Data Management Insight Brief
RIMES Names David Brierwood as its First Chairman of the Board
RIMES Technologies has appointed David Brierwood as its first chairman of the board. He has been a member of the board since 2015 and was formerly chief operating officer at MSCI. As chairman, Brierwood will help set the strategic direction of RIMES managed data services business and ensure effective communication between the board, executive team and other key stakeholders. He brings expertise in risk management, business operations and leadership gained from a career spent at some of the world’s leading investment management companies to the role.
Great Eastern Moves Data Management into Eagle Cloud, Adds IBOR
Great Eastern, an insurance subsidiary of Singapore bank OCBC, is moving its on premise Eagle Investment Systems data management solution into the Eagle Access private cloud. The company also plans to create an Investment Book of Record (IBOR) based on an Eagle solution and designed to improve investment decision-making processes. Great Eastern is one of Eagle’s longest-standing clients in Asia and also uses its parent BNY Mellon for asset servicing.
DSB Raises User Fees for OTC ISIN Service in 2019
The Derivatives Service Bureau (DSB) has published 2019 user fees for the provision of ISINs for OTC derivatives. Power and standard user fees rise 4.5% to €117,500 and €39,200 respectively, while infrequent users, essentially low volume or ad hoc users of the service, will see their fees unchanged at €3,000 in 2019.
The service works on a cost recovery basis with changes in numbers of various types of users effecting 2019 fees. Based on 2018 figures, banks pay the largest percentage of the user fees at 56%, with trading venues paying 31%, and other categories including buy-side and data vendors paying 13%. As well as paying users, the DSB provides OTC ISIN data to registered users, the largest category of users making up two-thirds of the DSB’s user base, free of cost.
PwC Acquires KYC-Pro
PwC has acquired client onboarding specialist KYC-Pro from compliance consultancy FSCom for an undisclosed amount. The move comes as part of PwC’s plans to expand its regulatory compliance offering. KYC-Pro enables customers access to over 127 million companies worldwide, conduct individual AML checks across more than 20 countries and cross reference potential customers against international PEPs and Sanctions lists. PwC partner Ian McConnell says: “AI and automation can deliver significant benefits for organisations and people and, by incorporating KYC-Pro to our existing regulatory compliance offering, it complements the significant presence we already have in the financial crime operations space.” Research shows that by 2020, European banks will spend more than €1bn annually on their KYC management.
Singapore Affirms RegTech Commitment
At the launch of the Singapore Fintech Festival (November 12-14), Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore Ravi Menon confirmed the country’s commitment to supporting regtech development. Menon identified six core pillars to develop the fintech ecosystem, many of which had a regtech focus – including identity/KYC, data governance and platforms for innovation. The Festival focuses on nine key themes, one of which is ‘TechRisk and RegTech’. It includes a Global Investor Summit showcasing next-generation ASEAN startups as well as an Artificial Intelligence Summit and an Innovation Lab Crawl.
Nathan Wolaver Returns to Asset Control as MD of the Americas
Nathan Wolaver has returned to Asset Control as managing director of the company’s Americas business after a three-year stint as global head of data management solutions at Broadridge. Based in Asset Control’s New York office, Wolaver is responsible for all aspects of the company’s business operations across the Americas, including sales, customer support and professional services. He reports to CEO Mark Hepsworth.
Wolaver certainly has plenty of experience of Asset Control, having first joined the company in 2005 as a senior sales executive. He moved on to Aleri in early 2008 as regional sales director, northeast, and re-joined Asset Control later in the year as vice president and sales director for the Americas, a role he held for six years before becoming managing director for nine months and then moving to Broadridge.
Wolaver re-joins Asset Control again at a time of accelerating growth in the Americas and as the company plans new product releases. Commenting on his appointment, Hepsworth says: “We are very pleased to welcome Nathan back to lead our American operations. His depth of knowledge of the financial data management sector and his previous experience at Asset Control are a real strength and a strong addition to our leadership team. The Americas is strategically very important for Asset Control. We have some of our largest clients globally here and we see excellent opportunities as we roll out our new range of products.”
Merrill Lynch Plans to Sell Bloomberg Stake for US$4.5bn
Merrill Lynch has struck a deal to sell its 20% share of Bloomberg back to the news and financial data firm’s corporate parent for an estimated US$4.5 billion. The bank is expected to announce significant second quarter losses today of around US$6 billion, its fourth straight quarterly loss since last year’s credit crunch.
The sale would help the Wall Street investment bank to raise capital to offset these write-downs, which could represent a loss of US$1.94 per share, according to Reuters estimates.
Bloomberg founder Michael Bloomberg, who currently holds 68% of the shares in the firm, is said to have approved the decision.
Merger of SWX Group, SIS Group, Telekurs Group Unanimously Approved
The owners of the SWX Group, SIS Group and Telekurs Group have unanimously approved the merger of the three companies (Reference Data Review, May 2007). Within the framework of the planned transaction, the business activities of the Swiss financial market infrastructure providers will be combined under the roof of a strategic holding entity. The objective of the merger is to enhance efficiency and innovativeness as well as to strengthen the competitiveness of the Swiss financial centre. This new corporate structure will be established at the start of 2008, subject to approval of the transaction by the Competition Commission. The new enterprise will operate under the name Swiss Financial Market Services.
Clarification: Asset Control/Crosswalk
In the June issue of Reference Data Review, we incorrectly stated that Asset Control has entered a deal to carry data from Telekurs’, Standard & Poor’s and Dun & Bradstreet’s joint Crosswalk initiative. Asset Control has stated an interest in this data but a deal has not yet been secured.
Morgan Stanley Buys Barra for $820 Million
Morgan Stanley plans to acquire Berkeley, Calif.-based risk modeling vendor Barra Inc. and merge it into its Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) index business. Morgan Stanley will pay $41 per share in the cash deal. MSCI, well known in Europe and especially Asia, recently turned its attentions to the U.S. marketplace, where it is seeking to expand in a marketplace dominated by the Russell and Standard & Poor’s index businesses.