Looking back at the most intriguing and popular industry news from the past week between 15th and 19th of June on LeapRate.
UK-based online trading provider CMC Markets announced expanding its range of share baskets in response to the growing demand from its clients. The rapid shift to working from home has accelerated a lot of processes that were already in the works for technology providers. Collaboration tools are more important than ever for businesses, as well as for individuals and may shape the way we operate in the future. For that reason, CMC Markets launched two new share baskets to track key behavioural changes, utilizing the popularity of Remote Lifestyle and Collaborative Technology investments.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced imposing additional conditions on the Australian Financial Services (AFS) license of Societe Generale SA’s Australian securities branch to ensure compliance with client money regulations. The need for the additional license condition follows SocGen’s report to ASIC that it had deposited client money into unauthorised bank accounts between December 2014 and September 2018. In March, the French investment bank’s Australian securities unit was charged by the Australian watchdog with criminal offences for breaching client money obligations and failing to separate its clients’ money from its own.
CFD broker Infinox Capital rolled out MetaTrader 5 platform addition across its global offices. Its clients around the world can now trade forex pairs, commodities, indices, futures and equities on MetaTrader 5. The implementation will give Infinox’s clients host of institutional trading tools such as 21 different timeframes for trading, a built-in economic calendar which delivers news from around the globe with possible impact on the markets, 9 different order types available for clients, Depth of Market features access.
Binance plans to expand in United Kingdom with FCA regulated crypto trading platform for institutional and retail investors. The crypto exchange intends to join the institutional investment market and meet the growing demand for digital asset investments. About 65 digital assets are being reviewed by Binance for listing on the exchange.
The FCA announced proposals to make the ban of mass-marketing of speculative liquid securities to retail investors permanent. Introduced in January, the ban was a response to concerns that speculative mini-bonds were being promoted to retail investors who do not understand the risks involved and could not afford potential financial losses. The UK regulator proposes a few changes and clarifications to the ban in making it permanent including bringing bonds with similar features to speculative liquid securities and which are not regularly traded within the scope of the ban.
Global Fintech provider Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR), announced that LTX, its new AI-driven corporate bonds trading platform, has executed its first trades. In the creation of LTX, Broadridge partnered with Jim Toffey, founder of Tradeweb Markets. The platform combines artificial intelligence (AI) with a new digital execution protocol that allows broker-dealers to improve market liquidity, efficiency and execution for their buy-side customers.
The OPEC + has agreed on unprecedented cuts in oil production and according to the energy minister of the United Arab Emirates, Suhail Mohammed Faraj Al Mazroui, this may restore the prices. The coronavirus crisis cut demand dramatically in March and April sinking crude oil prices. Brent international crude prices never went negative but West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude benchmark plummeted to minus $40.
FX technology provider Integral announced that financial services provider INTL FCStone Ltd started trading NDFs on Integral’s BankFX Platform. INTL FCStone provides financial-services execution, risk management, market intelligence, post-trade services, as well as trading and clearing in a wide range of OTC FX instruments. The company developed the Non-Deliverable Forward (NDF) offering to meet growing client demand and will be supported by Integral’s new streaming NDF workflow, along with its established Request for Stream functionality.
CLS, the market infrastructure provider of risk mitigation services to the global FX market, released its operating metrics for May 2020. The average daily traded volume submitted to CLS was USD 1.48 trillion, down 4.3% from USD 1.55 trillion in April 2020.
The Reserve Bank of Australia released its monthly metrics for April, showing the extend of Covid-19’s impact on the economy and the possible long-term effects it can have. RBA’s payments numbers include total April payments falling by 25% or $15.4 billion, credit/charge card spend declining 33%. Debit card payments were down 10.1% – but an effective swing of 19.8%, ATMs fell 41%, pre-paid cards by 51.6% and NPP/Osko had its first drop since launched in Feb 2018.
Euronext, the pan-European exchange in the Eurozone, announced the launch of a new suite of ESG products, services and initiatives, designed to empower sustainable growth. The launch is a important step in Euronext’s three-year strategic plan, “Let’s Grow Together 2022”. Euronext teamed up with Vigeo Eiris Moody’s in the design of the Euronext Eurozone ESG Large 80 index, which tracks the Eurozone’s 80 best-performing Large Cap companies with strong performance on social and governance criteria and leading the transition to a low carbon economy. This new ESG index responds to investors’ need for a public climate action benchmark in the Eurozone.
American Express announced its joint-venture in China, Express (Hangzhou) Technology Services Company Ltd, has received approval from the People’s Bank of China for a network clearing license. The American multinational financial services corporation becomes the first foreign payments network to be licensed to clear RMB transactions in China. Amex is expected to start processing transactions later this year.
In a second day of testimony before lawmakers in Washington, Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell warned that the recent gains made by the economy could be put at risk if stimulus such as support for shut-down businesses and workers who have lost jobs is rolled back too rapidly by Congress. He noted that 25 million workers remain without employment and that “it would be a concern if Congress were to pull back from the support it’s providing too quickly”. Lawmakers will face the challenge over the summer of how to address temporary relief measures that were set to expire. Powell said that the trillions of dollars has helped to fuel a jump in consumer spending recently, and that continued support would be required for the economy to get through “this critical phase.”
