BlueFlame AI Builds GenAI-Supported Workflow Automator

BlueFlame AI has built a generative artificial intelligence (GenAI)-supported workflow automation tools to streamline their private markets data processes.
The New York-based startup’s Blueprints also uses large language models to query and process data from internal and external source, helping firms to boost productivity and make better informed decisions, BlueFlame AI said.

“By eliminating the technical barriers traditionally associated with AI implementation, we’re democratising access to sophisticated automation tools that can dramatically improve how investment firms operate and make decisions,” said chief executive and co-founder Raj Bakhru.

“For example, our clients can run a Blueprint to create IC memos, analyse earnings reports, or prepare them for an upcoming prospect meeting, reducing hours of manual work to minutes.”

BlueFlame was launched two years ago and its Nexus platform is designed to help firms mine and make sense of information stored in unstructured sources.

The company said that Blueprints can improve the accuracy of private markets research and analysis and that clients can interact with it through simple natural language prompts.

S&P Global Unveils Document Summary and Insights Tool

S&P Global clients now have access to a generative artificial intelligence (GenAI)-supported platform that can scan, extract and analyse critical data points from text and other content-based documents.

Document Intelligence resides within S&P’s Capital IQ Pro product and works on company filings, earnings call transcripts, investor presentations, news and research. The company has also unveiled ChatIQ, which enables easier engagement with research.

“The addition of GenAI-enabled Document Intelligence and ChatIQ will further enhance the user experience, improve discoverability and shorten time to insights through the provision of some of the most modern and innovative tools in our industry,” said Warren Breakstone, global head of Capital IQ Solutions for S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Document Intelligence will highlight key phrases within documents, present smart summaries and uses natural language processing to establish sentiment scores.

China’s BOCOM Fintech Named as a GLEIF Validation Agent

A Bank of Communications (BOCOM) subsidiary in Shanghai has been named a validation agent by the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation, a move that the organisation describes as a milestone in China’s adoption of LEIs.

BOCOM Fintech will use the LEI to smooth cross-border identification, simplify Know Your Customer (KYC) processes and document requirements for offshore businesses, accelerate identity verification and reduce compliance risks, GLEIF said.

China’s own entity-monitoring agency, the Beijing National Institute of Financial Standardization (NIFS), supports BOCOM Fintech’s new status.

“By becoming a validation agent in the Global LEI System, we are better positioned as a FinTech company and aim to contribute more effectively to China’s economic opening-up,” said BOCOM Fintech president Tang Yi. “We are firmly committed to exploring innovative applications of the LEI in anti-money laundering (AML), maritime trade, and cross-border e-commerce, thus promoting digital finance and economic development.”

Market Data Startup Databento Boost Fund Raising to $30m

Market data vendor and technology startup Databento has boosted its fundraising to US$30 million with a recent $10m capital boost from investors including Belvedere Trading, Clear Street and Lightscape Partners.

Databento builds APIs to better serve financial institutions with high-fidelity market data. The pay-as-you-go service enables clients to select data distributed from almost 50 exchanges worldwide in more than a dozen formats.

The Salt Lake City, Utah-based company said the new finance would be used to enhance its offering by extending the historical and geographical coverage of the data it feeds to clients.

Tradeweb and Tokyo Stock Exchange Partner to Enhance Liquidity Access for Japanese ETFs

Tradeweb Markets Inc. and the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) have formed a strategic partnership to boost institutional access to liquidity in Japanese exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The collaboration introduces a direct link between Tradeweb’s platform and TSE’s CONNEQTOR request-for-quote (RFQ) platform, enabling Tradeweb buy-side clients to access CONNEQTOR’s liquidity providers when executing Japan-listed ETF trades. The new connection was inaugurated with a transaction by Global X Japan.

Tradeweb’s integration with CONNEQTOR allows clients to seek quotes from a broad network of market makers via the Tradeweb interface, ensuring they receive the most competitive pricing. Clients can leverage Tradeweb’s AiEX tool for automated execution and benefit from TSE’s post-trade infrastructure, further enhancing transaction efficiency. This partnership builds on Tradeweb’s established multi-region ETF trading capabilities, as Tradeweb reported a significant 30% year-over-year increase in Asia clients’ ETF transaction volumes.

Enrico Bruni, Head of Europe and Asia Business at Tradeweb, commented: “This exciting collaboration between Tradeweb and TSE’s CONNEQTOR platform demonstrates our focus on linking liquidity pools for the benefit of institutional investors looking to transfer risk with a higher degree of certainty. We are in the business of enhancing clients’ execution experience, and we look forward to bringing more time and cost efficiencies to investors trading Japanese ETFs, both locally and globally.”

Moriyuki Iwanaga, President of Tokyo Stock Exchange, added: “CONNEQTOR has been developed as a platform to enable investors to trade ETFs “faster and cheaper”. We hope that the new connection with Tradeweb will promote investment in the Japanese market by allowing investors outside Japan, who have had difficulty using CONNEQTOR, to easily access ETFs listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange from overseas. TSE will continue to strive to provide and develop a highly convenient market environment, where investors can enjoy better prices and smoother execution.”

Finbridge Collaborates with GLEIF on FinTech Identifiers

Finbridge Global, a platform that lets financial institutions assess FinTech companies at the product level, has adopted the The Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) framework.

The collaboration is hoped to enable clients to reduce the due diligence process when engaging with FinTech providers, a statement said. Finbridge will also manage the LEIs of FinTechs.

LEI data is also used to map corporate structures and relationships, highlighting the links between legal entities, helping clients to assess the risks posed by organisations operating internationally, according to a statement.

“While the dynamism of the global fintech sector is helping to transform the delivery of financial services, many potential partnerships are inhibited as financial institutions and investors lack the information needed to meet stringent due diligence requirements,” said GLEIF chief executive Alexandre Kech. “Integrating the LEI into the Finbridge Global platform addresses this challenge by setting a new standard of trust that accelerates and enhances KYC and KYB processes—promoting faster onboarding and enabling financial institutions and investors to operate with confidence. This is a catalyst for broader fintech adoption worldwide, ensuring all organisations can seize new opportunities while safeguarding their reputations and credibility.”

TS Imagine Completes Acquisition of PrimeOne

TS Imagine, the global provider of trading, portfolio, and risk management solutions, has now completed its acquisition of PrimeOne, specialists in operational risk management for the prime brokerage sector. The combined entity will operate under the TS Imagine brand, maintaining its global headquarters in New York.

TS Imagine provides a SaaS platform offering integrated front-office trading, portfolio, and risk management tools for both buy-side and sell-side clients. PrimeOne’s platform offers key services such as stock borrowing, lending, and margin management, which will complement TS Imagine’s existing technology.

The integration of PrimeOne’s tools with TS Imagine’s RiskSmart platform aims to enhance real-time risk monitoring by leveraging PrimeOne’s operational and financing data. Additionally, PrimeOne’s expertise in swaps will support the expansion of TS Imagine’s TradeSmart OEMS into swaps.

OTP Group Selects Integral’s Cloud Technology for Enhanced Global FX Trading Operations

OTP Group, one of the leading banking groups in the Central and Eastern European region,  has selected technology from currency technology provider Integral, to upgrade its FX trading infrastructure. By implementing Integral’s advanced liquidity aggregation, pricing engine, and risk management solutions, OTP Group aims to deliver high-precision pricing and increased operational reliability for its clients. This move aligns with OTP’s commitment to enhancing client service quality and achieving cost efficiency across its FX operations.

Integral’s cloud-native technology facilitated a quick and efficient deployment at OTP Group’s headquarters in Budapest, extending across its regional offices in Central and Eastern Europe and Middle Asia. The scalable, flexible architecture will enable OTP Bank to adapt its FX infrastructure to meet changing client demands, ensuring robust performance and easy future growth, according to the company.

Attila Bánfi, Managing Director of OTP Global Markets commented: “We are constantly developing our money and capital markets services to deliver exceptional service and tailored solutions to our regional and global clients. In order to provide even better service than before, we needed a solution that could deliver accurate, flexible and reliable pricing and risk management capabilities across our entire operating area. Integral’s proven and extensible technology stood out as the ideal partner to help us achieve these goals.”

Harpal Sandhu, CEO of Integral, added: “As a leading bank within Central and Eastern Europe, we are delighted to support OTP Group in optimizing their FX pricing and risk management workflows. With over 30-years of experience and the most advanced technology, Integral is able to offer highly configurable and sophisticated trading solutions to meet the specific needs of regional banks – as we are doing with OTP Group. Our solution will provide OTP Group with the workflow capabilities and environment they need, not only to significantly improve operational efficiency, but crucially their trading workflow capabilities for clients.”

Regnology Acquires CG3-1

Specialized reporting solutions provider Regnology has acquired CG3-1, a firm known for its regulatory calculations in the U.S. broker-dealer market. The move is expected to enhance Regnology’s offerings for broker-dealers by integrating expertise in regulatory capital, customer reserve, and portfolio margin requirements.

Founded in 2018, CG3-1 has established itself among U.S. broker-dealers seeking compliance with regulations like SEA 15c3-1 (Net Capital Requirements), SEA 15c3-3 (Customer Protection) , and FINRA Rule 4210 (Margin Requirements). The acquisition offers CG3-1 the opportunity to expand its services by leveraging Regnology’s extensive regulatory reporting capabilities. This includes developing end-to-end reporting solutions with automated data sourcing and enhancing client experience through improved workflow efficiency.

Rob Mackay, CEO of Regnology, commented on the acquisition: “Combining Regnology’s platform with CG3-1’s tools allows us to better serve the North American market with robust regulatory reporting solutions.”

Charles Greiner III, President of CG3-1, added, “Joining forces with Regnology provides significant value for our existing clients. The integration offers enterprise-grade business continuity and security, enabling us to expand our offerings under SEA Rule 15c3-1 and 15c3-3.”

Both companies are collaborating to integrate CG3-1’s solutions into Regnology’s portfolio, aiming to provide a more seamless experience for clients navigating complex regulatory requirements.

Combating Deepfakes: LSEG Introduces Advanced Identity Verification

As fraud techniques become more advanced, organizations worldwide are grappling with the challenge of securing financial transactions and verifying identities effectively. In response, London Stock Exchange group (LSEG) Risk Intelligence has introduced two new solutions aimed at strengthening defences against sophisticated fraud: Global Account Verification (GAV) and Document and Biometric Verification (DBV).

Payment fraud remains a significant concern, with UK Finance reporting losses of £213.7 million in the UK during the first half of 20241. In an effort to combat this, regulatory bodies in the UK and the EU are implementing new rules for reimbursing victims of Authorized Push Payment (APP) fraud. Starting January 2025, all payment service providers within the EU are required to offer 24/7 instant payments, and by October 2025, mandatory checks of account names and IBAN numbers will be in place for Eurozone providers2.

Global Account Verification: Enhancing Payment Security

GAV is designed to tackle APP fraud by enabling real-time verification of bank accounts and ownership across an initial 22 countries. The system cross-references account information to provide a “match,” “close match,” or “no match,” allowing organizations to confirm that payments reach the intended recipients. LSEG Risk Intelligence plans to expand GAV’s coverage to include 80% of G20 countries in the near future3.

The rise of synthetic media and deepfakes has made identity verification more challenging. DBV combines facial recognition, document screening, and liveness detection using advanced AI and deep learning technologies. This solution supports over 16,000 identity documents from more than 220 countries, in over 140 languages and typesets, facilitating secure and scalable identity verification processes.

Integration and Operational Efficiency

Both GAV and DBV are available via API, enabling seamless integration into existing systems and workflows. This is crucial for organizations aiming to enhance security measures without disrupting operational efficiency.

“Fraudsters are constantly innovating and operating with greater sophistication than ever before,” says Ramesh Menon, Group Director of Product Management for Digital Identity & Fraud at LSEG Risk Intelligence. “As bad actors exploit vulnerabilities across client and vendor workflows, investing in robust, data-driven solutions is essential to mitigate global payments and identity risks.”

By introducing these new tools, LSEG Risk Intelligence aims to assist multinational corporations, financial institutions, and fintech companies in defending against fraud while complying with evolving regulatory obligations.