WHAT’S TRENDING
Week of May 2, 2017
PEERS: TOP THEMES
Company
Themes
BNY Mellon
Named in The Times Top 50 Employers for Women (as did State Street)
Wearethecity: BNY Mellon, Sky and KPMG amongst those named as top employers for
women
BNY Mellon, Sky and KPMG are amongst those named as The Times Top 50
Employers for Women in 2017.
The alphabetical and unranked list showcases UK employers that are making gender
equality a key part of their business strategy, with consistent commitment to creating
inclusive workplace cultures and progressing women in the workplace that covers all
levels.
Northern
Trust
Children to work day in Chicago
USBLN: Take our Daughters and Sons to Work Day
Blog posted by Nancy Nauheimer, Northern Trust Senior Vice President and Wealth
Advisor, Chicagoland BLN Board Chair – detailing the events Northern Trust organized
in Chicago for that day.
BlackRock
Dominating bond ETF market in Europe… and asset sales in Q1
Bloomberg: BlackRock’s Iron Grip on Europe Bond ETFs Defies Competition
Competitors to BlackRock Inc. are trying to loosen the investing giant’s stranglehold on
Europe’s $153 billion bond exchange-traded fund market. They’re struggling to make
much headway. The company’s market share has increased in recent years to 67
percent, data from Morningstar Inc. show, even as competitors add new funds and
offer low fees. Rivals are being stymied because BlackRock’s iShares can offer
investors access to European bond funds holding 93 billion euros ($101 billion) of net
assets, or more than nine times the tally at nearest rival Deutsche Bank AG.
TheStreet: BlackRock Leads European Firms in 1Q Asset Sales
Asset manager BlackRock sold the most funds in Europe during the first quarter,
according to data gathered by Thomson Reuters, selling funds totaling 22.1 billion
euros ($24.11 billion). Amundi was the next highest seller at 20.4 billion euros,
followed by JPMorgan which sold 12.8 billion euros worth of funds. Total assets under
management in Europe rose to 10.6 trillion euros from 9.4 trillion euros in the previous
quarter.
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JP Morgan
Leaving R3 (continued coverage)
Information Management : JPMorgan defection underscores tough blockchain choices
The news that JPMorgan Chase left the R3 blockchain consortium speaks to the challenges
ahead for any group that aims to get thousands of financial institutions to agree on a shared
set of technologies and principles […] JPMorgan’s departure from R3 follows on the heels
of defections last year by Goldman Sachs, Banco Santander, Morgan Stanley and National
Australian Bank. The banks’ reasons for leaving varied.
While still a member of the Hyperledger and Ethereum consortia, JPMorgan is also going it
alone with a distributed ledger it’s building in-house called Quorum. Quorum is based on the
Go Ethereum client, a software program that supports the Ethereum network. In a white
paper, the bank outlines how its blockchain will handle data and contract privacy and
consensus mechanisms (the process by which different computers agree on the order and
legitimacy of transactions on the network). The bank’s decision to use Ethereum was at
odds with R3’s decision not to use that system.
Brexit-motivated move to Dublin, Frankfurt, and Luxembourg
Irish Times: JP Morgan to shift back-office roles to Dublin as Frankfurt nets traders
Morgan is on track to pick Frankfurt as its main European location for trading market
securities post Brexit, with Dublin in line to secure hundreds of back- and middle-office
roles, according to sources.
The largest US bank by market value, at $307 billion (€281 billion), it will shift a number
of London banking jobs to Dublin, Frankfurt and Luxembourg as it prepares for the
UK’s exit from the European Union, the company’s head of corporate and investment
banking, Daniel Pinto, said in an interview with Bloomberg […] Meanwhile, Barclays is
said to have picked Dublin as its future European base, which may involve the
movement of 150 jobs from London to Dublin. Credit Suisse and Bank of America
Merrill Lynch are also looking at expanding their existing operations in Ireland.
Dimon at Milken Conference – warning on China and regulations
Business Insider: We haven't heard JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon go this dark on
China in a long time
Something dark is happening in China's banking system. It hasn't been able to
penetrate our noisy news cycle here on the other side of the world. But Jamie Dimon,
the CEO of JPMorgan, knows about it. "They've kicked out all foreigners twice in their
history," Dimon told a crowd at the Milken Institute's Global Conference on Monday,
addressing concerns with China's financial system. "They might do it again.
ChannelnewsAsia – JPMorgan's Dimon says biggest fear is bad public policy
Jamie Dimon on Monday railed against what he called excessive U.S. regulations and
called on Washington to come together to build a more business-friendly economy that
supports workers. […] "The real issue I'm worried about is bad public policy," Dimon
said, speaking at the annual Milken Institute Global Conference. "We're leaving a lot of
people behind." As a member of the White House's new Strategic and Policy Forum,
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Dimon is part of the group of business leaders tasked with finding a way to create more
jobs in the United States. Dimon joined the task force despite not supporting President
Donald Trump in his campaign - a move he attributed to the need to support "the pilot"
flying the airplane. Dimon stressed that technology advancements are not the enemy
of job creation.
Vanguard
Morgan Stanley no longer offering Vanguard mutual funds
Financial Advisor IQ: Morgan Stanley Ditches Certain Vanguard Funds
Morgan Stanley will no longer offer mutual funds from the Vanguard Group, says
Reuters. Morgan Stanley brokers will stop selling Vanguard’s mutual funds as of
Monday, a Morgan Stanley spokeswoman tells Reuters in an email. The intent of the
move is to trim less popular and underperforming funds, she tells the newswire. She
adds that Vanguard’s funds make up just a small percentage of Morgan Stanley client
assets in mutual funds. Morgan Stanley said last month it plans to cut its mutual fund
offerings by 25% to 2,300 funds, according to Reuters.
But the brokerage will continue offering Vanguard’s exchange-traded funds, the
newswire writes. Morgan Stanley clients, meanwhile don’t have to sell their Vanguard
mutual funds, the spokeswoman tells Reuters. They can continue adding money to
existing Vanguard investments through the first quarter of next year, the newswire
writes.
WSJ: Morgan Stanley Dumps Vanguard Mutual Funds
Morgan Stanley, which has more than 15,000 brokers who oversee about $2.2 trillion
in client assets, said it is removing the Vanguard funds as part of a broader overhaul of
its mutual-fund offerings. Over the last several months, the firm has been cutting 25%
of funds it deems less popular or underperforming, a process it kicked off to help it
comply with the Labor Department’s fiduciary rule requiring brokers to act in the best
interest of retirement savers. […]
Morgan Stanley’s move shows that the economics of fund distribution—what fund firms
must pay large financial firms to sell their products to investors—are in flux.
Gatekeepers like Morgan Stanley are using their muscle to protect their own revenue
even as disrupters like Vanguard gather assets at a fast clip. Vanguard is unusual
among fund firms because it has a policy of not paying other firms to sell its funds.
Many fund firms have long paid for shelf space on platforms or had revenue-sharing
agreements with advisers.
Other
BNP Paribas Q1 earnings
GC: BNP Paribas boosts assets under custody 10%
BNP Paribas has recorded an increase in securities services revenue and assets
under custody at the start of 2017. BNP Paribas has recorded an 8.5% yearly increase
in its securities services revenue for Q1 2017. Overall securities services revenue
stood at €478 million compared to €440 million in Q1 last year and €466 million at the
end of 2016. The French bank has put this increase down to “good business
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development.” Assets under custody also saw a 10.1% increase year-on-year to €8.9
trillion. Per CEO: “Costs were well under control and the cost of risk was down. The
Group’s balance sheet is rock-solid and the further increase in the fully loaded Basel 3
common equity Tier 1 ratio to 11.6% testifies this.”
Wells Fargo reviewing social media comments
American Banker: Wells Fargo’s chief marketer talks navigating a crisis
Reputation repair: Wells Fargo’s chief marketing officer Jamie Moldafsky says
comments about the bank made in social media are akin to “holding up a mirror to
ourselves,” providing immediate feedback about the bank's products and its efforts to
rehab its image. “For our company right now, it is critical,” she told American Banker
at the Collision conference in New Orleans. “We read the comments voraciously…
there is a full range of responses from our customers and all of them are important.”
She also shared how the bank is trying to use data to determine customers’ needs
rather than just push products.
Barclays opening new fintech lab in Europe
Silicon Republic: Barclays has just opened the largest fintech lab in Europe
Global banking powerhouse Barclays is doubling down on its commitment to the latest
technology with the opening of the largest fintech lab in Europe. While start-ups are
seen as the driver of much of the innovation within the financial industry, some of the
more traditional models are doing their utmost not to be left behind. […]
Barclays recently revealed that it has opened a new fintech innovation lab in London,
the largest of its kind in Europe. Called Rise, the centre will be a collaborative space for
Barclays to work with start-ups, developers and some of its other corporate clients on
projects to “help to create the future of financial services”. The space can house more
than 40 fintech companies, along with banking and technology teams from Barclays,
and will serve as a gathering place for fintech events and venture capital communities.
[…] The Rise lab will partner with major corporates, investors and industry experts in
seven other locations including: New York, Manchester, Mumbai, Cape Town, Vilnius,
London and Tel Aviv. The centre is also expected to explore greater opportunities
within the fields of big data and blockchain. The news follows Barclays announcement
at the end of April that it was to create 750 jobs across the UK in its major technology
centres.
EMIR under EU review
Financial News: Five things you need to know about the EU’s review of Emir
The European Commission wants to make changes to clearing and reporting rules to
reduce costs and the burden on firms. The European Union is proposing changes to its
post-crisis overhaul of the over-the-counter derivatives markets to make the rules
"simpler and more proportionate". Its aim is to reduce the burden for smaller financial
services firms, corporates and pension funds.
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