Moody’s Acquires RiskFirst

Moody’s Corporation has acquired RiskFirst, a provider of risk analytic solutions for the assetmanagement and pension fund communities. The acquisition positions Moody’s Analytics to extend its range of risk solutions to the institutional buy-side.

RiskFirst’s PFaroe platform provides a risk solution for US and UK defined benefit pension markets, covering over 3,000 plans and more than $1.4 trillion in assets. RiskFirst also offers solutions for the institutional investment market, including endowments, foundations and asset managers.

The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. RiskFirst generated £16.5 million of revenue in 2018.

Trax to Begin SFTR Industry Testing

Trax, a subsidiary of MarketAxess, is expected to start testing a new platform in August with the ability to generate unique transaction identifiers (UTIs), required under the upcoming SFTR regulation coming into force in April 2020.

Acuris Partners with SILO Compliance for AML Data Drive

Acuris Risk Intelligence, a provider of data intelligence around anti-money laundering, anti-corruption and cyber security, has joined forces with due diligence management specialist SILIO Compliance System to enhance data capabilities. The partnership will give SILO Compliance users access to the Acuris Risk Intelligence dataset KYC6, including fraud and cybersecurity content, through an online portal that provides compliance teams with capabilities including search, ongoing monitoring, sanctions and Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) reports.

“The integration of Acuris into the SILO platform further serves our customer’s needs for more automation and streamlining of their compliance processes,” said Kimberly Smith, co-founder of SILO Compliance.

Synechron Data Science Launches New LIBOR Solution

London-based Synechron has launched a LIBOR accelerator using data science to address thechallenges of financial sector benchmarking. The accelerator for LIBOR Impact Analysis enables financial institutions to identify and quantify their LIBOR exposure at either a contract level or across all contracts within an institution. Thesolution leverages Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and three levels of Natural Language Processing (NLP) to identify and quantify LIBOR exposure at the contract level, or across all contracts within an institution.It then allows contracts to be revalued using alternative rates and valuation models for a significant reduction of manual LIBOR impact assessments.

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.