News Analysis
CrowdStrike outage spurs rethink on ‘critical’ vendors
Some want US regulators to designate tech firms that pose risks to financial stability
Standard Chartered keeps faith with quantum experimentation
The bank is aiming to future-proof itself with the ability to adopt new technology at an early stage.
Zeros and ones: Industry contemplates T+0 as the next step
With the North American transition to T+1 settlement complete, same-day settlement could be the next goalpost set, though skeptics are many.
IEX Cloud closure forces fintech clients to seek data alternatives
IEX says it is ditching its unprofitable data arm to focus on its core exchange business, but other vendors believe they can turn a profit from its former client base of fintechs, retail investors and some institutions.
FRTB data quality issues persist amid shifting implementation dates
Banks are finding market and reference data challenges posed by the FRTB’s standardized model tricky, compounded by uncertainty over when the regulation will take effect.
Cboe pushes rule change to make way for proprietary Opra alternatives
As US options data has grown in volume and cost, Cboe says changing the public feed's governing document would make way for more competition from private alternatives, including its Cboe One Options Feed, launched in 2023.
Firms worry that lack of ‘explainability’ will be regulatory roadblock for AI
Industry experts share their concerns about advanced AI’s ‘black-box’ nature and how that may attract fragmented regulatory scrutiny.
Former Goldman analyst aims to blend GenAI and synthetic data with start-up
Synthera.ai is taking a novel approach to calculating risk. While promising, industry observers are skeptical.
DSB says industry is ready to meet UPI mandate ahead of deadline
The Unique Product Identifier will be required for certain OTC derivatives in the EU at the end of April, following US adoption in January.
Dora technical standards shoot for break in the clouds
One goal of the EU’s latest ICT risk act is to mitigate cloud concentration. Some experts say it may make it worse.
Vanguard cautiously explores neural networks for alt data analysis
John Ameriks, head of Vanguard’s Quantitative Equity Group, explains the rationale behind dataset selection and how the group has been using machine learning.
‘When, not if’: EU plots course for T+1 transition
Not everyone saw eye to eye at a European Commission roundtable discussing how to shorten settlement cycles, but most participants recognized the need to make the transition to T+1.
Politics, public opinion collide in EC identifier consultation
The European Commission has said neither the Isin nor the UPI is ‘suitable’ for price transparency, and proposed modified alternatives in an industry consultation.
One step forward, two steps back—European regulation grapples with the same old problems
Stop me if you've heard this one before...
Alliances and experiments: Trading firms get innovative in 2023
Rebecca offers a recap of the year's most notable technology use-cases led by sell-side and buy-side institutions.
For the reference data community, 2024 is set to be a significant year
A summary of the year's biggest developments in reference data, from the Cusip lawsuit, to the UPI, to Isins for crypto.
Generative AI is here to stay, even if the path forward is unclear
Chatbots and large language models dominated the AI conversation this year with the expectation that 2024 will bring more innovation and use cases to the forefront.
Fixed income in 2023: Mergers, modernization, and mysteries, oh my!
Between tech revolutions, secret EMSs and electronified bonds, the fixed-income market saw major advancements over the last 12 months
Hunting for reliable low latency, HFTs look to novel techs in 2023
WatersTechnology looks at advancements in market data latency technology and what role the cloud can play.
Multicast in the cloud—no longer a pipe dream
Colt Technology explains the process it went through to make it possible to distribute multicast market data in the cloud.
Who is at fault for Goldman Sachs’s $5.5 million fine?
While the CFTC says the bank is to blame for record-keeping failures that transpired at the start of the pandemic, others say it was two vendors who let the bank down.