Northern Trust Asset Management said Wednesday that it has appointed Anne-Sophie van Royen as Head of Index and Quantitative Strategies.  The firm places van Royen in charge of one of its largest investment capability areas as it looks to accelerate innovation and expand client solutions. Van Royen will lead the strategic direction, commercial development, and execution of the firm’s index and quantitative investment capabilities across equity, fixed income, and multi-asset solutions.  Northern Trust Asset Management manages $923 billion in index strategies and $47 billion in quantitative strategies as of 31 March 2026, within a total assets under management figure of $1.4 trillion.  She will be based in Chicago and report to Global Co-Chief Investment Officers Anwiti Bahuguna and Christian Roth. Before joining Northern Trust Asset Management, van Royen served as Chief Investment Officer of Quantitative Strategies at Asset Management One USA, where she oversaw strategy development and implementation across multi-asset solutions. She has also held senior roles in quantitative investing and asset allocation at Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, UBS, Modus Quantitative Advisors, and Credit Suisse Asset Management. She holds a PhD and MSc in mathematical economics from the Université de Paris, Sorbonne.The post Northern Trust Asset Management Names Anne-Sophie van Royen to Lead Index and Quantitative Strategies first appeared on LeapRate | Online Trading Industry News, Broker Intelligence & Fintech Analysis.

Japanese financial giant SBI Holdings has announced it has led an investment round in Temple Digital Group, a New York-based provider of institutional trading infrastructure built on the Canton Network blockchain, marking a significant step in the firm’s digital asset expansion strategy. Temple Digital Group operates an electronic exchange that generates the highest revenue among decentralised exchanges on the Canton Network — a blockchain platform purpose-built for institutional participants in global capital markets. The platform’s recently launched “Lightspeed” system supports sub-second order matching and processes up to 100,000 orders per second, delivering the performance benchmarks required by institutional-scale trading operations. Temple is targeting the second half of 2026 to accommodate regulated markets following the acquisition of securities trading licences. The platform aims to enable the listing and trading of traditional market products, incorporating transaction privacy, instant settlement, and financial application interoperability — all within a self-custody framework that eliminates third-party asset deposit risk. The Canton Network currently counts over 600 participating institutions, including Goldman Sachs, BNP Paribas, Franklin Templeton, Broadridge, and Euroclear, with assets under management on the network exceeding $6 trillion. The network’s footprint is expected to grow further as DTCC moves to adopt it for the digital securitisation of US Treasuries later this year. SBI Holdings, already a founding partner and super validator on the Canton Network, said the investment aligns with its broader push into real-world asset (RWA) tokenisation and round-the-clock, regulatory-compliant digital asset trading across Japan and international markets.The post SBI Holdings Leads Investment in Temple Digital Group first appeared on LeapRate | Online Trading Industry News, Broker Intelligence & Fintech Analysis.

Crown Agents Bank (CAB), the operating subsidiary of London-listed CAB Payments Holdings plc, has received authorisation from the Bank of Guyana to establish a permanent representative office in Georgetown, with the outpost expected to open in the second half of 2026. The move positions CAB to deepen its engagement with what the IMF has identified as the world’s fastest-growing economy over the past four years. Guyana’s GDP expanded at an average rate of 47% between 2022 and 2024, fuelled by rapid development of its energy and natural resources sector alongside broad infrastructure investment. Notably, CAB is one of just three international financial institutions — alongside two major US global banks — invited by the Central Bank of Guyana and the Ministry of Finance to establish a local presence, underscoring the specialist credibility the firm has built across the region over more than three decades. The Georgetown office will serve as CAB’s first permanent base in South America, strengthening the bank’s capacity to facilitate cross-border flows across the Caribbean, South America, and wider Global South markets. It follows the establishment of CAB’s representative office in New York in 2025 and its Abu Dhabi office earlier in 2026. Group CEO Neeraj Kapur said the expansion reflects CAB’s long-standing commitment to the Americas: “For more than three decades, Crown Agents Bank has been at the side of clients in Guyana and across South America and the Caribbean, including during periods when other international institutions stepped back. Our permanent on-the-ground presence will deepen those relationships and strengthen our ability to support flows across the region, connecting clients to our global network and FX & payments expertise.” Kapur added that the Guyana office represents the latest step in CAB’s broader strategy to deliver cross-border payment solutions that “power opportunities across the Global South, delivering prosperity in the markets that we serve.” The announcement comes as CAB Payments itself remains subject to a takeover bid from the Helios Consortium, adding a notable strategic dimension to the firm’s continued geographic expansion push.The post Crown Agents Bank Wins Authorisation to Open Guyana Representative Office first appeared on LeapRate | Online Trading Industry News, Broker Intelligence & Fintech Analysis.

Coinbase and payments platform Flipcash have announced the launch of USDF, a US dollar stablecoin issued on the Solana blockchain and fully backed by USDC, developed using Coinbase’s Custom Stablecoin platform. The company believes the collaboration marks a step forward in making stablecoin issuance more accessible to businesses, combining Flipcash’s community currency platform with Coinbase’s institutional-grade blockchain infrastructure.  USDF will serve as the settlement and pricing layer within Flipcash’s ecosystem, where users can create fixed-supply currencies and use them as digital cash, with each currency priced and settled in USDF. Coinbase’s custom stablecoin offering allows businesses to create their own branded stablecoin — issued by Coinbase and backed one-to-one by USDC and other US dollar stablecoins — without the need to build the underlying blockchain architecture independently.  For Flipcash, the platform provided branded stablecoin issuance with transparent USDC backing, USDC rewards that scale with circulating supply, straightforward fiat on-ramps for users via Coinbase Onramp, and the reliability associated with Coinbase’s twelve years of cryptocurrency infrastructure development. The launch illustrates the broadening of stablecoin issuance beyond large financial institutions and technology firms.  By abstracting the technical complexity of blockchain deployment, Coinbase’s platform enables businesses of varying sizes to enter the stablecoin market with a branded product, built on compliant and transparent infrastructure, without the significant engineering investment that stablecoin development has historically required. Coinbase said any business can now launch a branded stablecoin without building the underlying infrastructure itself.The post Coinbase and Flipcash Launch USDF Custom Stablecoin on Solana Network first appeared on LeapRate | Online Trading Industry News, Broker Intelligence & Fintech Analysis.

Bank of America said Wednesday that it has gone live on CLS’s Cross Currency Swaps service, joining a group of global banks using the platform to reduce settlement risk and improve operational efficiency as foreign exchange volumes reach record levels. Cross currency swaps involve large initial and final principal exchanges, creating significant settlement risk exposure. Settling these trades on a gross bilateral basis also leads to operational inefficiencies and liquidity constraints.  CLS’s service is said to mitigate these risks by settling payment instructions through a payment-versus-payment mechanism, designed to ensure both sides of a swap settle simultaneously, thereby eliminating counterparty failure risk on principal exchanges.  The service integrates with OSTTRA MarkitWire’s post-trade processing platform and allows participants to benefit from multilateral netting for FX transactions, reducing daily funding requirements. The CCS service has seen substantial growth, with the average daily settled value of cross currency swaps submitted to CLSSettlement rising 87% in 2025.  The expansion comes amid a broader increase in FX market activity, with the Bank for International Settlements’ 2025 Triennial Survey recording daily turnover of approximately $9.6 trillion in April 2025, up 28% from 2022. Lisa Danino-Lewis, Chief Growth Officer at CLS, commented: “With FX trading volumes at record levels and the average daily settled value continuing to grow, mitigating settlement risk has never been more important. The continued expansion of our CCS service, alongside Bank of America’s go-live, demonstrates meaningful progress in reducing risk across the FX market.” Carlos Fernandez-Aller, co-head of Global FICC Macro at Bank of America, said that in an environment of heightened volatility and increasing intraday liquidity demands, “reducing unsecured settlement risk is a priority.”The post Bank of America Goes Live on CLS Cross Currency Swaps Settlement Service first appeared on LeapRate | Online Trading Industry News, Broker Intelligence & Fintech Analysis.

The European fintech licensing landscape of 2017 was incomparable with today’s regulations. A securities brokerage could be launched for under a million euros. A regulated Lithuanian EMI – the infrastructure that enables legitimate cross-border money movement – could be acquired for under €350,000. Entry barriers were real but manageable, and well-capitalised smaller operators could genuinely compete. That window has been closed. The question worth examining is why – and what it means for the consultancies that serve this market. The Economics Shifted Faster Than Most Anticipated The trigger was scale. When Revolut, Wise, and N26 entered European markets and began competing aggressively on price and distribution, the unit economics for smaller operators collapsed almost immediately. Maintaining regulatory standing in a tier-one European jurisdiction – staffing a compliance function, meeting capital requirements, keeping pace with reporting obligations – stopped making commercial sense below a certain volume threshold. The cost of a new start-up application plus staff costs has now risen above €2-3 million, with €5 million representing a more realistic working figure. Lithuanian EMI companies, once obtainable for under €350,000, now command €2-3 million plus associated transaction costs. For Zitadelle AG, which has been advising financial services businesses on licensing and regulatory strategy since 2017, the shift has fundamentally changed the nature of client conversations. Early mandates centred on helping founders access European markets cost-effectively. Increasingly, the conversation is now about where European entry no longer makes strategic sense, and which alternative jurisdictions offer the regulatory credibility and operational practicality that clients actually need. The Offshore Turn – and Its Complications The rational response for many operators has been to look beyond Europe for less saturated jurisdictions. Markets where entry costs are lower and regulatory frameworks more accessible. Mauritius, the Seychelles, Curaçao, South Africa – jurisdictions that have invested meaningfully in developing internationally recognised financial regulatory frameworks, often at a fraction of the cost and timeline of their European equivalents. This shift is legitimate and, for many business models, entirely appropriate. But it introduces a risk that is underappreciated by operators making the move primarily on cost grounds. Foreign markets are sometimes easier to enter; however, due to gaps in local regulation or established market practice, certain operations can fall into grey areas that create regulatory friction rather than eliminating it. Moving jurisdiction without proper structural guidance tends to trade one set of compliance problems for another – often less visible ones that surface at the worst possible moment, typically during due diligence or when attempting to bank or process payments through correspondent relationships. The value of proper advisory support in this environment isn’t just technical knowledge of a given jurisdiction’s licensing requirements. It’s the ability to anticipate how a structure will be perceived by counterparties, correspondent banks, and regulators in the markets the business actually wants to reach. Diversification as Structural Response The consultancies that have navigated this period successfully have done so by expanding their jurisdiction coverage in line with where client demand has actually moved – not where it was five years ago. Zitadelle AG started by assisting clients with licensing applications in Labuan, Malaysia, Mauritius, and Cyprus. The firm now covers Curaçao, Estonia, the UK, and the Netherlands, with each addition reflecting real shifts in where regulated structures are being sought and where regulatory frameworks have developed sufficient credibility to support serious financial businesses. Alongside licensing consultancy, the firm has developed adjacent infrastructure – HR compliance services through a sister platform, and a dedicated marketplace at financiallicensemarket.com where operators can assess the acquisition of existing regulated entities as an alternative to greenfield applications. For clients where time-to-market is a critical variable, acquiring an existing licence rather than applying from scratch has become an increasingly viable strategic option. The Broader Market Implication What this trajectory reflects is a structural maturation of the offshore and emerging-market licensing space. A decade ago, these jurisdictions were primarily used for opacity and cost minimisation. Today, the better-governed among them are competing on genuine regulatory credibility, processing times, and the practical ability to support real financial businesses. The consultancies best positioned to serve this market are those that treat jurisdiction selection as a strategic advisory exercise – one that accounts for the client’s target markets, counterparty relationships, growth plans, and long-term regulatory exposure – rather than a simple cost comparison. Regulatory environments will continue to evolve. The firms that survive and grow will be the ones that move with them.”   The post How Regulatory Shifts Are Forcing Fintech Consultancies to Reinvent Themselves first appeared on LeapRate | Online Trading Industry News, Broker Intelligence & Fintech Analysis.

Euronext has reported a strong quarterly trading performance, with cash equity trading and clearing revenue jumping 30.8% year-on-year to €123.0 million in Q1 2026, fuelled by elevated market volatility and the first full quarter of contribution from Euronext Athens. Total underlying revenue reached €528.5 million for the quarter, up 15.3% on Q1 2025, marking the exchange group’s eighth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth. Cash equity average daily transaction value on the Euronext order book stood at €16.4 billion in April 2026, with Euronext maintaining a 64.1% market share in cash equity trading during Q1. Revenue capture averaged 0.51 basis points for the quarter. In FICC Markets, commodities trading and clearing revenue climbed 13.9% to €33.8 million, driven by growth in intraday and day-ahead power volumes following the successful March 2026 launch of Euronext Nord Pool Power Futures. FX and precious metals hit record trading volumes, with FX revenue up 5.8% to €9.8 million — rising 17.5% on a like-for-like, constant-currency basis. ETF activity was another standout. Since the September 2025 launch of Euronext ETF Europe, average daily value traded surged 84%, reaching €1.6 billion in Q1 2026. Euronext also launched mini ETF options in March 2026 to broaden retail access to the product. In post-trade, Euronext Securities settled over 44.2 million instructions during the quarter, with Assets under Custody totalling €7.6 trillion at the end of March — rising to €7.8 trillion by April. MTS Repo term-adjusted average daily volume stood at €563.0 billion in April. Equity derivatives average daily volume in April came in at 535,400 lots, while commodity derivatives averaged 144,426 lots per day, up 7.4% year-on-year. Adjusted EBITDA came in at €343.2 million (+16.7%), with margins expanding to 64.9%. Adjusted net income rose 17.7% to €216.1 million, with adjusted basic EPS of €2.13. Euronext also confirmed a dividend of €3.18 per share, representing a 50% pay-out ratio, payable on 27 May 2026.The post Euronext Reports Record Q1 2026 Trading Volumes Amid High Market Volatility first appeared on LeapRate | Online Trading Industry News, Broker Intelligence & Fintech Analysis.

The New York-based broker-dealer operated below minimum net capital requirements for 19 months while concealing a multi-million dollar guarantee from regulators. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has censured and fined Dinosaur Financial Group, LLC $85,000 following findings that the New York-headquartered broker-dealer concealed a $4.3 million lease guarantee from regulators and operated below minimum net capital requirements for nearly two years. According to a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (AWC) submitted by the firm, Dinosaur Financial guaranteed its parent company’s 10-year commercial real estate lease in April 2022 without providing the required prior written notice to FINRA. The guarantee, valued by the firm and its external auditor at between $2.8 million and $3 million, was not disclosed until FINRA initiated a cycle examination in late 2023. By failing to include the guarantee as a liability in its net capital calculations, Dinosaur Financial operated below its minimum net capital requirement — which ranged between $274,200 and $450,000 — for 19 of 20 months between April 2022 and November 2023. The largest single deficiency reached $2,905,172, with an average shortfall of approximately $1.45 million. Despite this, the firm continued conducting a securities business throughout the period. The firm also filed 20 inaccurate FOCUS reports, maintained erroneous books and records, and failed to provide timely notifications of its net capital deficiencies to FINRA and the SEC, as required under Exchange Act rules. FINRA found Dinosaur Financial in violation of multiple Securities Exchange Act provisions and FINRA rules. Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm accepted a censure and an $85,000 fine.The post FINRA Fines Dinosaur Financial Group $85,000 Over Net Capital Failures first appeared on LeapRate | Online Trading Industry News, Broker Intelligence & Fintech Analysis.

Miami International Holdings has launched Tini Bloomberg 100 Index Futures on its MIAX Futures exchange.  It is the first in a planned suite of equity index products developed in partnership with Bloomberg Index Services and set to clear at the Options Clearing Corporation. The launch will be followed by Tini Bloomberg 500 Index Futures on 31 May, with a 1 June trade date, and Bloomberg 500 Futures on 7 June, with an 8 June trade date. All three products will be listed exclusively on MIAX Futures. Thomas Gallagher, Chairman and Chief Executive of MIAX, said the new products are designed to help both retail and institutional investors gain and manage exposure to the largest companies in the United States.  “We believe that Bloomberg Indices’ transparent, rules-based methodology provides a meaningful structural advantage among competing futures and options market benchmarks, designed to eliminate subjectivity and delays that the market will come to appreciate particularly as the IPO pipeline improves,” he added. Emanuele Di Stefano, Head of Index Product at Bloomberg Index Services, described the launch as an “important step forward in the evolution of equity index markets,” saying the Bloomberg 500 and 100 were built to set a new standard for US equity benchmarks through systematic construction and the ability to adapt quickly to changes in market composition. MIAX previously announced a licensing agreement with Bloomberg Index Services to develop a broader suite of index futures, options on futures, and cash options products based on Bloomberg’s benchmark portfolio.The post MIAX Launches Tini Bloomberg 100 Index Futures first appeared on LeapRate | Online Trading Industry News, Broker Intelligence & Fintech Analysis.

Intercontinental Exchange and compute market company Ornn have announced plans to launch a suite of GPU compute futures contracts. The move is expected to extend established financial market infrastructure to the rapidly growing but fragmented global market for artificial intelligence computing power. The contracts will be based on Ornn’s Compute Price Index, which tracks live-traded spot prices for GPU compute across major hardware types and is built exclusively from printed transactions.  The futures will be US dollar-denominated and cash-settled, with contracts expected to cover GPU types including H100, H200, B200, and RTX 5090, with additional types to be added as the market develops. Launch remains subject to regulatory approval. “As AI has rapidly moved from research labs and academic campuses to becoming one of the most important drivers for the global economy, the market for compute has evolved just as quickly and is in desperate need of a globally accepted pricing mechanism and risk management tool,” said Trabue Bland, SVP of Futures Markets at ICE.  He added that Ornn’s index “is a natural fit for futures markets and we’re excited to offer a new tool for price discovery and risk management.” Kush Bavaria, Co-Founder and Chief Executive of Ornn, said that “compute has grown into a trillion-dollar market yet it still lacks the pricing and risk-transfer infrastructure that every other major commodity relies upon,” adding that listing futures on ICE puts that risk-transfer layer in front of the institutional buyers and operators who need it most.The post ICE and Ornn Announce GPU Compute Futures Contracts first appeared on LeapRate | Online Trading Industry News, Broker Intelligence & Fintech Analysis.

CFI Financial Group has launched trading access to more than 40 stocks listed on the Dubai Financial Market. According to the firm, the move is a pivotal moment in its expansion across regional capital markets and its effort to broaden investor access to one of the UAE’s most active exchanges. The launch gives CFI clients regulated access to DFM-listed companies spanning sectors including real estate, finance, logistics, and telecoms.  The firm said it forms part of its broader mission to remove barriers to market entry and connect investors with regulated investment opportunities across the region. Ziad Melhem, Chief Executive of CFI Financial Group, described the launch as more than a product introduction, framing it as a signature moment for investors in the UAE and a delivery on the firm’s commitments around accessibility, transparency, and market innovation.  He said the aim is for every client to be able to invest directly in the region’s future through the DFM. Hamed Ali, Chief Executive of DFM and Nasdaq Dubai, welcomed CFI as a new trading member of the exchange. “CFI brings a strong commitment to investor empowerment, and their entry aligns with DFM’s ambition to continuously expand access, liquidity, and long-term value creation,” he commented.The post CFI Financial Group Launches Dubai Financial Market Stock Trading for Regional Investors first appeared on LeapRate | Online Trading Industry News, Broker Intelligence & Fintech Analysis.

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation said Tuesday that it has expanded its central clearing capabilities to support options-based exchange-traded funds. Under the new framework, ETF shares and eligible components will be centrally cleared through DTCC’s National Securities Clearing Corporation and settled at The Depository Trust Company.  Listed options components will be cleared by The Options Clearing Corporation, with NSCC transmitting instructions to facilitate the transfer of options positions between counterparties.  NSCC does not clear the underlying options directly but works in partnership with OCC to deliver an integrated clearing workflow. The enhancement is said to support options-based ETF structures, including covered-call and FLEX options strategies, which have attracted strong investor demand and considerable product innovation.  DTCC says the expanded model extends central clearing to these structures whilst improving risk management, operational efficiency, and transparency. As part of the same initiative, DTCC has also introduced earlier access to preliminary ETF transaction data to support more timely liquidity estimation. “As ETFs continue to evolve and diversify, it’s critical that the post‑trade infrastructure evolves with them,” commented Arianne Collette, Managing Director and Head of U.S. Equities at DTCC. “This enhancement builds on our existing ETF clearing capabilities and reflects our ongoing commitment to reducing risk, improving liquidity management, and supporting innovation that advances markets and delivers new value.” Mike Hansen, Chief Clearing and Settlement Officer at OCC, said the new capability delivers on what members have made clear they need as options-based ETFs continue to gain traction.The post DTCC Extends Central Clearing to Cover Options-Based ETFs first appeared on LeapRate | Online Trading Industry News, Broker Intelligence & Fintech Analysis.

Cboe Global Markets has introduced daily expiring options on the Dow Jones Industrial Average index, expanding the DJX options suite in response to growing demand for short-dated index trading strategies. DJX options are based on one-hundredth of the DJIA level, providing a more efficiently sized contract for traders managing notional exposure.  They are exclusively listed on Cboe’s Options and C2 Options exchanges, cash-settled, and European-style.  As of 31 March 2026, DJX open interest represented more than $472 million in notional value. The new Monday-to-Thursday daily contracts, trading under the symbol DJXW, complement existing Friday weekly and third-Friday monthly contracts. All DJX options trade between 9:30 am and 4:15 pm Eastern time. The launch reflects a broader structural shift in options markets. In the first quarter of 2026, zero-days-to-expiration trading accounted for a record 50.11% of all index options activity on Cboe’s markets, driven by retail adoption and demand for daily hedging, income generation, and directional strategies without overnight risk exposure. Meaghan Dugan, Head of US Derivatives at Cboe, said investors are “increasingly utilizing index options for shorter-dated strategies,” and that adding daily expirations to a widely recognized benchmark such as the Dow gives traders another tool for hedging and yield strategies.The post Cboe Adds Daily Expirations to Dow Jones Industrial Average Index Options first appeared on LeapRate | Online Trading Industry News, Broker Intelligence & Fintech Analysis.

European payment services leader Worldline and global digital bank Klarna have announced a landmark framework agreement to broaden access to Klarna’s full suite of flexible payment solutions across both online and in-store points of sale serviced by Worldline. Announced on 19 May 2026, the deal will see Worldline integrate Klarna more deeply into its technology stack, while also acquiring transactions — a move designed to make it markedly easier for businesses of all sizes to offer Klarna to their customers. The rollout begins this year with integration into Worldline’s Global Collect platform, its global online payment solution for international e-commerce players in the Travel and Digital sectors. A second phase will allow Worldline’s enterprise and smaller e-commerce customers to activate Klarna through a streamlined onboarding process on its GoPay platform. In the final stage, Klarna’s full suite of payment methods — including Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services — will be extended to in-store point-of-sale terminals. Klarna’s flexible payment options, spanning immediate payments, interest-free short-term credit and longer-term financing, are designed to attract shoppers and simplify checkout. Markus Frei, Head of Worldline Acquiring Services, said the partnership would “introduce BNPL services across markets, delivering real value for merchants and consumers alike, whether for online or in-person transactions.” David Sykes, Chief Commercial Officer at Klarna, called it “a huge step” in the company’s mission to make flexible payments universally available, adding that together the two firms were helping “merchants grow while giving consumers the increasing levels of choice and convenience they have come to demand and expect.”The post Worldline and Klarna Join Forces to Expand Flexible Payment Options Online and In-Store first appeared on LeapRate | Online Trading Industry News, Broker Intelligence & Fintech Analysis.

London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has renewed its long-standing technology partnership with Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO), signing a new five-year agreement centred on VMware Cloud Foundation as part of the financial markets infrastructure provider’s broader multi-cloud strategy. Announced on 19 May 2026, the deal extends a relationship that stretches back more than a decade and will expand LSEG’s use of VMware software across its technology stack. Under the agreement, VMware Cloud Foundation will underpin LSEG’s private cloud platform, supporting a wide range of workloads spanning both traditional and modern applications. Broadcom will also provide professional services to help LSEG deploy VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 across its environments. The move is designed to strengthen resilience, improve operational efficiency and enhance security across LSEG’s complex, highly regulated infrastructure, while enabling greater automation over time. Andrew Knight, CIO, Infrastructure and Cloud at LSEG, said the expanded use of VMware Cloud Foundation would support an “engineered private cloud” for its operations, while providing the flexibility to accommodate new services and workloads as technology requirements evolve. Luigi Freguia, President of EMEA Sales at Broadcom, emphasised the importance of reliability for an organisation operating critical market infrastructure. “This new five-year agreement reflects the Group’s confidence in VMware Cloud Foundation to support those demands, providing a secure and resilient platform that can evolve as market needs change,” he said. The new partnership complements LSEG’s existing cloud arrangements and forms part of a wider strategy to modernise its technology infrastructure while maintaining the high availability standards expected of a global financial markets operator.The post LSEG Renews Broadcom Partnership in Five-Year VMware Cloud Deal first appeared on LeapRate | Online Trading Industry News, Broker Intelligence & Fintech Analysis.

Standard Chartered has announced that its non-binding offer to acquire Zodia Custody, a digital asset custodian backed by the bank’s venture arm SC Ventures, has been accepted by Zodia Custody’s shareholders and noteholders.  Completion of the transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. The deal will see Zodia Custody’s regulated activities integrated into Standard Chartered’s existing digital asset custody business within its Financing and Securities Services division, consolidating the group’s digital asset custody operations and unlocking revenue and cost synergies. As part of the transaction, Zodia Custody will separate its institutional digital asset infrastructure platform business into a new independent entity, Zodia Solutions, which will sit under SC Ventures.  Zodia Solutions will continue to provide bank-grade infrastructure to financial institutions, including Standard Chartered, supporting them as they launch and scale digital asset services. A number of bank investors, including existing Zodia Custody investors, will back the new entity. Margaret Harwood-Jones, Global Head of Financing and Securities Services at Standard Chartered, said the acquisition will accelerate the growth of the bank’s global digital assets custody portfolio and strengthen its position as a trusted bridge between traditional and decentralised finance. Julian Sawyer, Chief Executive of Zodia Custody, said digital asset custody is increasingly being delivered within banking environments, whilst financial institutions are simultaneously seeking specialist infrastructure partners — a dynamic he said has driven strong and accelerating demand for the Zodia Solutions platform. Existing Zodia Custody clients are expected to experience no disruption as a result of the transaction.The post Standard Chartered to Acquire Zodia Custody first appeared on LeapRate | Online Trading Industry News, Broker Intelligence & Fintech Analysis.

21X, the first fully regulated blockchain-enabled trading venue for digital securities in the European Union, has appointed Mark David Bakacs as Managing Director, Group Strategy.  The appointment comes as the Frankfurt-based firm moves from establishing its regulatory foundation to executing its institutional and international growth agenda. Bakacs has a career spanning two decades across international law, blockchain infrastructure, and institutional capital markets.  He began his legal career in 2005 at Linklaters, Sidley Austin, and Maples Group, developing expertise in English law, US law, and offshore structuring.  “Acting for clients including AIG and a major Gulf sovereign wealth fund during the Credit Suisse bailout, he developed a precise understanding of where the infrastructure of capital markets breaks under stress – settlement, clearing, and counterparty exposure chief among them,” 21X stated. In 2017, Bakacs joined ConsenSys, where he co-created the Ethereal Summit, one of the first major events to translate blockchain and decentralized finance concepts to a mainstream institutional audience. He has since worked across the digital assets space as a builder, investor, and strategic adviser. At 21X, he will lead the commercial and regulatory frameworks connecting traditional market participants to on-chain infrastructure, including expansion into the US market. Max Heinzle, Chief Executive of 21X, commented: “Mark brings something rare – fluency across the legal, regulatory, technical, and strategic dimensions of what we are building, combined with deep personal conviction about why it matters.  “He has seen the old system from the inside, he has been part of building the new one since its earliest days, and he understands precisely what 21X represents at this moment in the evolution of capital markets. We are delighted to have him as part of the leadership team.”The post 21X Appoints Mark David Bakacs to Drive Institutional Growth and International Expansion first appeared on LeapRate | Online Trading Industry News, Broker Intelligence & Fintech Analysis.

Western Union has appointed Pedro Alegría as Vice President and General Manager for Mexico and Central America, the company announced on Monday.  Alegria will be tasked with leading the company’s business strategy in the region with a focus on digital innovation, sustainable growth, and customer-centric financial services. Alegría has more than 20 years of experience in financial services, digital payments, and innovation across Mexico and the United States.  His career has spanned leadership roles at American Express, Santa Barbara Bank & Trust, Banco Azteca, and Banco Dondé, where he led transformation and product development initiatives in competitive markets.  Most recently, he served as General Manager of Broxel USA, overseeing the launch of digital financial products, including payment solutions, remittances, e-wallets, and cross-border platforms in both countries. The appointment comes as Western Union advances its Beyond strategy, which aims to evolve the business from a global remittance provider into a comprehensive financial services platform combining digital solutions with its established physical network. Alegría holds a degree in Business Administration, a Master’s in Innovation for Business Development from Tecnológico de Monterrey, and a Diploma in Financial Technologies from UNAM, covering fintech, crypto, blockchain, and anti-money laundering. “I assume this new role with the commitment to strengthen the customer experience, through digital evolution, the expansion of our omnichannel; and the development of new products and services that accompany people’s financial needs,” said Alegría.The post Western Union Names Pedro Alegría to Lead Mexico and Central America Operations first appeared on LeapRate | Online Trading Industry News, Broker Intelligence & Fintech Analysis.

Standard Chartered has announced that Manus Costello will be appointed Group Chief Financial Officer and join the bank’s board as an Executive Director, subject to regulatory approval.  Costello is assuming the role on an interim basis with immediate effect. Costello, 50, joined Standard Chartered in April 2024 as Global Head of Investor Relations, having previously spent 25 years in equity research.  He was a founding partner and Global Head of Research at Autonomous prior to joining the bank. He will be based in London and report directly to Group Chief Executive Bill Winters. Winters said he was delighted that Costello had agreed to take on the role. “Since joining Standard Chartered two years ago, he has made a significant contribution to the Group’s strategic positioning and engagement of stakeholders, while also bringing strong rigour and an entrepreneurial mindset to the role,” Winters commented. The CEO also acknowledged Pete Burrill, who has served as interim Group Chief Financial Officer, saying he had made a valuable contribution in helping the bank maintain its financial and strategic momentum. The bank also announced the appointment of Tanuj Kapilashrami as Group Chief Operating Officer with immediate effect.  Kapilashrami, who has been a member of the Group Management Team since 2021 and joined Standard Chartered in 2017, will oversee strategy, group-wide transformation, and the resilience of corporate functions as an enabler of the bank’s growth agenda, continuing to report to Winters.The post Standard Chartered Names Manus Costello as Group Chief Financial Officer first appeared on LeapRate | Online Trading Industry News, Broker Intelligence & Fintech Analysis.

Capital.com Australia has announced a multi-year partnership with Golf Australia, becoming Title Partner of the Australian Open and the first Naming Rights Partner of the GA Handicap, in a deal that spans both elite competition and grassroots participation across the country. The 2026 Capital.com Australian Open will be held at Kingston Heath Golf Club in Melbourne, one of Australia’s most respected championship venues. The event will feature back-to-back Masters champion Rory McIlroy, who has committed to returning to Australia for two years. The championship will also debut a new routing that is expected to be used again for the 2028 Presidents Cup, with spectator capacity of 25,000 per day. As Title Partner, Capital.com Australia will invest in on-course infrastructure and spectator facilities. Its role as Naming Rights Partner of the GA Handicap will also support the evolution of the system into a data-led insights platform, providing analysis, content, and engagement tools for the hundreds of thousands of golfers registered across Australia. Thomas McCrickard, Chief Executive of Capital.com Australia, said golf is genuinely embedded in Australian sporting life and is built on patience, discipline, and the long view — qualities he said are consistent with the company’s focus on helping clients make informed, considered decisions. James Sutherland, Chief Executive of Golf Australia, said the partnership spans the full spectrum of the game, from elite championship competition to the everyday golfer, and will support both tournament growth and the long-term future of the sport.The post Capital.com Australia Signs Multi-Year Deal as Title Partner of the Australian Open first appeared on LeapRate | Online Trading Industry News, Broker Intelligence & Fintech Analysis.