NEW BIS Innovation Hub to Focus on RegTech

The Bank of International Settlements (BIS) has launched its third BIS Innovation Hub centre in Singapore, following two recently launched centres in Hong Kong and Switzerland. The Singapore branch will focus on two areas: 1) digital infrastructures on identity, consent and data sharing, and 2) the creation of a digital platform to connect regulators and supervisors with digital and technology solution providers. Through the platform, central banks will be able to put up regulatory problems and challenges to source solutions from the FinTech community. “This will help central banks develop innovative solutions and policies for cost-effective regulation and supervision,” says BIS. The hub was launched at the 2019 Singapore Fintech Festival.

ABN Amro Selects UnaVista for SFTR, MiFID II Reporting

ABN AMRO Bank has selected the LSE’s UnaVista platform as its regulatory reporting provider for SFTR and MiFID II transaction reporting. ABN AMRO Bank will be using the UnaVista SFTR Accelerator, a data testing tool that allows firms to import sections of the required data to test against ESMA’s latest regulatory technical standards (RTS). The Accelerator Tool includes the ability to import data in the ESMA mandated XML ISO20222 format and to reconcile with counterparties for pre-matching. ABN Amro will collaborate with Broadridge 4Sight, IHS Markit and UnaVista through the latter’s partner program to route data directly to the repository.

KRM22 Launches Market Risk Solution for Global Risk Platform

KRM22 has announced the availability of its Market Risk solution on its SaaS-based Global Risk Platform.The Global Risk Platform now provides an “end to end” Market Risk solution assisting futures clearing merchants, asset managers, broker dealers and hedge funds with their risk management. Risk tools provide analytics to help portfolio management and modify trading behaviour, while the platform also includes a centralised order limit management system. “Bringing pre-trade, at-trade and post trade solutions onto one common SaaS based platform creates the cost and operational efficiencies our clients require in this increasingly competitive market,” said KRM22 President, Stephen Casner.

FCA Updates Handbook Website Using Governor Software

Governor Reg: FCA, a live version of the FCA Handbook allowing UK regulated financial institutions to map, track and report regulatory compliance, was today integrated into the FCA Handbook website to enhance overall user experience, improve navigation and provide .csv downloads of relevant items. To further help UK regulated firms to stay compliant, the firm has developed a live version of Governor Reg: FCA for commercial clients, providing direct access to a live copy of all of the FCA regulations within their compliance system.

TruNarrative Expands to US with New Offices in Atlanta

Financial crime and compliance management platform TruNarrative has expanded into the North American market with new US headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. The UK-based firm was founded in 2016 and provides a no-code platform connecting multiple identity verification, fraud detection, eKYC, and AML compliance data providers via a single API. “Launching our platform across European markets has provided us with an ideal testbed for demonstrating the value of our unified approach. Addressing Europe’s different regulations will serve us well as we expand into North America’s multiple jurisdictions,” said CEO John Lord.

MiFID II Rules Set to Change as EU Bows to Criticism

The European Commission has suggested that it may tweak MiFID II market rules after an industry backlash criticising the regulation. Issues to be reviewed, according to the FT, include changes to the cost and distribution of market data, investor protection rules, and research for small companies. The FCA has also promised to conduct a sector-wide review of post-MiFID II research pricing, after a multi-firm review in September found that banks could be using their size to undercut independent houses and smaller brokerages.

Silent Eight Wins Funding From SC Ventures

AI-powered anti-money laundering start-up Silent Eight has raised $6.2 million in Series A funding from a group of investors including SC Ventures, the fintech and ventures unit of Standard Chartered Bank. Other investors included OTB Ventures and Wavemaker Partners. Standard Chartered is the largest client of Silent Eight, and has implemented the firm’s sanctions screening process across over 40 markets. Standard Chartered also recently confirmed a new partnership with Quantexa, a contextual decision intelligence software company, to use its big data analytics and AI platform for compliance investigations.

Ascent Achieves $19.3m in Funding Round

Chicago-based RegTech provider Ascent has won $19.3 million in Series B funding from a group of investors led by Wells Fargo and ING, with US venture capital firm Drive Capital and the University of Chicago also taking part. The fundraising follows a Series A round in 2018 which raised $6 million. The company will use the capital to recruit new talent, enhance its existing products, and increase brand awareness. Ascent provides an AI-powered compliance platform and is currently carrying out pilot testing with the Global Financial Innovation Network (GFIN).

CFTE Launches RegTech Book, Online Course

The UK-based Centre for Finance, Technology and Entrepreneurship (CFTE), a platform providing online learning for the FinTech space, has announced the launch of a targeted new online RegTech course providing a “thorough foundation of regulatory technologies” through eight hours of video content, curated readings and online assessment.

The announcement was made at the London launch of The RegTech Book, co-authored by CFTE Head of Entrepreneurship Janos Barberis and Douglas Arner, Professor in Law at Hong Kong University. The publication curates industry expertise into a single volume, which aims to serve as a reference point for the RegTech eco-system.

SteelEye Launches RegTech Glossary

London-based regulatory compliance and data analytics firm SteelEye has published a new RegTech glossary that aims to demystify the complex language of the RegTech sector. The online guide aims to assist professionals to navigate the most common terminology, abbreviations and jargon across the evolving regulatory landscape.