In a refreshingly busy week for news, at the height of the holiday season, here are the stories from the Forex , fintech, and cryptocurrency worlds that dominated this week's headlines in our best of the week segment.
Playtech Plans to Sell TradeTech, Seeking $200-250 Million
Playtech (LON: PTEC), the online gaming and financial services giant, has hired UBS Investment Bank for selling its financial unit TradeTech and is looking for an initial bid between $200 million to $250 million.
Several parties and groups are already showing interest in the acquisition. One of these groups willing to bid for the unit was formed in recent weeks by Fortissimo investment fund, Israeli entrepreneur Zvika Barenboim, and a few institutional bodies.
The report detailed that the group is directly negotiating with PlayTech’s management for the deal.
If the group strikes this deal with TradeTech, 40 percent of the company will be held by the institutions, while the rest 60 percent will be in control of Fortissimo and Barenboim.
Read more on the TradeTech sale here
CFTC Slams 20 Forex Brands with Regulatory Warnings
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) this week updated its caution list, the ‘RED List,’ in which it warns the public against unauthorized FX and binary options firms that are illegally conducting financial services, targeting the country’s residents.
The CFTC added 20 new names to the list, bringing the total number of backlisted entities to 168.
The US regulator’s list includes forex and binary options brokers that appear to be soliciting and/or accepting funds from US residents without having obtained CFTC registration.
Read more on the CFTC Warnings here
JPMorgan Chase to Launch UK Digital Bank in Q1 2021
As Finance Magnates reported this week, JPMorgan Chase is set to launch its UK digital challenger, which includes a range of savings and loan products under its Chase brand in the UK, in the first quarter of 2021.
The Wall Street stalwart has reportedly been named Clive Adamson, who is the former head of supervision at the City watchdog and a non-executive director at JPMorgan Securities, to lead the new business.
The launch could spur a shakeup in competition and prices among incumbent lenders, including its rival Goldman Sachs, which launched its retail consumer bank Marcus in the UK in 2018.
Read more on the JPMorgan Chase UK Digital Launch here.
New Bitcoin Fund Proposal Filed with SEC by Fidelity Executive
The US Securities and Exchange Commission this week published a new application for a Bitcoin index fund recently submitted by Fidelity’s president and head of strategy and planning, Peter Jubber.
According to the filing document published by the SEC, the proposed fund called ‘Wise Origin Bitcoin Index Fund I, LP,’ and is meant to target deep-pocket investors with the minimum participation tag set at $100,000.
Read more on the Bitcoin Fund Proposal here
Trustly Launches in Australia & Canada
Online banking Payments provider Trustly, announced this Wednesday that it has expanded its global footprint into a new region – Asia Pacific. Specifically, the company has launched in Australia and Canada.
With its launch in Australia, Trustly has made its first move into the APAC region. On the other hand, its expansion into Canada furthers its market coverage in North America.
Read more on the Trustly Australia and Canada Launches here
Charles Schwab to Integrate TD Ameritrade Platforms
Nearly two months after it won approval from US antitrust watchdog for its $26 billion acquisition of TD Ameritrade, Charles Schwab said it plans to retain and integrate the former rival’s thinkorswim and thinkpipes trading platforms.
Schwab anticipates the integration, between the two largest publicly traded discount brokers, to take between 18 to 36 months following the close of Ameritrade takeover. It will also include the educational offerings and tools accompanying them, as well as TD Ameritrade’s institutional portfolio rebalancing solution iRebal.
Read more on the Charles Schwab TD Ameritrade Integration here.
