Capital.com to Take Refinitiv ESG Data and Sentiment Analyses

Refinitiv will supply ESG data top clients of European investment trading platform Capital.com. The data provider, part of the London Stock Exchange Group, will provide real-time data as well as AI-generated sentiment analysis.

ESG Disclosure Blueprint for Private, Alternative Investors Unveiled

A template for companies to submit their ESG disclosures to private and alternative investors has been launched. The ESG Integrated Disclosure Project (ESG IDP) template aims to promote “greater harmonisation and consistency of disclosure of key ESG indicators by borrowers in private credit and syndicated loan transactions”.

Start-up Util Raises £5m for its Environmental Impact Data Service

Util has closed a £5 million funding round that saw the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and the Chicago Board Options Exchange buy stakes in the London-based sustainability data provider. Util counts Danske Bank Asset Management and Degroof Petercam Asset Management among the customers to whom it supplies environmental impact data on 50,000 companies.

Rimes Offers Clients DEI Data from Denominator

Diversity, equity and inclusivity (DEI) metrics specialist Denominator is to provide data and scores to financial institution clients of ESG data management company Rimes Technologies. Rimes, which won two gongs in this year’s A-Team Innovation Awards, described the new partnership as a “great addition to our data universe”. Denominator’s metrics are based on more than 650 DEI variables applied to more than 1.5 million private and public companies.

McObject Extends Capabilities of eXtremeDB in Version 8.3

McObject has released version 8.3 of eXtremeDB, a hybrid in-memory and persistent database management systems (DBMS) that can be used as an embedded database with or without SQL, a client/server database, and a distributed database. New features in eXtremeDB 8.3 include: server-side authentication when using eXtremeDB as a client/server DBMS; addition of authentication to the JDBC driver; C# SQL API for .NET 5 and .NET 6;  and SQL execution engine improvements.

FI Feedback Sought in Creation of GFANZ Corporate Climate Data Hub

Financial institutions and auditing companies have been invited to offer their expertise and feedback on the creation of a global corporate climate performance database backed by the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ). The One Planet Data Hub would be handed over to the United Nations once it is complete, and a prototype service is expected to be unveiled next year. Regulators and standards setters are already involved in the project, as are data providers including Moody’s and S&P.

Bloomberg Expands Sustainable Fixed Income Index Offering

Bloomberg has added new sustainable bond indices to its suite of ESG-focused products. The Bloomberg Global Aggregate Green, Social, Sustainability Bond Indices will be built on the financial data giant’s Bloomberg Global Aggregate Index, the Bloomberg Sustainable Finance Group’s green, social and sustainability bond indicators, and metrics aligned to the International Capital Market Association Green Bond, Social Bond and Sustainability Bond Principles and Guidelines.

Bloomberg Widens Carbon Emissions Scores to 100,000 Companies

Bloomberg has expanded its carbon emissions dataset to 100,000 companies thanks in part to a newly developed in-house estimation model. The new tech has been used to derive carbon scores from companies that haven’t reported their own data. Bloomberg said the latest dataset offers “greater precision in Scope 1, 2 and 3 carbon emissions”.

S and G Being Overlooked by Most Reporting Companies: KPMG

Social and governance data is being left out of disclosures by more than half of companies, according to a survey by professional services firm KPMG. In its latest bi-annual Survey of Sustainability Reporting, established in 1993, KPMG also found that 79 per cent of “leading companies” now provide sustainability reports. The report said there remains a “disconnect between the urgency of addressing climate change and social equity”.

Financial Institutions Spend $1,500 to $3,000 to Complete One Client KYC Review

Financial institutions are spending millions of dollars every year inefficiently onboarding and maintaining clients, according to research from Fenergo, a provider of Know Your Customer (KYC) and Client Lifecycle Management (CLM) software solutions. A global study of over 1,000 C-level executives across corporate and institutional banks found that, on average, over half are spending between $1,500 and $3,000 to complete just one client KYC review.

The findings also show over half of financial institutions spending between 61 and 150 days on KYC reviews for clients, much of which is spent gathering and inputting data across multiple systems. Overall, more than 80% of respondents have between 1,000 and 2,500 employees working on KYC tasks. Some 90% said labour-intensive KYC impacts their ability to make better risk decisions. However, the data also shows financial institutions now focusing investment on automation with 62% prioritising spend for technology.