 Marianne BrownPresident and Chief Executive Officer | More of the Same and Then Some: A 2010 Look Ahead December 21, 2009 2009 was undoubtedly a landmark year when looking at operations within the financial services industry. Faced with some of the lowest points of market performance and then the beginnings of a turn-around, the entire industry has approached a cross-roads. |
| Marianne Brown President and Chief Executive Officer | Assessing Risk in the "New Normal" 12 October, 2009 Recently, I participated in a Glass Hammer event for senior women on the buy-side. My fellow panelists and I looked at how buy-side firms might do business in this new, post-crisis environment. A term that came up more than once was the “new normal;” a sense that the crisis that began in 2008 represents more than just a temporary correction. |
 Lee CutroneManaging Director, Industry Relations | Tomorrow is Only a Day Away 10 September, 2009 It seems “risk mitigation” is all the rage nowadays, and while it has been something we’ve advocated for since Omgeo’s inception, it has never been more important to consider a cost-effective, efficient means of doing so. This is where same-day affirmation (SDA), the practice of affirming trade details on the same day the trade is executed, can put a firm leaps and bounds ahead of where it might be today when it comes to ensuring effective risk management. |
| Lee Cutrone Managing Director, Industry Relations | Risky Business in Toronto 13 August, 2009 We recently held a panel in Canada where we discussed a number of themes – how our priorities & relationships have changed, our views of risk and the emerging regulatory landscape. Given the current debate about having a systemic risk regulator in Europe and the US, we also sought to get Canada’s perspective on whether they would value this kind of regulator. |
 Tony Freeman Director of Industry Relations EMEA | Behind Closed Doors 23 July, 2009 There was little surprise when a report commissioned by the EC claimed that trading costs in Europe remain high. While the report sheds light on the front office and clearing and settlement inefficiencies contributing to Europe’s high trading costs, it omits middle office inefficiencies. |
 Brian LynnCTO, Global Electronic Markets Omgeo CrossCheck technology expert | Buy-in from the Buy-side 17 June, 2009 This month looks to be a significant one in terms of shaping the future financial markets infrastructure of both the US and Europe. On Wednesday, the US Department of Treasury is due to unveil its sweeping plan to overhaul financial regulation, while in the next couple of weeks, the EC is due to make clear its recommended approach to improving transparency of derivatives markets. |
| Tony Freeman Director of Industry Relations EMEA | The era of self-regulation: Is it over? 12 June, 2009 OTC derivatives markets operated under the radar of most regulators and politicians until the economic crisis took root and the public need someone or something to blame. Derivatives were a natural scapegoat because their complexity and perceived complicity in the melt down. Now politicians have the OTC industry squarely in their crosshairs to the extent that some are calling for it to be elimiminated entirely. |
 Matthew NelsonDirector, Market Intelligence | Postcards from the Edge: 12 June, 2009 Lessons Learned in Managing Business in a Down Market Part 1 – Planning and Prioritization In the first quarter of 2009, Omgeo interviewed over a dozen of our largest U.S. clients, representing all segments of the industry. The purpose of these interviews was to better understand how institutions are coping with the current conditions, how they are planning for the future and to gather their opinions on the future of the industry. Six common topics emerged from these interviews; planning and prioritization, the changing role of operations, relationships, risk and regulation, changing business models and emerging as a stronger industry. This series of articles will discuss each of these topics and our discussions with the participants. Lessons Learned in Managing Business in a Down Market Part 2 – The Role of Operations Lessons Learned in Managing Business in a Down Market Part 3 – Relationships Lessons Learned in Managing Business in a Down Market Part 4 – Risk and Regulation Lessons Learned in Managing Business in a Down Market Part 5 – Changing Business Models Lessons Learned in Managing Business in a Down Market |
| Matthew Nelson Director, Market Intelligence | A Central Clearing Party – A Good Start, But Not the Entire Solution 1 March, 2009 With so much discussion over market reform and a search for the best fix for the state of the economy, one of the most pressing issues pertains to the proposal of a central clearing party to deal with credit-default swaps. |
 Mark JamesManaging Director,Collateral and Margin Management | From Big Picture to Practical Application: How Omgeo’s Reconciliation Forums Support the Industry 10 September, 2009 ISDA has made great progress in setting industry targets and principles, or best practices, for derivatives reconciliation. To begin with, the Collateral Committee has led the setting of reconciliation targets to be committed by the industry to the regulators. These are high level commitments such as all portfolios over 500 positions will be reconciled at least once a week and to report the count of market to market breaks over 10 million. |
| Mark James Managing Director,Collateral and Margin Management | Collateral Management with the Buy-Side Establishing Efficiencies in the Process 31 March, 2009 Counterparty risk management has become a very important term over the past 18 months and there are many things to address with the processes necessary to support this area. |
 Steve MatthewsChief Operating Officer | It's Time to Invest, Not Cut-Back, for the Operational Risk Long Haul 11 February, 2009 There is no doubt that today’s markets are in panic mode. Extreme volatility, record losses and debate over the regulatory shake-out are enough to send any company, financial or not, into a cost-cutting mindset. The market events that we’ve witnessed over the past year and a half fell outside any predictions, even “worst-case scenario” models, causing investors and traders to lose confidence in the financial system. |
| Matthew Nelson Director, Market Intelligence | The Role of Risk in the Collapse of Wall Street 12 January, 2009 With Lehman Brothers having followed the ill-trodden footsteps of Bear Stearns, many have questioned the risk management capabilities, techniques and desire of Wall Street. |
| Matthew Nelson Director, Market Intelligence | What Can We Expect for 2009? Perhaps a Return to Basics 12 January, 2009 2008 was an incredibly turbulent year that has seen banks and brokers collapse, government bailouts and the nationalization of banks and lenders, massive asset write-downs, layoffs and huge financial losses for nearly all investors. |
| Tony Freeman Director of Industry Relations EMEA | Is the Mist Clearing? 12 January, 2009 At the beginning of a New Year one must always contemplate the difficulty of coming back to work after enjoying a couple of festive weeks off. So there I was last Monday embroiled in a taxing struggle to save myself from an hour or two of naval gazing and thumb twiddling and found myself listening to the Bernard Madoff hearing in Washington. |
| Tony Freeman Director of Industry Relations EMEA | Bridging the Gap The front office will always move at a faster pace than the middle and back office, and the industry understands this. We have however now moved into dangerous territory because the gap between the two areas has been allowed to expand and investment in the post-execution environment has been neglected. |
| Tony Freeman Director of Industry Relations EMEA | A central CCP may not be the way for OTC The financial crisis has brought the issues of risk and exposure to the fore and with that come the usual search for a scapegoat. |
| Tony Freeman Director of Industry Relations EMEA | Long and short is no longer black and white The “hedgification” of the traditional long-only fund management segments is gathering pace. Changes to UCITS3 and the increasing warmth of plan sponsors to techniques previously reserved for the hedge-fund sector have introduced leverage, shorting and routine usage of derivatives. |
| Tony Freeman Director of Industry Relations EMEA | It’s a Risky Business This time two years ago, the industry seemed to be growing tired of talking about operational efficiency. Read why STP and automation are alive, well and more critical than ever in today's evolving marketplace. |
| Tony Freeman Director of Industry Relations EMEA | Regulation Needn’t Be a Dirty Word There’s an old saying that you can achieve more with honey than with vinegar. However, it seems that no amount of honey will mobilise a securities industry that is in part still stuck in the dark ages when it comes to back-office innovation. Tony Freeman examines the importance of regulation as a facilitator of change in our industry. |
| Tony Freeman Director of Industry Relations EMEA | Transparency and Efficiency Key to Changing Markets Irrespective of new market practices, the efficiency of trade orders, confirmation and notifications must progress hand in hand with the development of new trading and execution strategies |
| Tony Freeman Director of Industry Relations EMEA | Outsourcing – Still Just the Beginning What are the impacts and future of investment manager outsourcing? |
| Tony Freeman Director of Industry Relations EMEA | The First Protocol Tony Freeman examines the practical implications of SWIFT’s consultation paper on removing the barriers to efficient European cross-border clearing and settlement |
| Tony Freeman Director of Industry Relations EMEA | Talk is Cheap Tony Freeman asks whether the promised transformation of the securities industry is realistic |
| Lee Cutrone Managing Director, Industry Relations | ‘Buying’ in to STP 20 November, 2008 Lee Cutrone provides insight in to the current state of post-trade automation amongst the buy-side |
| Matthew Nelson Director, Market Intelligence | Hedge Funds’ Struggles Highlight Importance of Operations 3 October, 2008 Bull or bear market, operations is the grease that keeps the machine running. But in a difficult market, when the front office is struggling to eke out single basis points to please investors, operations not only keeps the machine running, but it can actually help the machine to perform better, reducing costs, risk and inefficiencies. |
| Marianne Brown President and Chief Executive Officer | The regulators need you... 17 September, 2008 Writing this, I come fresh from yesterday’s SIBOS panel on the merits of central authority intervention in the capital markets. The timeliness of the topic made the discussion a lively one, especially with today’s securities industry experiencing heightened scrutiny as a result of the credit crunch. |
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