Tuesday, February 15, 2022
While real-time settlement is still something that may happen far in the future, perhaps on the Starship Enterprise, T+1 is now imminent. On February 9, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed to make T+1 a reality. The proposal aimed at reducing risks in clearance and settlement seeks comment on shortening the current T+2 standard settlement cycle for most broker-dealer transactions by one day to T+1. Notably, the proposal also makes clear that T+0 is the ultimate and eventual goal and explicitly solicits comments on associated challenges and potential paths to achieving a same-day settlement cycle.
Categories: All, Change Overview and Rationale, Formal Regulatory Remedies, Cross-Post
Tags: swaps clearing, Risk Management, SEC, T+1
Friday, February 11, 2022
Widespread adoption of central bank digital currencies (CBDC) could revolutionize cross-border payments by reducing friction and making it possible for T+1 or even T+0 settlement of cross-border trades. The Fed’s Digital Currency discussion paper is the central bank’s first step in a public discussion with stakeholders about a digital dollar, as we described in our January 25 post. But what would such a cross-border payment system look like? Is it enough to mimic the traditional systems of SWIFT, DTCC, and others? Or does the unprecedented interoperability and technology of CBDCs force obsolesce on the current systems?
Categories: All, Change Overview and Rationale, Cross-Post
Tags: Financial Innovation, CBDC
Tuesday, January 25, 2022
A discussion paper published on January 20th invites the public to explore with the U.S. Federal Reserve Board the creation of a digital version of the U.S. dollar. A Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) backed by the Federal Reserve would be designed, according to the Fed’s paper, to compete with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Comments are due by May 20, 2022.
Tags: cross-border
Saturday, January 22, 2022
The Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) securities lending disclosure proposal has drawn sharp rebuke from both securities lenders and borrowers. Lending principals criticized the proposal on everything from cost, lack of clarity, and overbroad scope to the rule's general inequity. They also pointed out a host of potential unintended consequences that could work against the very transparency the rule proposal was intended to foster.
Categories: All, Disclosure Regimes, Cross-Post
Tags: securities lending, short selling
Tuesday, January 18, 2022
“The best trader I ever knew was broken when he took over a dying friend’s book. Everyone knew the book and turned on him.” Born in 1899, Henry Goldberg was the oldest trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange when I interviewed him in 1985. He answered my questions about trading expertise during a NYSE-sanctioned survey to find possible use cases for artificial intelligence.
Categories: All, Commentary, Cross-Post
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