Investment Association Names Five Firms Joining Velocity Innovation Hub

The Investment Association has named the second cohort of FinTech firms joining its Velocity innovation hub for the buy-side and asset management industry: AxeTrading, a fixed income EMS delivering toolkits for trading connectivity, bonds pricing and data aggregation; BlueFireAI, which unlocks Chinese capital markets to foreign institutional investors; CUBE, an enterprise-scale platform delivering regulatory intelligence and change management; HUBX, a white-label solution for private markets advisors helping them track, distribute, and execute private deals; and Qwill Messenger, a single persistent chat app allowing clients of multiple firms to engage with staff within a space that is controlled by each firm.

Oktris Offers MiFID II Transparency Reporting Services

Start-up regulatory reporting firm Oktris is offering MiFID II services beyond transaction and post-trade reporting with software-as-a-service solutions covering transparency calculation data reporting, instrument reference data reporting, and best execution reporting. The company also provides an ESMA and FCA Financial Instruments Reference Data System (FIRDS) solution that automates the task of taking large datasets from UK and EU regulators and puts the data in a database that can be queried and integrated with other financial systems. The company’s first client is a trading venue using the Oktris FIRDS and best execution services.

Asian Banks Struggle with FRTB

Banks across Asia are widely divergent in their implementation of Basel III rules, including the new Fundamental Review of the Trading Book (FRTB) regime. Panellists at the recent International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) conference in Hong Kong warned that this divergence is creating uncertainty, with some banks implementing the new rules to a high global standard while others have not yet begun or considered their compliance strategy.

AxiomSL Achieves ISO Certification

AxiomSL, a global provider of regulatory-reporting, risk and data-management solutions, has received ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification (known as ISO 27001). The certification covers AxiomSL’s core software and ControllerView flagship product, its system development, professional and client support services and company operations. It also covers AxiomSL’s cloud-based solutions, operations and client support. Companies receive this certification following a rigorous audit; which in AxiomSL’s case was performed by the Standards Institute of Israel, a certification body accredited through the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board.

Accuity Adds AI to Financial Crime Compliance Screening

Accuity has introduced an AI-driven account screening capability, Firco Automated Alert Reduction, aimed to increase accuracy in detecting and evaluating screening matches during Know Your Customer (KYC) processes. The solution results from Accuity’s acquisition of Safe Banking Systems in July 2018 and has been optimised through integration with WorldCompliance data. Rather than leaning on manual processes and managing an abundance of false positives, the Firco solution applies AI techniques to potential matches produced by screening systems and includes a scoring methodology that calculates the probability of a match being correct and evaluates how material the risk is to the business.

Sequantis Expands RegTech Offering

Sequantis, the French specialist in services and tools to help investors effectively monitor their financial investments within the accounting and regulatory rules framework, has announced the expansion of Sequantis Look-Through (LT), its RegTech company. With expertise in regulations analysis and compliance assistance, Sequantis LT was founded by Sequantis partners Nicolas Fournier and Olivier Durquety.

The company offers a regulatory reporting outsourcing service and currently assists asset management companies and institutional investors in relation to compliance with the various forms of regulation, such as PRIIPS, Solvency II and MIFID II.

Australia To Invest $390m in Financial Regulation

Australia’s new budget will include an additional AUD550 million ($390 million) to boost funding for policing the country’s financial sector, according to Reuters, citing Treasurer Josh Frydenberg.

The funds will finance the implementation of recommendations issued earlier this year by a government-appointed Royal Commission enquiry into financial sector greed and malpractice. The recommendations include a new oversight body for corporate regulators and the overhaul of remuneration structures across the industry.

The government will allocate A$400 million in additional funding to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and A$150 million for the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority over the next four years.

SFTR Legislation Enters Official Journal of the EU

The seven delegated regulations and three implementing regulations comprising Securities Financing Transactions Regulation (SFTR) level II legislation were published in the Official Journal of the EU on March 22, 2019, making the regime legally binding.

According to the International Securities Lending Association, the reporting obligations deadlines will be as follows: April 11, 2020, reporting obligation for credit institutions and investment firms as well as all third country regulated firms; July 11, 2020, reporting obligation for CSDs and CCPs; October 11, 2020, reporting obligation for all other financial counterparties; January 11, 2021, reporting obligation for all non-financial counterparties.

Fiorano Partners with Konsentus for PSD2 Compliance

Fiorano Software, a specialist in enterprise middleware, integration and API management, has added Third Party Provider (TPP) Identity & Regulatory checking services from Konsentus, a UK-based Regtech company providing live SaaS-based APIs to check TPP identity and regulatory status, to its ready-to-deploy PSD2 platform to provide enhanced support to institutions working towards PSD2 compliance.

Whilst the first major deadline passed on March 14, whereby institutions had to make their ASPSP interfaces available for external testing, the next major PSD2 deadline is September 14, when banks must demonstrate the effective application of all EBA technology mandates.

Union of Arab Banks Calls for Increased RegTech Investment

FinTech has been enthusiastically adopted by local banks but the Middle East region is lagging behind on Regtech investment, warned Wissam Fattouh, who is also Chairman of the MENA Financial Crime Compliance Group. Speaking at a MENA Regulatory Summit in March, Fattouh urged greater investment in regtech applications, without which he warned that firms would be more exposed to cyber security risks and financial crime.