Insights

At a time when deals are more competitive than ever and asset prices are soaring, private equity (PE) firms need to do everything they can to avoid deals turning sour. Yet in recent months we have seen prime examples of how ignoring the web of a target company’s extended network can cause problems. Here, we’ll look at some examples of... read more

The market remains at odds over the dissemination of unique transaction identifiers (UTIs) for Securities Financing Transactions Reporting (SFTR). Some banks are pushing for their counterparties to be connected to specific UTI exchange platforms to consume UTIs directly. But because of the work needed to connect, many firms are choosing not to. ... read more

Brexit is forcing challenger banks to grapple with thin profit margins, as some experts predict greater consolidation in the market. “Brexit definitely plays a role because of the uncertainty it brings about and the cost of future uncertainty,” says Madhur Jain, SVP & global head Solution Consulting, SunTec. Earlier this month... read more

Banks will seek external software solutions as in-house tech debts increase, according to vendors trying to reduce tech spend. According to Robert Cooke, chief technology officer and founder of 3Forge, there will be an increase in tech companies creating “holistic” platforms providing full front-end integration. 3Forge consolidates... read more

Banks are creating detours in their core systems to be able to calculate the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (Sofr) rather than trying to replace the entire system before the end of 2021. However, these complementary systems can come with additional risks, say bankers. There is also uncertainty around the level of time required to implement,... read more

The euro area holds US assets worth approximately €7,000bn (60 percent of GDP) - with almost half portfolio investments (Chart 1). At the end of 2006, that is, before the financial crisis in 2008, European investments in the US totalled €2,600bn, less than 30 percent of GDP. Europe’s current asset position combined with the higher... read more

Large banks are struggling to develop money management apps to rival challengers, according to Mark O’Keefe, Payments Systems Regulator (PSR) panel member and founding director at Optima Consultancy. “There's a lot of talk, and I think this is probably a theme that you see from the incumbent banks is that they often talk a good... read more

Non-financial counterparties (NFC-) are looking to keep European Market Infrastructure Regulation (Emir) reporting in-house ahead of the delegated reporting deadline in June, according to consultants and a technology vendor. Emir Refit reduced the burden of dual-sided reporting for non-financial counterparties which come under clearing... read more

Though there is no doubt that the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) is expected to cease by the end of 2021, many in the industry are still trying to get their heads around some of the calculations for the alternative - the Sterling Overnight Index Average (Sonia). Since 2017, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority have spoken about the... read more