DTCC has applied to the US Securities and Exchange Commission for permission to launch a securities finance clearing service. DTCC's fixed income arm, the National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC), spearheads the central clearing initiative, touting the numerous efficiency benefits to clearing customers, including increased capital efficiency for both borrowers and agent lenders and a reduction in counterparty risk by novating to NSCC the completion of settlement obligations.

Sustainable investing is becoming more important to investors when creating portfolios. As a result, institutions often follow policies with formal environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors to guide their investments. They commit substantial resources to ESG research and produce comprehensive reports about their compliance.[1] But then the same institutions give away their proxy votes when they lend securities for fees to cover their bank charges. And the loans of those securities – and their proxies – go to borrowers with unknown intentions, and often with unknown identities.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published the findings of its preliminary study of multiple withholding tax (WHT) reclaim schemes. ESMA conducted this preliminary study at the request European Parliament (EP) and has launched a formal inquiry to gather further evidence from national competent authorities (NCAs) on the supervisory practices and experience regarding those schemes.