Waymark Tech Wins Phase 2 Grant from SBRI and GovTech Catalyst

In collaboration with the Better Regulation Executive and funded by the GovTech Catalyst, AI specialist Waymark Tech is developing a new solution to promote understanding of existing regulation and to provide analysis that informs and improves the way in which new regulations are introduced in the future. Founded in 2016, Waymark Tech offers AI-as-a-Service to reveal hidden patterns and connections within vast, dynamic and unstructured text datasets. The new project will develop state of the art natural language processing (NLP) technology that will systematically extract information from thousands of pages of UK legislation and then model the burden it applies on businesses, as well as tagging the content for ease of access.

SmartSearch Hailed in Sunday Times Profit Track List

Yorkshire-based anti-money laundering software specialists SmartSearch have achieved 15th position in the 2020 Sunday Times Profit Track list, which recognises the British companies with the fastest-growing profits over the last three years. The firm has seen an increase of more than 80% in profits over the past year, and a six-fold rise over the three-year period looked at by the list, which is in its 21st year, with the latest version launched as the COVID-19 edition. SmartSearch has introduced a Rapid Response Service to help firms deal with coronavirus challenges, enabling them to set up on its digital platform in less than 48 hours in order to verify customer ID without physical documents.

Westpac Provisions $900m for Record AML Fine

Australian bank Westpac has reportedly set aside $900 million to cover its “potential liability” in what could be the biggest corporate fine in Australia’s history, following accusations by AUSTRAC (the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre, a government financial intelligence unit set up to combat financial crime) of 23 million breaches of AML and counter terrorism finance laws, including the failure to properly monitor transactions arguably related to child exploitation in South-East Asia. The bank is also believed to have set aside $160 million to finance its response plan, including the scaling up of its financial crimes investigation unit. The case remains before the Australian courts.

ESMA and MAS Sign MOU on Singapore’s Financial Benchmarks

ESMA, the EU’s securities markets regulator, has signed an agreement with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) completing the process to allow the use of Singapore’s financial benchmarks in the EU. Under the MOU, ESMA and MAS will share information and supervisory activities on Singapore-regulated financial benchmarks. The signing of the MOU follows the European Commission’s equivalence decision recognising Singapore’s regulatory framework on financial benchmarks as equivalent to the requirements under the EU’s Benchmarks Regulation. The agreement and the equivalence decision will allow financial institutions in the EU to continue using, as reference rates in their contracts, both SIBOR and the Singapore Dollar Swap Offer Rate (SOR), which are financial benchmarks regulated in Singapore.

Citi Commercial Adopts Kyckr’s Customer Verification Solution

Citigroup has extended its use of Kyckr, the world’s largest portal for customer verification, to its commercial banking division Citi Commercial Bank. It will use the firm’s API solution to access real-time, primary source data and documents during the client onboarding process, in a deal worth $300,000 over a 12-18 month period across 15 countries. Citigroup has been a Kyckr client since 2016 through its Institutional Clients Group and Trade and Transaction Services division.

DataGuard Secures $20 Million in Funding

Munich-based DataGuard, which provides GDPR-as-a-service, has successfully closed a $20 million Series A investment round led by One Peak Partners. The firm intends to use the funds raised to expand its business operations across Europe and North and South America, as well as to implement enhancements to its existing platform. Since its launch in 2017, the data privacy specialist has onboarded over 1,000 clients.

Railsbank Secures Visa Investment

UK-based API-based RegTech platform Railsbank, which helps developers and product managers to build, launch and scale financial services businesses, has raised additional funding from Visa and Japanese venture capital firm Global Brain, as well as signing a five-year partnership with Visa to expand in Southeast Asia. The firm, which also provides operations and compliance services to banks, recently opened a new Singapore office following a successful capital-raising round of $10 million last year.

New Zealand Regulator Goes Digital

The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) New Zealand has confirmed that it will engage with regulated firms and market participants exclusively via remote technology for the foreseeable future. “Our offices remain open and we encourage people to contact us with concerns or questions, as well as any suggestions on how we can assist you,” said the regulator in a statement.

Compliance.ai Launches Insurance RegTech Solution in Response to COVID-19

Compliance.ai has announced comprehensive coverage for insurance-related regulatory content on its platform, which automates the complex steps within the regulatory compliance process for banks, financial services and insurance companies. The move comes in response to a rapid influx of new claims and actions in the US as a result of COVID-19, especially in the US, where insurance companies are struggling to keep track of the number and complexity of regulatory changes they must comply with. “We’ve found many regulatory changes addressing banking, financial services and Insurance are related, and our clients have requested coverage across that spectrum,” says Kayvan Alikhani, CEO and co-founder.

ICE Futures Waives Voice Recording, Time-stamping Requirements

ICE Futures US has granted temporary relief to intermediaries from the obligation to comply with certain requirements, including from the requirement to make and keep records of oral communications, as long as a written record is provided instead. The exchange has also granted relief from any requirement to record the date and time by time-stamp or other timing device, provided that a record of the date and time is kept to the nearest minute, for example by instant message or email. Previously, the exchange confirmed that floor brokers and impacted intermediaries would be allowed to work from different locations.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has supported these measures, issuing its own no-action letters confirming relief from both oral communications recording and time-stamping for brokers, swap dealers, forex dealers, and members of designated contract markets and swap execution facilities.