Financial Alerts:
OmegaMining-FX and Indices Access Group Scams

New
Zealand’s Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has issued warnings about
OmegaMining-FX and Indices Access Group. OmegaMining-FX has been flagged for
using a legitimate company’s details fraudulently, while Indices Access Group
has been involved in unsolicited and potentially illegal share offerings.

Both
entities are not registered on the Financial Service Providers Register, and
their activities show clear signs of scam operations. The FMA advises caution
and underscores the illegality of unsolicited financial offers in New Zealand.

FCA Issues Clone Firm
Warning

The UK’s
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has warned against a clone firm
impersonating the legitimate banking entity, Ziraat Bankasi. The clone uses similar naming and branding to deceive individuals into believing it is
the authorized entity.

The FCA
cautions against engaging with the clone firm and provides details of the
genuine, authorized firm, urging the public to remain vigilant against such
fraudulent activities.

FinCear’s Move with
Eventus Validus Platform

FinClear, a
prominent Australian trade execution and clearing firm, has strategically decided to adopt Eventus’ Validus platform for trade surveillance and
post-trade monitoring. The deployment of the Validus platform is a response to
the company’s growth and is seen as a shift towards more customized,
sophisticated technology for monitoring Australia’s equity markets.

The change
is expected to reduce false positives and enhance the detection of market
anomalies, aligning with regulatory expectations for brokerages to uphold
market integrity. FinClear’s CEO lauds the partnership with Eventus as a
significant commitment, with the implementation resembling more of a
collaborative effort than a typical vendor-customer interaction.

ASIC’s 2024 Enforcement
Priorities and Consumer Warnings

The
Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has revealed its
enforcement priorities for the year 2024, adding new focal points such as the
superannuation industry, insurance claims handling, and financial hardship
obligations. Additionally, ASIC is concentrating efforts on used car financing
malpractices and non-compliance among financial gatekeepers.

The
announcement made at the ASIC Annual Forum reflects the regulator’s ambition to
increase transparency and send a strong message of compliance to the industry.
ASIC’s commitment to tackling complex cases and upholding market integrity is
evident in its proactive legal pursuits and retention of greenwashing and
governance failures as key areas of focus.

Plaid Hires Adyen
Executive for European Growth

Plaid, a
leading US financial technology firm, has brought on board Brian Dammeir,
formerly from Adyen, to spearhead its European operations. Dammeir’s appointment is
crucial as Plaid expands its services beyond data retrieval to include payments
and lending.

The move
signifies Plaid’s intent to delve deeper into open banking and finance,
highlighting the company’s ambition to be globally relevant and innovative
across the financial technology spectrum.

Barclays Strengthens APAC
Presence with New Appointment

Barclays
has appointed Jean-Baptiste Patois as Head of Equity Derivatives for the Asia
Pacific region, excluding Strategic Derivatives. Patois’ expertise in equity
derivatives is expected to enhance the bank’s derivatives business in this
rapidly growing market. His role will encompass leadership over Exotics and
Flow Derivatives, demonstrating Barclays’ commitment to delivering exceptional
results for its clients in the APAC region.

“His
appointment is testament to our focused efforts in consistently delivering
outstanding results for our clients and driving accretive returns in APAC,”
Hossein Zaimi, Head of Markets, APAC, at Barclays.

SIX Launches Bot for
Corporate Actions Data

The Swiss financial information provider SIX introduced an innovative bot to
facilitate corporate action data access. The bot, available on the Symphony
platform, is designed to automate the process of retrieving and integrating
corporate action data into workflows, thereby increasing operational
efficiency and allowing financial professionals to focus on more strategic
tasks. This tool is a part of SIX’s efforts to simplify the complex corporate
actions sector with automation and real-time data processing.

“To
manage the increasing complexity and volume of corporate actions in today’s
financial markets, there must be more automation,” Annelotte De Nanassy, the Senior Product Manager, of Financial Information at SIX, said. “The SIX Bot
will optimize the current workflow within corporate actions teams, offering
higher operational efficiency.”

Capita Accelerates
Cost-Saving Initiatives

Capita has
announced the acceleration of its cost-saving measures with plans to cut 900
jobs, aiming to save an additional £20 million annually from the first quarter
of 2024. This move is part of a broader strategy to double the operating profit
margin and is supported by a substantial increase in contract value over the
previous year. The planned redundancies are primarily in indirect support and
overhead roles, part of an organizational efficiency drive that continues into
2024.

“We
are, today, announcing the accelerated delivery of the efficiency savings
announced in our half-year results with a £20m increase in overhead cost
reduction to £60m on an annualized basis from Q1 2024,” said Jon Lewis,
the CEO of Capita.

Horizon Software Advances
Liquidity Metrics Research

Horizon
Software has announced a collaboration on a new research paper focused on
liquidity trends within order-driven markets. The paper presents an innovative
approach to detecting and understanding liquidity fluctuations, crucial for market
participants. Horizon Software’s commitment to incorporating cutting-edge
research into its product offerings emphasizes its dedication to enhancing
market operations and aiding clients in making informed trading decisions.

“Horizon
was able to support Yadh Hafsi in his research, utilizing our platform ‘Horizon
Extend’, a cross-asset electronic platform for principal and agency trading,”
Olivier Masdebrieu, the Chief Technology Officer at Horizon, commented.

This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.