Planning for the NIBA Annual Meeting, September 24 in Chicago is underway. If you would like to serve on the planning committee, please contact Mike Burke, [email protected] or Melinda Schramm, [email protected]. This September’s meeting will include five business sessions, a demo hall and a networking cocktail reception. Topics for two of the business sessions are already being developed and a committee is being formed. To serve on the committee, you must be able to attend planning sessions and help out onsite during the event. If you cannot serve on the committee, your suggestions for topics and speakers are still welcome....
Calling All IBs!
I have been writing The Complete IB Handbook since 1998 – this year marks the 6th edition. The Handbook is a look at the state of Introducing Broker business today and a how-to guide for starting an IB. CME Group sponsors The Complete IB Handbook and makes it available on its website. In order to update the contents for each year’s edition, CME Group and I created a survey containing questions on subject areas from monthly expenses of running the company to markets most heavily traded by customers of an IB. I compile that data and write eight chapters of....
Housekeeping, Reminders and Updates
Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act Cayman Islands Update The Cayman Islands Department of International Tax Cooperation (“DITC”) has further extended the due dates for submitting Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”) notifications and reports to the Cayman Islands Tax Information Exchange Authority (“TIA”). As per the latest news and updates issued by the DITC, notifications are due by Thursday, May 21st; and returns may be reported by Friday, June 12th. The latest due dates are an extension to the dates referenced in the DITC Industry Advisory released on April 27, 2015. Financial institutions with reporting obligation are required to make....
Recent CFTC Enforcement Matter Serves as Warning to Exempt CTAs
Earlier this year, the CFTC ordered Summit Energy Services, Inc. (“Summit Energy”) to pay a $140,000 civil penalty to resolve allegations that it violated Section 4m(1) of the Commodity Exchange Act by failing to register as a CTA. The CFTC held that Summit Energy engaged in the business of advising 15 or more clients as to the trading of natural gas swaps and futures and generally held itself out to the public as a CTA. Additionally, Summit Energy included descriptions of its “risk management services” on its website and sale brochures, which the CFTC considered to be holding itself out....
NIBA Wedbush Futures FCM Risk Management Questionnaire
NIBA will be featuring a recurring article in its monthly newsletter to membership with a focus on FCM Risk Management. The article will feature a different Member FCM each month discussing their approach to risk management. FCM Name: Wedbush Futures Head of Risk Name: Jim Kearney Do you have a risk committee: Yes If yes, what matters does your risk committee consider: The Wedbush Futures Risk Committee regularly meets to identify current risk events, define appropriate client and firm limits and mitigate the effect of future risk events on capital deposits. What is your general approach to risk management:....
Trading at Settlement (TAS) for Agricultural Futures
First Trade Date Monday, June 8, 2015 Trading at Settlement (TAS) is an order type that allows a market participant to buy or sell futures contracts during the trading day equal to the yet-to-be determined settlement price, or at a price up to four ticks above or below that price. Why TAS Reduce uncertainty related to pricing around settlement Grain elevators and processors may use TAS orders to price forward contracts at or near the settlement value TAS orders offer a transparent alternative to floor based MOC orders, which will no longer be available after July 2 Key Features Available....
NIBA – Ask the NFA Questions
As your industry advocate, the NIBA provides many services which help your business stay in compliance with NFA regulations. “Ask the NFA,” is the way you can ask questions about those regulations and compliance requirements without having to call NFA directly. Just email us at [email protected] and we will get the answers for you. Please keep in mind the purpose of this contact is to keep the lines of communication between NFA and NIBA members open, not to fix any specific individual concerns. This month’s questions were selected from those submitted by NIBA members. The answers were supplied by NFA....
The Red Flag Rules
Dodd-Frank transferred responsibility for identity theft from the FTC to the CFTC and SEC for those financial institutions under their jurisdiction. The rules adopted in April 2013 require “financial institutions” that “hold” “covered accounts” to establish an Identity Theft Prevention Program (“ITPP”). These rules are known as the “Red Flag” rules. The CFTC has defined the term “financial institution” to include FCMs, IBs, CTAs and CPOs as well as Swap Dealers. Traditional futures trading accounts are considered “covered accounts”. If you don’t “hold”, covered accounts, directly or indirectly, then the extent of your responsibility under the Red Flag rules is....
CME CORE: Clearing Online Risk Engine
Risk management is a trade craft that never sleeps: Market conditions change, new products are invented, mathematics advance, operational flows become more complex, regulation evolves. We’ve seen all of these over time in CME Group’s futures and options markets: Recent oil market and FX market gyrations, the introduction of deliverable swap futures, SPAN margin model changes, customer gross margining regulations, and increasingly strict funding timelines and processes for margin calls. Our web-based CME CORE application is part of the next generation of risk management tools we’re developing to help traders, brokers, risk managers and reconciliation personnel measure and monitor risk....
Arditti Research Seminar Series | Risk Management Policy for Firms with Real Options
RSVP for this event at [email protected] ...