SEC Pushes for MiFID II Research Exemption for US Brokers

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seeking to extend an exemption put in place October 2017 (and set to expire in July 2020) that allows US banks to sell research directly to European fund managers under MiFID II without registering as investment advisors. According to the Financial Times, the regulator made the statement to a group of investment banks and fund managers at a meeting last week.

China Merchants Bank Selects Wolters Kluwer’s OneSumX

China Merchants Bank has chosen Wolters Kluwer’s OneSumX for Regulatory Reporting to provide its regulatory reporting software in the US. The solution combines bank data into a single source of data to ensure consistency, reconciliation and accuracy. It also includes Wolters Kluwer’s Regulatory Update Service.

“The comprehensive features available in OneSumX for Regulatory Reporting provide extensive functional coverage, adaptability and scalability and these were all qualities we were looking for when selecting the software,” comments Joseph Loffredo, Assistant General Manager & Chief Financial Officer for China Merchants Bank’s New York Branch.

Verint Systems Integrates with Microsoft for Compliance Recording

Verint Systems has engaged with Microsoft to support compliance recording for Microsoft Teams. The added layer of compliance recording will enable clients to capture Teams interactions properly across contact center, back-office, and trading floor operations.

Verint has worked with Microsoft Unified Communications (UC) to provide compliance solutions for 10 years, and was one of the first recording systems to receive Skype for Business certification in 2016. Verint is currently developing a recording solution built on the future Compliance Recording APIs for Teams.

Privacy Firm OneTrust Now a Unicorn

California-based OneTrust Global Privacy, a privacy, security and third-party risk technology platform, in the second week of July completed a $200 million Series A investment led by Insight Partners. The enterprise software company, founded in 2016, is now valued $1.3 billion. OneTrust’s three primary offerings include OneTrust Privacy Management Software, OneTrust PreferenceChoice consent and preference management software, and OneTrust Vendorpedia third-party risk management software and vendor risk exchange.

KRM22 Adds SMCR Applications to Global Platform

Software investment firm KRM22 has added additional SMCR applications to its Global Risk Platform, including a partnership agreement with London-based ‘digital intelligence’ specialist Neotas to distribute and support its enhanced due diligence application. The partnership follows recent agreements to distribute Trailight’s Individual Accountability Regime application which addresses the governance requirements of SMCR, and Entrima’s SMCR Online Training. Alongside its product partnerships, KRM22 is also launching the SMCR Navigator within its Enterprise Risk Cockpit solution to assist firms in addressing their SMCR risk and compliance positions.

FactSet Launches KYC Application for Customer Due Diligence

FactSet, a global provider of integrated financial information and analytical applications, has announced the release of FactSet KYC, a cloud-based SaaS application that allows clients to streamline their KYC due diligence. The new RegTech app combines KYC robotic process automation with FactSet content and public registries, to improve the efficiency and consistency of the customer due diligence process. Additional features include the ability to apply risk indicators, schedule automated customer reviews, and generate a complete, exportable audit trail.

EBA Warns of £135bn Bank Shortfall for Basel IV

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has warned that the EU’s biggest banks could face a funding gap of up to £135bn in order to comply with Basel IV, an updated set of post-crisis regulations expected to be phased in from 2022 and be in full force by 2027. The EBA estimates that banks could face an average 2.8% decline in their core capital in order to meet the new requirements, which include a 24.4% increase in minimum capital levels and are designed to restrict the use of internal models to calculate risk.

Dion Global Releases Corporate Actions Solution

Dion Global Solutions has released a corporate actions solution. Already live with two pilot customers, the solution is designed to make corporate actions processing cost effective for the smallest industry participants and scalable for the largest. It aims to decrease manual processing by increasing automation, and reduce risk by ensuring no event is missed or acted on erroneously. Other functionality includes management of notifications from a single source or multiple sources, diarisation of events and related tasks, digital dissemination of event information and tasks to clients and internal parties, and MiFID II reporting of corporate action transactions.

ClauseMatch Parters with Singapore’s Ingenia

Following on from its recent expansion into Singapore, UK-based regtech firm ClauseMatch has announced its first partnership in the region, with independent consultancy Ingenia. The alliance aims to provide ‘Compliance-as-a-Service’ for small and medium-sized financial institutions in Singapore, based on Ingenia’s existing service of developing and maintaining compliance networks for financial institutions who outsource their compliance functions. The firm will adopt the Clausematch platform to create and maintain policies and procedures for their clients. The news follows a $2.5m loan package for Clausematch provided by Silicon Valley Bank to support the company’s continued growth in Europe and Asia.

Coinform to Investigate Ripple’s AML Compliance

US regtech start-up Coinfirm has signed an agreement with San Francisco-based Ripple, the company behind cryptocurrency XRP, to investigate the crypto’s compliance with AML regulations. The move comes in advance of a planned crackdown by US authorities on cryptocurrency exchanges, following an announcement by the Financial Action Task Force report in June of tighter regulation to restrict the role of digital currencies in global money laundering. The new measures will require that crypto assets exchanges comply with AML provisions in the same way as traditional financial institutions.