Latest news with #AndrewWalton
Cision Canada
03-07-2025
- Business
- Cision Canada
Fujitsu to develop ETF trading platform based on TSE's CONNEQTOR and provide it to Australian Securities Exchange
TOKYO, July 2, 2025 /CNW/ -- The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc. (TSE), and Fujitsu Limited on June 2, 2025 signed MOU to develop a SaaS-based Request for Quote (RFQ) platform. Fujitsu will develop the platform based on "CONNEQTOR," an RFQ platform for the ETF market developed by TSE and Fujitsu, and provide it to ASX. The initiative aims to modernize the process for ETF pricing in Australia by implementing a SaaS RFQ platform, built and managed by Fujitsu. The foundation of this new platform is the CONNEQTOR system provided by TSE, one of Asia's most successful RFQ platforms. Since its launch in February 2021, CONNEQTOR has enabled over 290 users to significantly reduce costs and improve the efficiency of their ETF trading operations. Monthly trading value reached a record high of JPY 306.4 billion in April 2025. Fujitsu will serve as the service provider for the Fujitsu RFQ platform, responsible for service development, provision, and utilization support. TSE, as the licensor and operator of the CONNEQTOR system, will provide support for the platform's implementation. Andrew Walton, General Manager, Trading, ASX comments: "ASX is excited to partner with Fujitsu and TSE to explore the opportunities the Fujitsu RFQ platform can deliver for the Australian market. With the ability to increase liquidity and price discovery, ASX sees the potential to support the development of this market segment and its participants. We will be engaging extensively with the Australian industry to gather feedback to assess the feasibility of launching this platform in the first half of 2026." Satoshi Takura, Senior Executive Officer, TSE (Senior Executive Officer & CIO, Japan Exchange Group) comments: "It is great to join forces on the feasibility of a service based on TSE's CONNEQTOR. By providing international and diverse market functions, we hope to contribute to the development of the global ETF market from a technological perspective." "Fujitsu is excited to explore this opportunity to provide the Fujitsu RFQ platform for the Australian Securities Exchange. Leveraging our deep experience in building and maintaining financial infrastructure with cutting-edge technology, we're confident that our strong partnership with the Tokyo Stock Exchange will unlock even greater value for the ASX and its global customers."
Telegraph
17-04-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Britain's biggest bank pledges ‘solidarity' with trans staff
Britain's biggest bank has pledged 'solidarity' with transgender staff after the Supreme Court ruling on the legal rights of women. Executives at Lloyds Bank, which counts one in two British adults as a customer, have backed transgender staff working at the company – saying they would support them during this 'this very tough time'. It comes as businesses across Britain wrestle with the implications of a landmark Supreme Court judgment this week that ruled laws against sex-based discrimination should only apply to biological women. The decision will herald a raft of changes around female-only spaces and businesses are now grappling with how it will affect their female and transgender staff. Hours after the judgment, Andrew Walton, Lloyds's chief corporate affairs director, posted on the bank's intranet to say the lender would back its trans staff following the 'unsettling decision'. 'Thought I would come on here today with a note of support for our trans and non-binary colleagues on what I know will be an unsettling day following the UK Supreme Court decision,' he wrote on Lloyds's Rainbow network, the bank's internal group for LGBTQ+ people, according to messages reviewed by The Telegraph. 'Please know that we cherish and celebrate you and we remain committed to inclusivity. If you're a line manager, please be mindful of the potential impact on members of your team and be available to them. We are here to listen and support.' Sharon Doherty, the chief people and places officer at Lloyds, said in response to Mr Walton's post: 'Very well said ... Standing in solidarity at this very tough time.' Both Mr Walton and Ms Doherty are among the most senior leaders at the bank, sitting on a 14-person executive committee headed by Charlie Nunn, the chief executive. A former Lloyds employee who saw the messages but wishes to remain anonymous criticised the two executives for wading into the trans debate without presenting a balanced approach. 'If you are the chief people officer this is a political matter which has very strong feelings on both ideas,' they said. 'It is risky. What about the women who are fighting for their rights? Employers should look after everybody.' The ex-employee said the bank had previously made it clear to employees that trans staff could use the toilet facilities that were most comfortable to them. Lloyds Bank declined to comment. The bank's stance on trans issues has previously drawn criticism after it offered free counselling to its 30,000 employees in response to comments made by Kemi Badenoch and Rishi Sunak at the Conservative Party conference in October 2023. Ms Badenoch, then business secretary, told the Manchester gathering that she would 'not apologise for fighting for a society that knows what a woman is'. Mr Sunak, then prime minister, said: 'A man is a man, and a woman is a woman; that's just common sense.' In response, Sarah Underhill, then human resources director at Lloyds Bank, sent an email to employees saying she was 'appalled to hear the rhetoric coming from the Conservative Party conference this week, targeting the trans and non-binary community'. She said: 'Hearing language that fuels hate and division is shocking. To all our trans and non-binary colleagues, please know that at Lloyds Banking Group you are not alone. You are valued. You are welcome here.' A Conservative Party source dismissed the comments at the time as 'outrageous virtue signalling from one of the UK's biggest banks.' The Supreme Court judgment is expected to bring about a host of changes across public life, including to rules governing who can access single-sex NHS wards and who can join female teams in elite sport. The decision followed a years-long legal battle between campaign group For Women Scotland and the Scottish Government over the definition of a woman.
