Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (Finra)
Driving in reverse
Despite The Wall Street Journal lambasting equity-linked reverse convertibles as ‘dangerous investments’ and a chorus of bad press culminating in regulatory fines, the products continue to attract capital from the US retail sector. Joti Mangat asks how…
Scrambling for yield
The rebound of credit markets in 2009 enabled product providers to decrease risk as well as offer higher yields to investors in the Americas, using techniques such as multipliers or digital payoffs. The result is an increase in the number of deals,…
UBS fines for misselling structured products could be first of many
UBS has come under fire in a series of court cases in the US for inappropriate sales of Lehman Brothers principal-protected notes and a failure to inform retail investors properly of the risks involved. More cases are likely.
US regulators call for circuit-breakers but exchange risks remain, says expert
Proposed rule changes from Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (Finra) are a good but incomplete solution to operational risk within exchange infrastructures
Finra to gain regulatory power from NYSE Euronext
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is to take powers of market surveillance and regulation enforcement from NYSE Regulation.
Structured Products Americas: More mis-selling fines to follow, Finra warns
The US industry's own regulator says its mis-selling investigation may lead to more fines for US companies.
Locked out of longevity
Despite regulatory scrutiny of life settlement products and concerns over the complexity of assessing longevity risk, the institutional structured product market in the asset class is growing exponentially. But will these products ever be suitable for…
Breaking the chains
The need to diversify customer credit risk and the rising importance of fiduciary standards make open architecture distribution vital to structured products’ future. As advisers become concentrated in bigger institutions and market volumes remain static,…
A bridge too far?
As exchange-traded funds become increasingly complex and start to resemble structured products, are product providers stretching the limits too far in terms of what should constitute an ETF? By John Ferry
Schapiro wants a self-funding SEC
Daily news headlines
Finra scrutinises muni-bond market; US Treasury creates Consumer Financial Protection Agency
The US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (Finra) has launched an investigation into financial institutions' underwriting derivatives contracts used by US municipals to finance debt at lower costs.
Regulators square up to leverage ratio challenge
Bank supervisors are increasingly advocating the introduction of a gross leverage ratio as a restriction on the growth of assets relative to capital, but the biggest challenge will be to create an internationally consistent measure under diverse…