SLATE Working Group. The SLATE Working Group discussed the July 28 SEC Order to extend the initial SLATE reporting date to September 28, 2026. The Working Group discussed the submission of SLATE reports by service bureaus, connectivity to FINRA, FINRA responses times, a scenario involving US trading support personnel inputting loan details on behalf of a foreign affiliate, SLATE testing, repo agreements, and the requirement to report if a loan is from inventory.  24x7 Trading Working Group. The 24x7 Trading Working Group discussed a revised draft of an FIF letter to the SEC relating...

In collaboration with the SEC, the CFTC, and the issuer community, Nasdaq is proud to have been the first exchange to list bitcoin ETF options (IBIT) and is now excited to announce it is also the first to introduce FLEX cash-settled bitcoin ETF options (IBIT) to the market. Nasdaq PHLX (PHLX) and Nasdaq ISE (ISE) have received approval to permit FLEX options trading for options on iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT). IBIT options have been available for trading as FLEX Options since July 30 on PHLX's trading floor and on ISE electronically. ISE will permit IBIT options to trade as...

LoopFX has launched as a live FX liquidity network, allowing clients’ trades to be matched within State Street’s execution platform, FX Connect.  The offering is set to address obstacles within the FX market surrounding counterparty selection and information leakage, by providing real-time, anonymous, mid-rate matching to allow institutional clients to execute larger trades with reduced market impact.   Currently, 15 asset managers and banks have already executed agreements on the network.

StoneX has completed the acquisition of US clearing broker RJ O’Brien & Associates (RJO) according to a story in The Trade news. The firm initially announced the acquisition in April 2025, which is set to make StoneX the largest non-bank futures commission merchant (FCM) in the US and support the firm in its goal to provide greater access to liquidity in fixed income markets. Through the acquisition, RJO’s clients will gain access to a wide range of markets, products and services such as StoneX’s over the counter (OTC) hedging platform and liquidity across fixed income...

FIF is pleased to announce our first ever Boston event. The live, in-person event will take place on September 2nd from 5-8 pm ET at the Fidelity Investments offices. The event will be co-sponsored by Fidelity Capital Markets and LeveL Markets. The first panel will be titled: Equities, Options, Fixed Income, Technology, and Data in an Atkins Administration. The moderator of this panel will be Ashley Banfield of Fidelity Investments. The panelists for the first panel will be: Steve Miele of LeveL Markets, Adam Nunes of Hudson River Trading and Joseph Torpey of State Street. ...

On July 24, the SEC published an exemptive order granting a six-month extension of the current exemptive relief on CAT representative order linkage (through January 31, 2026). The SEC granted the exemptive relief in response to a request by FIF on behalf of FIF members. During this upcoming six-month period, FIF members and FIF will continue to work with the SEC to achieve a long-term resolution of this issue. FIF would like to thank the CAT Transaction Reporting Working Group members for their contributions in obtaining this extension.

On July 21, FIF submitted a comment letter to the SEC in response to the SEC’s request for comment on the extension of the EBS reporting requirement. FIF would like to thank the members of the EBS Working Group for their contributions in the drafting of this comment letter.

The next call for the 24x7 Trading Working Group will be on Monday July 28 at 2 pm ET. The Working Group will discuss a revised draft FIF letter to the SEC relating to the planned expansion of exchange trading hours for US equities. If you are interested in participating in this discussion and are not a member of this Working Group, please update your FIF profile to add this Working Group or send a note to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The next call for the SLATE Working Group will be on Tuesday July 29 at 11 am ET. The Working Group will discuss issues and questions from FIF members and a draft FIF letter to the SEC and FINRA relating to the implementation of SLATE reporting.