FinScan Launches Sanctioned Securities Screening

FinScan, the Pittsburgh-based division of Innovative Systems, Inc. has released FinScan Securities adding sanctioned financial instrument screening to its AML and KYC solutions. 

Screening for sanctioned securities is an increasingly challenging requirement. Data identifying ultimate beneficial ownership is difficult to source and integrate and the number of securities and entities subject to sanctions continues to grow fueled by evolving political situations in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Asia. As a result, firms are required to monitor vast volumes of data to stay compliant. 

Executive orders in 2020 and 2021 (EO 13959 and EO 14032) extended sanctions coverage to indirect investments creating new obligations for asset managers, fund managers, index providers and the investment banks and brokerages that market the funds. Previously, buy-side firms relied on their sell-side service providers to screen their holdings to ensure they have not been issued by entities that are owned, managed by or otherwise connected to sanctioned individuals.  

The capital markets sector is highly attractive to criminals due to its complex and fast-paced nature, allowing rapid and easy movement of illicit funds across borders. This environment requires an advanced, comprehensive compliance solution to ensure adherence to constantly updating sanction lists and regulatory demands. 

As staying on top of regulations has become more onerous, so the penalties have become more severe with firms facing fines in excess of $1 billion for individual breaches. 

“Identifying sanctioned entities in the complex web of securities, structured products, and options has traditionally been highly challenging and reliant on manual processes. Even where organizations have managed to do this, the technology has not been available to organize and manage the results,” said Steve Marshall, Director of Advisory Services at FinScan, “FinScan Securities provides a complete, streamlined workflow from data analysis and clean-up to audit trails and reporting. As a result, time is saved, and risk is reduced by eliminating the need to rely on spreadsheets or manual reviews and alleviating the burden on IT departments to develop and maintain a homegrown solution.” 

FinScan Securities covers a range of jurisdictions and sanctioning authorities, including the UN, OFAC and regulators in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, the EU, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK, and California with further additions in the pipeline.

Droit and FINBOURNE Partner to Produce Position Reporting Solution

Droit, a provider of computational law and regulation, is partnering FINBOURNE Technology, a provider of cloud-based investment data management software, to deliver an end-to-end position reporting solution. The integration embeds Droit’s Position Reporting product that delivers determination of reporting obligations based on consensus interpretations of requirements from Endoxa, a consortium of six global financial institutions, into FINBOURNE’s financial data management platform LUSID. This enables sell-side and buy-side institutions to manage disclosure obligations for long, short and takeover panel reporting.

The unified approach also ensures consistency around complex regulatory interpretations, regulatory clarity and accuracy of reporting. As part of the joint solution, Droit translates and processes detailed guidelines from all major global jurisdictions, automating the decision-making process for shareholder disclosure reporting eligibility. For complete accountability, a traceable audit record is generated for each evaluated position.

Bloomberg Releases Tool for Sustainable Investment Screening

Bloomberg has released a tool that helps investors assess portfolios, funds and indices based on sustainability criteria and thresholds customised by the user. Available on the Bloomberg Terminal and based on the company’s ESG data, the solution facilitates a transparent screening process and can be used for both making investment decisions and to help clients with regulatory compliance.

Users can input their investment preferences by selecting from a wide range of criteria and calibrating precise thresholds from three categories: sustainability targets, exclusion or ‘no harm’ criteria, and good governance requirements. The tool then calculates a percentage figure that shows how much of a portfolio, fund or index is aligned with the user’s criteria and provides a detailed list of all holdings to quickly detect any outliers.

Investors can also use the tool to check, based on their own definitions, if funds align with regulatory obligations including the EU’s MiFID II suitability rules and Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), the United Arab Emirates’ sustainable finance framework, the UK FCA’s forthcoming sustainability disclosure requirements, and future SEC guidance on ESG disclosures and fund labelling.

Finastra Partners with OpenFin to Enhance Kondor Treasury Management System

Finastra has teamed up with OpenFin to upgrade its Kondor bank treasury management system, aiming to strengthen the user experience with advanced workspaces and streamlined workflows. The collaboration leverages OpenFin’s “Workspace Anywhere” technology, enabling Kondor users to access the system through web browsers or a dedicated desktop application.

The enhanced Kondor system will incorporate microservices, AI, and a partner ecosystem to provide a more intuitive and efficient experience for banks, delivered through Treasury as a Service (TaaS) and cloud capabilities. This initiative aims to improve decision-making processes and operational efficiency in banking treasury management.

SGX FX Introduces Enhanced AI Tool for Optimized FX and Digital Assets Trading via MaxxTrader

SGX FX, through its digital assets and eFX trading solutions provider MaxxTrader, has unveiled the latest version of its advanced AI tool designed to enhance FX trading decisions for financial institutions. The new version leverages real-time data analysis, encompassing trades, price streams, user activities, and market impact among other elements, to generate tailored insights and actionable recommendations, thus promising quicker and more effective decision-making.

Originally launched in Q1 this year, the solution is designed to empower banks and broker-dealers to better manage risks, optimise trading performance and achieve superior execution quality and profitability through intelligently curated insights, presented in user-friendly formats.

TMX Group and Clearstream Go Live with Tri-Party Transactions on Canadian Collateral Management Service

TMX Group Limited and Clearstream Banking S.A. have jointly launched the Canadian Collateral Management Service (CCMS), introducing the first domestic tri-party repo capabilities in Canada. The service, aimed at optimising securities finance activities and increasing market liquidity, has already seen participation from major Canadian banks including BMO, CIBC, RBC, Scotiabank, and TD, marking the commencement of tri-party repo transactions in the country.

The CCMS will address various market challenges by automating the repo trade lifecycle and enhancing collateral management, with plans to expand services including corporate cash tri-party repo and securities lending, alongside the increased use of equities as collateral.

Kaiko Partners with DataBP to Enhance Data Licensing and Sales Automation

Cryptocurrency data provider Kaiko has integrated with DataBP’s data licensing management platform, aiming to enhance its sales, billing, and entitlement processes. This collaboration promises to streamline Kaiko’s global operations by employing DataBP’s SaaS platform and Salesforce.com API, which will automate the creation of custom data licensing agreements, data access entitlements, and customer billing. The integration also includes DataBP’s Licensing Ledger, which records licensing changes, data usage, and billing history.

The partnership aims to benefit Kaiko’s clients by simplifying the licensing process and providing access to detailed licensing and usage metrics through a unified portal. The move will also ensure compliance with SOC2T2 standards, positioning the company to better meet regulatory demands and maintain trust in the rapidly evolving cryptocurrency industry.

ZERO13 Collaborates with Industry Leaders to Launch First Digital Carbon Credit Platform for Renewable Energy

ZERO13, the GMEX Group company operating a carbon exchange, registry and aggregation hub ecosystem, has partnered with Decarb.earth, CarbonCX, and XTCC to introduce a digital platform for end-to-end digitally measured, reported and verified carbon credit distribution, trading, and settlement for renewable energy projects

ZERO13 is a cloud-native, infrastructure-agnostic, decentralised platform that streamlines workflows across various exchanges, participants, custodians, registries, and climate fintech services, integrating digital monitoring, reporting, and verification to provide real-time checks on carbon offset supplies and project provenance. It supports end-to-end distribution across diverse blockchains and APIs, facilitating effective trading and settlement, and overcoming the limitations of the traditional voluntary carbon market (VCM).

Pico Launches Corvil Analytics 10.0, Enhancing Financial Trading with AI and Machine Learning

Pico has released Corvil Analytics 10.0, a significant upgrade that incorporates advanced machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) to improve financial trading infrastructure. The software now features proactive notifications and natural language event descriptions, enabling users to identify and understand performance-impacting and unusual events critical for trading outcomes.

The latest version leverages proprietary ML and AI research to tackle unique challenges in data patterns and analytics volume, automatically detecting, correlating, and narrating significant events affecting business operations. This functionality allows Corvil Analytics to scale up to 7.5 million data points daily, supporting extensive data analysis and operational needs in demanding financial environments.

Trading Technologies Launches TT Splicer for Enhanced Multi-Leg Spread Trading

Trading Technologies (TT) has unveiled TT Splicer, an addition to its suite of TT Premium Order Types, designed to facilitate synthetic multi-leg spread trading. The tool allows users to create and manage synthetic multi-leg instruments across any exchange, even those where such products are not listed. Through the integration with TT’s proprietary algorithms, TT Splicer offers seamless order execution, real-time tracking of all transactions, and dynamic risk management through custom ratios.

TT Splicer leverages TT’s Autospreader to coordinate trade legs across co-located servers, seamlessly managing order execution. TT Premium Order Types are execution algos driven by quantitative modelling, fully integrated with the TT platform.