us on Tuesday, October 22, 2019 at Cboe Global Markets (400 South LaSalle Street, Chicago) for a luncheon and panel discussion on upcoming options initiatives. The event will begin with a keynote presentation from Manisha Kimmel, Senior Policy Advisor to SEC Chairman Jay Clayton, on the current status of CAT.  The keynote presentation will be followed by a panel discussion focusing on: the OCC Actionable Identifier Initiative, CAT Options Reporting, Options Exchange Initiatives, and OCC Initiatives.  FIF would like to thank Cboe Global Markets for sponsoring this...

FIF SEC Rule 606 Working Group - FIF solicited member feedback as to the current status implementation across the industry. FIF also reviewed potential solutions to broker-dealer access to order execution data as well as the status of issues with the PDF Renderer/XML Schema. The group also reviewed the application of the current understanding of 606(b)(3) look-through and non-look-through scenarios. FIF/SIFMA/STA CAT Options Subgroup - The group reviewed current recommendations with respect to the reporting of Paired Options orders to CAT, including the development of workable...

Nasdaq, Inc. announced its acquisition of the Center for Board Excellence, a privately-held provider of corporate governance and compliance solutions for boards of directors, CEOs, corporate secretaries, and general counsels. Nasdaq plans to combine CBE with its Nasdaq Governance Solutions business, which operates board portal and collaboration technology solutions. The combination establishes a leading provider of technology, research and insights, and consultative services designed to advance governance excellence and collaboration at public, private, and nonprofit organizations...

IEX President Ronan Ryan said the exchange was continuing to focus on its core strengths- technology and trading, according to a story in Markets Media. Ryan said that the exchange is now looking at predictive analytics as the next frontier – and when coupled with its existing speed bump can further protect client orders from not only getting a stale quote “picked off” but help clients predict a market move and prevent a quote from ever becoming stale. As Ryan explained it, the push into predictive analytics has yielded the Discretionary Peg (“D-Peg”) order...

Cboe Global Markets, Inc. announced it has received approval from the SEC to launch its new Retail Priority program on the Cboe EDGX Exchange. Designed to enhance execution quality for individual investors who trade U.S. equities, the mechanism will introduce enhanced order book priority for orders submitted on behalf of retail investors, thereby increasing the probability of execution for their orders. Cboe expects to launch Retail Priority in November. Retail Priority offers a distinct allocation model, which differs from the traditional time-based allocation model used by most U.S....