HMRC Releases List of Firms in Breach of AML Regulations

HMRC on March 4,2019 published a list of nine businesses issued with penalty notices for the 2018-19 tax year, for failing to comply with the new 2017 Money Laundering Regulations. Five penalties were enforced by HRMC between June 2017 and October 2018 under the 2017 regulations, to the value of £1,390.80. A further 545 penalties were enforced under the 2007 AML regulations over the same period, to the value of £2.54 million.

The FCA is believed to have given notice to hedge funds to expect FCA AML investigators within the next month.

Infragistics and Adaptable Tools Bring Integrated Charting to Data Grids

Infragistics, a user interface component provider, and Adaptable Tools, provider of the HTML5 data grid add-on AdaptableBlotter, have allied to offer integrated, live charting within data grids. Users will be able to switch between charting and table views, and use other features that allow them to manipulate data. Some of the key features include live charts that update automatically as grid data ticks, callouts and final values, and a query capability to show users the data that matters.

Singapore’s Jumio Joins with ComplyAdvantage to Reduce AML Risk Exposure

Jumio, an AI-powered trusted identity as a service provider, this week launched Jumio Screening: an automated AML screening solution that integrates ComplyAdvantage, a real-time, dynamic financial crime database. The partnership gives Jumio users access to a global proprietary database of structured risk profiles covering enhanced sanctions, regulatory and enforcement watchlists, politically exposed persons and adverse media. The integration automatically flags any new online customers when they are initially onboarded, if their names are listed within any of these databases. The new service also delivers alerts and ongoing monitoring after the initial onboarding process to help financial organisations maintain compliance.

BearingPoint Reports Record Revenues for 2018

Technology consultancy and RegTech solutions provider BearingPoint has announced record revenues of €789 million for 2018, despite numerous investments throughout the year and the transition in September of Kiumars Hamidian to Managing Partner. Europe provided strong growth above market average, particularly in France, Benelux, Africa, the UK and Ireland, while the firm also opened a new office in Luxembourg and acquired Inpuls, a data specialist in Belgium. It also made its first strategic acquisition in Asia, investing in Insignary, a specialist in binary-level open source software, and made over 1,100 new hires throughout 2018.

Theta Lake Partners with Zoom to Offer New AI Compliance Capabilities

California-based Theta Lake, a provider of cloud-based compliance AI for voice, video and chat communication, has announced a new partnership with Zoom Video Communications to launch Theta Lake for Zoom on the Zoom App Marketplace. The product integration enables regulated organizations to archive Zoom video, chat, and audio to comply with long-term regulatory retention requirements as well as leverage purpose-built AI and ML to automatically detect compliance risks and speed up workflow for shown, shared, spoken or written content in Zoom.

Ascent RegTech Joins Wells Fargo Start-up Accelerator

Compliance automation platform Ascent RegTech has been selected to join the Wells Fargo Start-up Accelerator Programme. The accelerator began in 2014 and currently has 23 companies in its portfolio. Start-ups are eligible to receive up to $1 million in funding, along with guidance from Wells Fargo business and technology leaders to help refine the launch of their ideas. The virtual, six-month, non-exclusive program has received nearly 2,500 applications from innovative companies in 91 countries since inception.

SEB Selects DTCC Global Trade Repository for SFTR reporting

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB) has selected DTCC’s Global Trade Repository (GTR) service to meet its obligations under the Securities Financing Transactions Regulation (SFTR), which is expected to apply from April 2020. To streamline client adoption of the service, DTCC recently added data transformation services to its SFTR offering, providing a one-stop shop for clients’ reporting needs.

Jonathan Kellner Named CEO of MEMX

Jonathan Kellner has joined Members Exchange (MEMX), a recently established member-owned equities exchange. Founding members include Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Charles Schwab, Citadel Securities, E*Trade, Fidelity Investments, Morgan Stanley, TD Ameritrade, UBS, and Virtu Financial. Before signing on to MEMX, Kellner led Instinet through the acquisition of BlockCross ATS from State Street, and the transition through regulatory change, including Dodd-Frank and MiFID II.

Tradeweb Filing for IPO

Bond and derivative platform Tradeweb Markets, which is co-owned by Refinitiv, is filing for a US initial public offering (IPO) at $100 million. J.P. Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are leading the IPO. Although Tradeweb is going public, Refinitiv will continue to hold a dominant interest in Tradeweb after the IPO.

Pico Extends Data Centre Presence in APAC

Pico, an infrastructure, connectivity, data and cloud technology provider, is continuing its global expansion into the world’s major financial markets with additional personnel and offices, and increased data centre presence in Asia Pacific. Founded in 2009, Pico opened its Singapore and Tokyo offices after signing its first top tier Asian bank client in mid-2018. Next, Pico went live at TY3 in Tokyo to support the FX community, complementing existing LD4 and NY4 offerings. The APAC expansion enables Pico to onboard and support a growing number of clients that want to include Asian markets in their global trading strategies.