Editorial & Opinion

Tim Reucroft Opinion

Director, Investor Services

Tim is an expert in capital market infrastructures with a particular emphasis on clearing and settlement. He joined Thomas Murray in January 2001 conducting research and risk analysis of the European securities markets. He now heads up the firm’s management consultancy practice supporting major institutional funds review their operations, administration and custody arrangements. In addition he has assisted countries modernise their capital markets by benefiting from the experiences of consolidation, harmonisation and best market practices derived from Western Europe. He has advised on the infrastructures in Russia, Ukraine, Poland and South Africa.

EU Commission - Legislation on Central Securities Depositories - Update

Friday, 11 March, 2011

The European Union is considering the use of low-rated securities as collateral from debtors to make it easier for banks to meet the minimum they need to hold in reserve. A draft document of the proposal indicates that European banks could accept securitizations with ratings that “had not deteriorated below” investment grade, which translates to BBB- by Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s, or Baa3 by Moody’s Investors Service.

Collateral Crunch - Latest Update

Monday, 28 February, 2011

The latest estimate from the TABB Group estimates the additional collateral requires in OTCD markets could be about $2 trillion globally. See CCPGenesis

Tuesday, 14 December, 2010

Has anybody done the sums?

As governments mandate OTC derivatives via CCPs , Swapclear is looking for $750 billion (not million) in collateral to cover the new business. Where will this small amount come from? Asset owners stock lending programmes - goodbye agent lenders business.

Oh - and that's just Swapclear.

The Regulatory Tsunami

Thursday, 06 January, 2011

Everybody is worried about the regulatory tsunami but for the wrong reasons. What’s coming down the pipeline? Well – you could start with the ESMA work plan for 2011 – an admirable hit list:

EU Commission - Legislation on Central Securities Depositories

Wednesday, 15 December, 2010
Share The consultation paper on CSD legislation was issued in July 2010. We have been here before when CESR tried to regulate CSDs as if they were banks. It was a bad idea then (before T2S) - it's a disaster now. Read more...

Will we ever learn?

Wednesday, 15 December, 2010
Share The industry spent a fortune creating CSDs for everybody's benefit. The ECB is in the process of nationalising these in the interests of a greater Europe. No compensation will be paid. Read more...

Collateral Crunch

Tuesday, 14 December, 2010

Has anybody done the sums?

Is the Code of Conduct a waste of time?

Wednesday, 08 December, 2010
Share The Code of Conduct for Clearing & Settlement was voluntarily subscribed to by most (if not all) market infrastructure providers in Europe. Read more...

UCITS V

Monday, 06 December, 2010

This is now, at last, out in the open:

http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/consultations/docs/2010/ucits/consultation_paper_en.pdf

Wishful Thinking

Wednesday, 01 December, 2010
Share Given that Europe needs a trade repository(s) why not the ECB makes it mandatory, builds it and then hands it over to the market - i.e. the opposite of what it is doing with T2S. Read more...

Holding China A shares

Friday, 30 October, 2009

Just back from the China Securities Forum in Shanghai. Major confusion about beneficial ownership of China A shares. A QFII has three routes to ownership:

Proprietary assets (Market access products)
Nominee holdings
China Funds

Today's Market Holidays

We are Recruiting

Tim Reucroft Opinion

Director, Investor Services

EU Commission - Legislation on Central Securities Depositories - Update

Collateral Crunch - Latest Update

The Regulatory Tsunami

EU Commission - Legislation on Central Securities Depositories

Will we ever learn?

Collateral Crunch

Is the Code of Conduct a waste of time?

UCITS V

Wishful Thinking

Holding China A shares