Industry Collaboration Adds LEI Datasets to Amazon Sustainability Data Initiative

A collaboration between the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF), OS-Climate and Amazon has resulted in GLEIF’s real-time Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) datasets being made publicly available for the first time in the cloud via Amazon’s Sustainability Data Initiative (ASDI) data catalog. The move was driven by OS-Climate to allow easier integration of LEI data with its own datasets that support development of open data and open source analytics for climate risk management and climate aligned finance and investment. ASDI’s hosting capabilities simplify programmatic access to the LEI data, which is ingested by OS-Climate’s Data Commons platform, essentially an architecture for building, sharing, and running data and analytics services to evaluate climate finance risks and opportunities.

Moody’s Acquisition of Bogard Expands KYC Coverage for Politically Exposed Persons

Moody’s has acquired Bogard AB, a provider of data and information on politically exposed persons (PEPs) in the Nordic region. The acquisition advances Moody’s ability to help customers perform Know Your Customer (KYC) screening and research to address financial crime. Bogard covers over 17,000 PEPs, relatives, and close associates across Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland. Moody’s will integrate Bogard into its KYC business within Moody’s Analytics, and combine Bogard’s data with its existing PEP, sanction, and adverse media data. The transaction builds on Moody’s previous investments in KYC and anti-money laundering (AML) capabilities, and augments its Orbis company database and Grid database of adverse news, sanctions, and PEPs.

IBA Releases US Dollar SOFR ICE Swap Rate for Use as a Benchmark

Intercontinental Exchange’s (ICE) ICE Benchmark Administration (IBA) business has released its US dollar SOFR ICE Swap Rate for use as a benchmark in financial contracts and financial instruments by licensees. The release follows the successful publication of US dollar SOFR ICE Swap Rate settings on an indicative, ‘Beta’ basis since October 1, 2021, and is expected to support the US dollar non-linear derivatives market in its ongoing transition to SOFR. The US dollar SOFR ICE Swap Rate settings are available for the same tenors and published at the same  time as the current US dollar LIBOR ‘1100’ ICE Swap Rate benchmark.

CACEIS selects Cardabel machine learning to optimise reconciliation

European asset servicing group CACEIS has implemented Cardabel’s machine learning (ML) technology to optimise securities and cash position reconciliation as part of the digital transformation of its middle-office outsourcing offer. The Cardabel technology reduces processing times and enhances CACEIS’ reconciliation offering. Sandrine Legrand, head of middle-office at CACEIS, says: “The challenge was to reduce turn-around times for clients’ reports while dealing with a constantly rising volume of flows. Cardabel’s offer is the perfect fit, and enables employees to focus on higher value tasks that raise client satisfaction”.

Contour extends use of LEI to inclusion in trade finance network

Contour, a digital trade finance network, has partnered the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) to enable the use of Legal Entity Identifiers (LEIs) within its network and to financially support its members in obtaining their own LEI. By adopting the entity identifier, Contour’s members will benefit from increased confidence among their trading counterparties, lower data reconciliation costs, reduced transaction discrepancies and improved risk management. Contour plans further use of the LEI including building the identifier into its KYC processes and collaborating on the GLEIF-led Verifiable LEI (vLEI) initiative.

Broadridge Adds AI-powered Anti-Money Laundering Solution

Broadridge Financial Solutions has released Broadridge Anti-Money Laundering Solution (AMLS), bringing new capabilities to the company’s existing intelligent automation suite. The solution delivers an end-to-end machine learning (ML) powered AML platform covering transaction monitoring, name screening, alert prioritisation, and customer risk scoring. The platform is powered by cloud-based AML transaction monitoring software provider Tookitaki.

Encompass Expands into North America

Encompass, a provider of automated KYC solutions, has expanded into North America with office headquarters in New York and the intention to better serve the needs of existing global clients with a presence in North America, as well as secure new clients and partnerships in the region. Alex Ford has been appointed president, North America. She joined Encompass in 2012 and has held executive responsibility for several business units of the company. She will be joined initially by six senior staff members before an increase to more than 10 by the end of 2021, and double the number in 2022.

FSB and IMF Report on G20 Data Gaps Initiative

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) have published their Sixth Progress Report – Countdown to December 2021 on the implementation of the Second Phase of the G20 Data Gaps Initiative (DGI-2). The report highlights significant progress in closing identified policy relevant data gaps during phases 1 and 2 of the Data Gaps Initiative, and the value of the initiative through the Covid pandemic in helping policymakers access key information to assess developments and risks in financial and non-financial sectors.

While some DGI-2 recommendations will not be completed by the end of 2021 and firms will continue to implement them, four data priorities that are likely to be covered by a new DGI are: climate change; household distributional information; fintech and financial inclusion data; and access to private sources of data and administrative data, and data sharing. A detailed workplan for the new initiative will be developed.

Milestone Group Offers Fair Value Control Solution

Milestone Group, an investment technology specialist recently acquired by BNY, has released a Fair Value Control solution for teams responsible for the administration and compliance of the fair value process, and ensuring funds’ securities are correctly valued in accordance with policy set by governing parties. The solution uses the pControl funds platform and includes workflows providing automation, transparency, and control of the end-to-end fair value determination process. It also unifies stakeholders involved in the process by providing a centralised solution for monitoring, decision-making, and implementation of fair value prices.

FactSet Teams Up with Macrobond to Offer Insight into Global Equity Markets

Macrobond, a provider of global economic, aggregate financial and sector data for finance professionals, has teamed up with FactSet to provide top-down researchers with insight into the dynamics of global equity markets.

The company has worked with FactSet to build an aggregate version of the latter’s Quant Factor Library, a point-in-time database of factor insights and consolidated data, including alternative data, from more than 70,000 securities across 127 countries and more than 200 exchanges. The library helps users detect investment themes across global equity markets, incorporate ideas into portfolio construction processes and transform raw data into actionable intelligence.

The new dataset, which combines FactSet’s deep insights into individual stocks with Macrobond’s platform for top-down analysis, allows users to efficiently form an aggregate view of the market by index, sector, country and other categories. As well as standard metrics such as earnings yields and EPS estimates, it includes a broad range of data such as ownership and corporate governance – including the number of women on boards, executive remuneration and stock buybacks – enabling researchers to explore pertinent themes.