Category Archives: Financial

Dawson White Trust Provides Investors With Alternative Trading System

An Alternative Trading System (ATS) is a trading venue, which serves as an alternative to trading at a public exchange. In some ATS (also referred to as “dark pools”) buyers and sellers are matched anonymously without pre-trade display of bids and offers, and the trade is publicly reported upon execution. It is important to note that the basic function of a broker-operated ATS is an electronic manifestation of a previously manual trading process, when trading desks would first try to execute trades internally before sending the order to a public exchange. Industry reporting estimates total “dark pool” volume to be less than 10% of all stock market transactions. The vast majority of trades still occur at exchanges and ECNs.

ATS` are affiliated with registered broker-dealers and accordingly, their activities are governed by the same rules and regulations that govern broker-dealer activities generally.

Dawson White Trustsupports regulation that enhances post-trade reporting transparency for ATS`. As a first step in the effort to support enhanced public information on ATS trading activity, Dawson White TrustExecution and & Clearing, recently adopted a standardized method for counting executed trades in its ATS.

Non-displayed or “dark” orders and related trading activity are part of the price discovery process. When seeking best execution of their orders, market participants use trading tools that shift between providing displayed and non-displayed quotes, balancing the benefits of displaying a quote to achieve an execution versus not displaying a quote in an attempt to reduce market impact and potentially obtain price or size improvement on their order. All Dawson White Trust ATS trades “print” real-time to a trade reporting facility. This publicly available “time and sales” data is an integral component of price discovery, and ATS trading contributes to this in the same manner that public exchanges do.

ATS` have led to increased innovation and competition. Increased competition among trading venues has led to a broad reduction in explicit trading costs for both institutional and individual investors. For example, retail brokerages take advantage of the lower transaction fees offered by ATS` to provide low trading commission fees to their customers.

The Bank of Marion Selects Continuity Control for Compliance Platform

High-Performing Community Bank Looks To Improve Regulatory Efforts And Reduce Costs

New Haven, CT, June 28, 2012 – Continuity Control, the only complete compliance platform built for community financial institutions, today announced that The Bank of Marion (Illinois) has signed on to use the firm’s award-winning solution.

By centralizing all regulatory management activities, the Continuity Control platform enables financial institutions like The Bank of Marion to reduce the resources they spend on compliance while ensuring that they pass regulatory muster and effectively keep up with the steady stream of regulatory changes.

“We’re a high performing bank and we try to do everything right,” says Ray Altmix, The Bank of Marion’s president and CEO, “but compliance still keeps me up at night, even more than a potential problem in the loan portfolio. Though we have done very well on our exams, I can’t say we’ve ever been able to keep up.”

According to Mr. Altmix, by shifting certain responsibilities to the Continuity Control platform, the bank will be in position to do a more thorough job with fewer employees. “I see us getting by on one-half full-time employee less. And I’m not talking about a teller, I’m talking about mid-management.”

The Bank of Marion, with over $330 million in total assets, is the largest locally owned and operated bank in Williamson County. By all key performance measures available through FDIC data, including efficiency ratio, return on assets, and return on equity, The Bank of Marion is an extraordinarily high-performing institution. The bank’s ability to achieve similar returns going forward is complicated, however, by the relentless rise in operating expenses due to increased regulations.

“Even a well-managed community bank like The Bank of Marion can’t keep up with the 58 rule changes that have come down in the last six months, much less the 157 that have been issued in the past year. The costs associated with this kind of regulatory compliance represent an insurmountable challenge to their current business model,” says Andy Greenawalt, Continuity Control’s co-Founder and CEO. “Our platform is the only way for community banks to operate in this complex regulatory environment to maintain reasonable and sustainable overhead.”

Continuity Control’s mission is to help community financial institutions survive and thrive by offering personalized, expert service coupled with innovative technology to relieve the compliance burden. The firm was recognized as one of the five most interesting companies in financial services at FinovateSpring 2010 and recently named among the “10 Tech Companies to Watch” by Bank Technology News.

About Continuity Control
Continuity Control is an award-winning compliance platform that combines advanced software with personalized service to help community financial institutions effectively manage their regulatory burden. Founded in 2008 by distinguished technology, banking, and compliance specialists, Continuity Control’s platform effectively reduces the resources a bank or credit union must spend on compliance while ensuring that it passes regulatory muster. Built just for smaller banks and credit unions, Continuity Control is the most comprehensive compliance management platform on the market today for community financial institutions. For more information, visit www.continuity.net.

Contact:
Katie Weathers
CSG PR
3225 East 2nd Avenue
Denver, CO 80206
404-791-8245
kweathers@csg-pr.com
http://www.csg-pr.com

Bower Welcomes the ReLaunch of SHIP

Bower Retirement Services, winners of the 2011 Equity Release Awards, welcome the relaunch of Safe Home Income Plans (‘SHIP’) as The Equity Release Council (The Council). Bower welcome also the decision of the trade body to broaden its membership to include financial advisers, solicitors, surveyors and other interested parties.

SHIP was established in 1991 by the major product providers as the body to safeguard the interests of consumers entering into equity release plans. Over the past 20 years, SHIP has been very successful in improving the reputation of equity release and in promoting consumer awareness of the products available. The main focus of the Equity Release Council will be to protect consumers and increase education, awareness and understanding of how equity release works, the options available and the consumer safeguards that are in place.

Geoff Charles, Managing Director of Bower commented:

“We welcome the new organisation and look forward to joiningand supporting the Equity Release Council. The changes are excellent news for elderly homeowners who are seeking to release capital from their homes in order to raise a lump sum and/or to supplement their retirement income. The extension of the membership and SHIP standards to all participants in the sector will strengthen consumer confidence and reinforce the message that equity release plans are now mainstream retirement products.”

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Payday Loans Paid Enter the UK Payday Lending Market

Paydayloanspaid.co.uk has entered the payday loans online market in the United Kingdom. With a team of financial experts who bring with them an inordinate amount of experience in the unsecured loans sector in the UK, they aim to bring something different into the challenging internet, payday lending sector.

Head of online operations, Jenny Statham explained, ‘’Many payday loan applications are declined from a number of the main lenders in the United Kingdom due to their reliance on passing one application. Our payday loans are slightly different in that we can use our strong relationships with some of the payday lenders to ensure the majority of the applications are approved.”.

Payday loans are a somewhat sensitive subject and have featured heavily in the mainstream British press in recent times, but it appears they could be featuring in the UK lending sector for some time. With some APR’s of payday loans surpassing 4 figures, they have – in some quarters – been rightly criticised. Jenny Statham added, ‘’ we try to make sure any potential applicant are fully aware of the associated costs that come with the payday loan agreement they enter into.  Our advice to people who are considering entering into a payday loan agreement with  a lender they have sourced through Paydayloanspaid.co.uk is to primarily focus on the repayment terms, if they are unable to meet the repayments costs then it is important they do not take on the payday loan.”

With a plethora of payday loan operators frequenting the internet it can be difficult to decide what lender to choose from.  Jenny Statham advised, ‘’if you are looking to secure a payday loan, it is important not to use the first lender you find. Spend some time researching the different providers to ensure you get the very best deal. As there are so many in competition with each other now, there could be some great deals to be found out there”.

Paydayloanspaid.co.uk is one of countless payday loan lenders in the United Kingdom in what some commentators are calling a ‘’saturated market”. They hope, however, to hit the ground running with an easy to use online portal, quality customer service and modest acceptance rates for new applications. Jenny concluded, ‘’we hope to attract people to our online portal who may not have used a payday loan, but have the capacity to service the loan, as new applications will typically have a greater chance of being accepted for a payday loan through our approval system”.­­­­­

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About Paydayloanspaid.co.uk
Paydayloanspaid.co.uk are an online payday loans brokerage. They provide small, short term cash loans for people who are resident within the United Kingdom. They have an online application portal that facilitates new and existing payday loan applications.

Further information – paydayloanspaid.co.uk

General enquiries – support@paydayloanspaid.co.uk

Ezra Penland Actuarial Recruitment Employs Two; Announces Scholarship Recipient; Sally Ezra Quoted

The Leader in Actuarial Recruitment, Ezra Penland, is proud to announce the hiring of two new employees at the rapidly-growing, Chicago-based firm. Thomas Clohisy joins Ezra Penland as an Actuarial Recruiter. Tom has executive recruiting experience, as well as recruitment business development skills. He was also a successful commodities trader for a number of years, after having earned an MBA from Loyola University and a Bachelor’s degree from Purdue University. Tom can be reached at tom@EzraPenland.com.

John Gieger joins Ezra Penland as Corporate Librarian and Data Specialist. John earned a Masters of Library and Information Science from Dominican University, as well as a Bachelor’s in Audio Engineering from Belmont University. He has varied experiences as a data manager and a librarian, and brings with him exceptional computer skills and an innate ability for information organization. John may be reached at john@EzraPenland.com.

Additionally, Ezra Penland proudly awards their most recent $500 Actuarial Scholarship to Jordan Nadler. Ms. Nadler is a junior at Missouri State University where she is a Mathematics major with a concentration in Actuarial Science, and she is minoring in Finance and Risk Management & Insurance. In addition to tutoring mathematics, she is a member of the Delta Sigma Pi Professional Business Fraternity and treasurer of the Alpha Lambda Chapter of Gamma Iota Sigma, the Risk Management,Insurance and Actuarial Science Fraternity. Nadler has held an internship at American National and will hold an internship at Ernst & Young this summer in New York. She has passed two Actuarial Exams and is pursuing a career as an Actuary.

And, finally, Sally Ezra, Partner at Ezra Penland Actuarial Recruitment, was interviewed in the May-June, 2012 Contingencies, the magazine of the American Academy of Actuaries. The topic was the “Workers Compensation Predictive Modeling Comes of Age”, and Ms. Ezra discussed the hireability and availability of actuaries with such skills.

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4256 N Ravenswood
Suite 200
Chicago IL 60613
actuaries@EzraPenland.com
http://www.EzraPenland.com
(800) 580-3972
Claude Penland, Partner or Sally Ezra, Partner

Michael Blakey & Paul Grant speaking on EFactor Business Bootcamp June 21

A day full of succeeded Entrepreneurs and the Best Funding Experts in the field, Michael Blakey & Paul Grant!

Want to learn more on what to do when you are on theEntrepreneurial Frontline? Or how Bootstrapping can be an effective way to run your operations? What Investor Types & Funds are out there? And what are the Legal Aspects of Investments? Sign up now for EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT, lunch & drinks included! http://www.efactor.com/ukfunding1206

We provided you with a special program with some great names in this industry:

John Spindler CEO of Capital Enterprise. John has had over 15 years’ experience as an entrepreneur and business advisor/consultant and as well as being responsible for the day to day management of Capital Enterprise is also a director and co-owner of audio designer and manufacturer Ferguson Hill.

Michael Blakey: has been a successful, active, early-stage investor in the UK since 2000 and having invested in some 17 businesses and realized 3 profitable exits to date. Co-investing with his brother, Simon, he is responsible for all our marketing and deal origination activities. Michael was voted by AngelsNews as “the Business Angels You should now”.

Paul Grant: is an experienced entrepreneur who has founded his own London based company through private equity and debt finance. He managed to build a network of over 500 business angels at Capital Partners Private Equity Ltd and more recently at BA Capital Ltd, during which time he never ceased to assist young businesses with fundraising and coaching. He is also the founder of “The Funding Game” seminar series, which offers practical guidance and networking opportunities for entrepreneurs seeking capital for early-stage and growing ventures.

Jaan Larner: is a business minded lawyer at Keystone Law with an MBA from Oxford University. He is a corporate and commercial lawyer with a particular interest in entrepreneurial activity. He advises clients on their corporate structures as well as their on-going day-to-day commercial activity. Jaan qualified as a Solicitor in 1997.

WE HOPE TO WELCOME YOU AT 21 JUNE – INNOVATION WAREHOUSE – LONDON

SEE FOR MORE DETAILS OF THE PROGAM: http://www.efactor.com/ukfunding1206

Please Eva Hukshorn for your questions.

Lunch and drinks are included in the event price.

This event is sponsored by RBS, Capital Enterprise and Keystone Law To attend this event being a member of EFactor is mandotory, you can sign up (for free) on www.efactor.com.

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Paydayloansavailable.com Aiming to Decrease Application Times

Paydayloansavailable.com is the latest online payday lender to have adapted an online lending portal to service UK residents who may be in need of an unsecured lending facility. With the onset of broker style lending,  payday loans are now being processed online in the UK by many service providers using state of the art ‘’Pingtree” technology, working in unison with the UK’s leading payday lenders, and the application facility now being operated by Paydayloansavailable.com is certainly no exception.

The application harnesses secure technology to enable new and existing applicants to push their details through to a panel of lenders after submitting one application form online. The details are transmitted through to the lenders via the application and the subsequent decision is made by one of the chosen payday loan lenders. Jenny Davis, applications manager at Paydayloansavailable.com explained, ‘’we have decided to integrate a Pingtree style application within the site to give applicants a credible opportunity to access funds. The main advantage we have is that all of our applications are submitted to different lenders. The payday providers will then either accept the loan application based on the data that has been submitted, or it will be declined. Either way there is a reduced time implication which can only serve to benefit our customers”.

Online payday lenders are now entrenched within the UK’s unsecured finance sector and it is evident the increased competition has not always culminated in an improved service provided. But, Paydayloansavailable.com aims to at least serve their customers quicker than ever before, as well as giving them increased opportunity to secure short term, unsecured funding online. Jenny Davis added, ‘’there is still a real need in the UK for short term loans and unfortunately there is not the availability of funding through the mainstream lending channels. Whilst we do not condone irresponsible lending, it is important to acknowledge there is a need for credit and we hope to be able to provide an opportunity for finance”.

Paydayloansavailable.com is aiming to make an impact on the lending sector in the UK. Despite their relatively short time operating online, by implementing cutting edge technology into their service provision, they may well be making a positive statement of intent.

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Two Years After the Flash Crash, High Frequency Firms on the Move: The Speed Traders Workshop 2012 Warsaw

Edgar Perez, Presenting The Speed Traders Workshop 2012 Warsaw, Poland, “How Algorithmic and High Frequency Traders Leverage Profitable Strategies to Find Alpha in Equities, Options, Futures and FX”, May 11, 2012.

(May 3, 2012, New York) — It was reported by Reuters that increased scrutiny by U.S. regulators and politicians of high-frequency traders is creating an incentive for them to move to less regulated markets inside and outside the United States, Duncan Niederauer, chief executive of NYSE Euronext. High-frequency trading had come under increased scrutiny since the May 6, 2010 “flash crash,” when the Dow Jones industrial average dropped more than 800 points in minutes, before rebounding. Some critics said high frequency trading exacerbated the speed and severity of the fall.

Niederauer said that another result of the increased scrutiny in the United States was that high-frequency firms were accelerating shifts to non-U.S. markets. “I don’t think the high frequency guys have left the U.S. market entirely, but I do think that they have shifted some of their volume to the less regulated market, which you have to say is a rational decision on their part.”

This rational decision by high frequency traders to move to other markets includes Poland. That’s why Edgar Perez is bringing The Speed Traders Workshop 2012 Warsaw, “How Algorithmic and High Frequency Traders Leverage Profitable Strategies to Find Alpha in Equities, Options, Futures and FX” (http://www.TheSpeedTradersWorkshop.com) on May 11 to the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Perez is widely regarded as the preeminent expert in the specialized area of high-frequency trading; he is the author of The Speed Traders, An Insider’s Look at the New High-Frequency Trading Phenomenon That is Transforming the Investing World (http://www.TheSpeedTraders.com), published by McGraw-Hill Inc. (2011).

The Speed Traders Workshop 2012 Warsaw reveals how high-frequency trading players are succeeding in the global markets and driving the development of algorithmic trading at breakneck speeds from the U.S. and Europe to India, Singapore and Brazil.

Perez has been featured on CNBC Cash Flow (with Oriel Morrison), CNBC Squawk Box (with Geoff Cutmore), BNN Business Day (with Kim Parlee), TheStreet.com (with Gregg Greenberg), Channel NewsAsia Business Tonight and Cents & Sensibilities (with Lin Xue Ling), NHK World, iMoney Hong Kong, Hedge Fund Brief, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Dallas Morning News, Valor Econômico, The Korea Herald, FIXGlobal Trading, The Korea Times, TODAY Online, Oriental Daily News and Business Times.

Perez has been engaged to present to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, CFA Singapore, Hong Kong Securities Institute, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University and Pace University, among other public and private institutions. In addition, Perez has spoken at a number of global conferences, including Harvard Business School’s Venture Capital & Private Equity Conference (Boston), High-Frequency Trading Leaders Forum (New York, Chicago, London), MIT Sloan Investment Management Conference (Cambridge), Institutional Investor’s Global Growth Markets Forum (London), Technical Analysis Society (Singapore), TradeTech Asia (Singapore), FIXGlobal Face2Face (Seoul) and Private Equity Convention Russia, CIS & Eurasia (London).

Perez was a vice president at Citigroup, a senior consultant at IBM, and a consultant at McKinsey & Co. in New York City. Perez has an undergraduate degree from Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería, Lima, Peru (1994), a Master of Administration from Universidad ESAN, Lima, Peru (1997) and a Master of Business Administration from Columbia Business School, New York, with a dual major in Finance and Management (2002). He belongs to the Beta Gamma Sigma honor society. Perez resides in the New York City area and is an accomplished salsa and hustle dancer.

Contact:
Julia Petrova
Media Relations Coordinator
The Speed Traders
516-761-4712
jpetrova@thespeedtraders.com
http://www.thespeedtraders.com

247 Payday UK Launches New Payday Loans Website with a Conscience

Payday loans website, 247 Payday UK launched at midnight on April 24th 2012. The message is clear that this new online lending facility wants to be ”a little bit different” in comparison to other payday lenders currently operating in the somewhat saturated payday loans market within the United Kingdom.

With a new website fresh out of the wraps, a dedicated marketing team and an ethical approach to lending, it is hoped that the future could be bright for 247 Payday UK.

Richard Painter, 247 Payday UK’s operations manager explained, ”from the outset we have wanted to be clear with our customers around issues such as payday loan repayment costs and implications of taking on this type of loan arrangement”. Although the website is in its infancy 247 Payday UK has focused on transparency, providing a payday loans guide that Richard added, ”will continue to be built upon and developed over time to ultimately create a hub of information for new and existing customers”.

Richard has over 5 years’ experience within the UK payday market and stated that he has seen a shift in recent times to a more competitive sector, but would like ”more transparency and openness between the lender and the customer”.

His involvement with various payday loans operations all over the UK has enabled Richard to see the positive and negative aspects of the industry. Richard is clearly excited at being part of the new team and explained, ”we have sourced some experienced payday loan specialists, with a blend of youth and experience, to hopefully create a winning formula in helping to promote our fresh and innovative payday site”.

With 247 Payday UK coming into an already tough financial sector, it may well be a bumpy road ahead for Richard and his team. It is however evident that they are not attempting to reinvent the wheel, but to be open and honest with their potential customers and this could ultimately be a winning formula.

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Email – richardpainter@247paydayuk.co.uk
General enquiries – customerservice@247paydayuk.co.uk
Website – http://www.247paydayuk.co.uk

 

OKPAY.com Introducing Virtual Prepaid MasterCard

OKPAY is one of the most dynamically developing financial company nowadays. OKPAY is available to clients worldwide since 2010. Providing a customer-focused, convenient and fully fledged financial services have always been the Company’s credo.

Almost a billion of consumers don’t have a credit card and many who have a card don’t wish to use it because of the various security concerns. In order to provide a solution for these customers OKPAY Company is offering a Virtual Card feature.

Main benefits of the virtual cards are maximum security, no credit assessment, availability for immediate use.

OKPAY Virtual Debit Card Benefits

OKPAY MasterCard provides clients an easy and secure online payment source with several million retailers worldwide. A short time upon card application approval client obtains virtual card credentials (containing primary card information required for online purchases).

Virtual card has a temporary number that can be used for one time or several online purchases. This card number is useless to hackers, because even if the card number becomes uncovered it will not be useful as the card most likely won’t have available funds.

To keep online shopping even safer OKPAY Company recommends transferring funds to the virtual card at the moment when ready to make a purchase. This way the transfer amount can match the checkout price and the card balance will remain empty until next payment.

Identity theft is also a major concern nowadays. The virtual card number does not lead to any real credit card numbers or bank accounts associated with it. OKPAY Virtual Card is a Pre-Paid card, which means that it has a spending limit, which is not linked to a Wallet balance.

It only takes a few days to generate and receive a virtual card number that can be immediately used for purchases as a valid card over the internet. There are over 33 million MasterCard® merchant locations worldwide.

“Our goal is to create an ultimate payment financial service, suitable and convenient for both sellers and buyers. We have celebrated our second birthday not long ago, and we are glad to see our client’s satisfaction and continuous support,” says Konstantin Romanovsky, OKPAY President and CEO. “We are happy to keep improving OKPAY. This time we would like to offer you a great option for secure online shopping – OKPAY Virtual Debit Card!”

For more information on OKPAY Virtual Debit Card solution visit OKPAY News.

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Contact Details: https://www.okpay.com/
+44 20 8123 2193
22 Georgiou Griva Digheni Street, Limassol, 3106, Cyprus.