Asia
The ABCs of NLP: How Trading Firms Used NLP to Navigate 2020
This year, natural language processing came to the fore in capital markets, helping firms of all kinds parse huge, unstructured datasets.
People Moves: Fitch Group, 3d Innovations, BCS, Torstone Technology
A look at some of the key "people moves" from this week, including Heidi Lanford (pictured), who has been appointed chief data officer at Fitch Group.
Waters Wrap: SS&C Advent & Refinitiv Refine Cloud Plans (And Some Fixed Income Bits)
Anthony looks at how two major tech companies in the capital markets space are evolving their cloud strategies and what they might mean for the industry at large.
Wavelength Podcast Ep. 223: IBM’s Likhit Wagle on Cloud Adoption
IBM’s general manager of global banking joins to talk about challenges and opportunities surrounding public cloud adoption and containerization.
ICE ‘Bonds’ Acquisitions into Fixed-Income Powerhouse
In this profile of the Intercontinental Exchange, Lynn Martin explains how the company’s ICE Data Services unit is creating a unified offering with fixed income data at its core, after a series of acquisitions that began with its purchase of IDC in 2015.
Waters Wrap: S&P-IHS Markit and the Land of Giants (Also, More on AML Tech)
Anthony provides some of his initial questions and thoughts following the S&P-IHS Markit deal. He also takes a second look at AML technology after getting some sage feedback.
‘Massive Land Grab’: S&P’s IHS Markit Buy Creates Data Juggernaut, But Users Fear Price Hikes
The deal reflects the broader trend of market participants pursuing scale to create true front-to-back trading and data environments, which may signal a trading platform acquisition in the future—though the IHS Markit acquisition may face regulatory…
Qontigo Releases New 'Linked' Risk Model Covering Global Equities
The new offering blends existing Axioma risk models into a single, nuanced risk assessment.
IBM Bets on Cloud & Containerization to Win Over Investment Banks
After its acquisitions of Red Hat and Promontory, IBM is looking to expand its footprint in the capital markets through containerization, as well as reg reporting in the cloud.
Waters Wrap: Machine-Learning Models Suffer from Covid (And Exchanges in the Cloud, Pt. 2)
Anthony says that while machine-learning models have been hit-and-miss during the pandemic, NLP is taking on greater importance. He also looks at how exchanges are looking to move their core matching engines to the cloud.
Aquis Slashes 'Jitter' in Cloud Project
In a recent proof-of-concept with AWS and SGX, Aquis demonstrated significant jitter reduction.
Waters Wrap: Is AML Tech Worth the Cost? (And Cloud Moves & More Blockchain)
Anthony wonders if AML platforms are being scrutinized enough by banks and regulators, then looks at Wells Fargo's tapping of HPR for its quant division and Northern Trust’s blockchain plans.
AML Platforms ‘Are Just Not Working’—Is Human Error or Tech the Culprit?
Technologies meant to detect and stop financial crime may add more headaches than they relieve. Others say that the best tech can't overcome how bankers use these tools. The AML dilemma likely falls somewhere in the middle.
Waters Wrap: Blockchain is Still Overhyped (And Ion/Broadway Thoughts & the Consulting Boom)
In 2016, Anthony wrote that the blockchain revolution was overhyped—unsurprisingly, his opinions have not changed. He also delves into the Ion-Broadway deal, and looks at new consulting/advisory firms that have recently come to market.
China’s AI Expansion Could Shift the Fintech Balance of Power
Wei-Shen thinks about how the battle for supremacy in AI will evolve in the near future, and what the implications of China’s advances in the field might mean for Wall Street technology.
Waters Wrap: Goldman’s Marquee Move a Sign of Larger Industry Shift (And Refinitiv’s API Rebrand)
Anthony explores changing concept of a trading platform, and what that might mean for the future of tech development.
This Week: Tora, AcadiaSoft, Itiviti, Citi, Finastra, SEI & More
A summary of some of the past week’s financial technology news.
Wavelength Podcast Ep. 218: David Hardoon on AI's Unforeseen Challenges
David Hardoon was formerly at the Monetary Authority of Singapore and is now helping the UnionBank of the Philippines build out its AI strategy.
Goldman Sachs Takes Aim at Interoperability, Analytics with Marquee Enhancements
The bank’s recent moves signal what could become a managed services offering, as Goldman further embraces cloud, open source, and APIs.
Citi Readies Price-Shock Detection System
Once the bot is in production, the D10X team will start scaling it beyond the oil trading team to other trading desks.
This Week: FactSet/Truvalue Labs, Euronext, Finastra/CloudMargin, DTCC, and More
A summary of some of the past week's financial technology news.
Waters Wrap: The M&A Market Heats Up (And Some Quantum Computing News)
What do Liquidnet and Trading Technologies (and others) have in common? Anthony explains. He also discusses advancement—and disillusionment—in the quantum space.
Banks Rent Ready-Made Algos for FX Trading
NatWest, XTX Markets and others are developing new outsourcing models for tech.
Waters Wrap: On Refinitiv and Old Rivalries (And FIGI & Data Governance)
Anthony explores some of the questions raised by Refinitiv's plan to move away from Eikon and Thomson One. He also looks at data governance trends, and asks why the FIGI is having such a tough time gaining acceptance.