GLEIF Open Mumbai Office as Indian Use of LEIs Surges

The Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) has expanded its operations to India, opening an office in Mumbai where it intends to gain a deeper understanding of local markets.

The non-profit organisation, which provides universal identification codes for companies and assets to make it easier to verify and map data to them, said India has been among the top-five legal entity identifier (LEI) growth areas in the past four years.

“The LEI has become a key tool in enabling trust and transparency across the Indian financial ecosystem, thanks to a proactive regulatory agenda advanced by the Reserve Bank of India,” GLEIF said. “Significant levels of new LEI issuance in the region annually, as well as high levels of LEI renewals, can be attributed directly to this extensive regulation and the need for organisations to comply.”

Meanwhile, the International Standards Organisation (ISO) has expanded the LEI technical standard to include GELIF’s digitally signed, tamper-resistant verifiable credentials, know and vLEIs.

“This is a pivotal moment in the evolution of digital organisational identity,” said GLEIF chief executive Alexandre Kech. “The inclusion of the vLEI in ISO 17442 solidifies its role as the global benchmark for secure, digital verification of legal entities. As the vLEI gains traction, it promises to revolutionise how businesses authenticate and trust each other, enabling seamless interactions in a way that has never been possible before.”

Refreshed DTCC Fixed-Income Master Data Updates More Frequently

Bond traders and investors can now receive more frequently updated data on assets with an enhancement to the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC)’s security master data file service.

DTCC’s Corporate Fixed Income Premium Intraday Reference Data has been retooled to refresh every half-hour 23 times a day, the organisation said. It will also include 20 new data elements, including security description, bond duration, interest rate and coupon frequency.

The update has been partly driven by the advent of T+1 trade reporting.

“Intraday corporate fixed income data is critical for the identification, valuation, trading, and settlement in the secondary market,” said Tim Lind, managing director of DTCC data service. “The T+1 transition requires firms to operate more quickly within shorter timeframes. Having access to underlying security data on a timelier basis can help firms achieve that objective.”

MDXT Acquires UK Spreadsheet Optimiser Schematiq

MDX Technology (MDXT), a provider of data distribution and collaboration technology to financial institutions, has acquired spreadsheet optimisation technology firm Schematiq, creating a platform that it says lets clients share data and models faster and more efficiently.

Recognising that the financial industry still relies heavily on spreadsheets to organise and manage their data, MDXT said that the acquisition will help clients of the London-based company convert their models into code and APIs that can be scaled for trading and enterprise uses.

“Despite industry-wide efforts to reduce reliance on Excel, it is still critical to operations and our customers are looking to us to support them scale invaluable IP held in these complex models,” said MDXT chief executive Nigel Someck.

The deal was approved for an undisclosed sum.

MDXT’s low-code platform is used by financial institutions, including HSBC, and financial services companies such as Bridgewater and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE Data Services) to build over-the-counter price-sharing and trading workflows.

The newly augmented company will continue to be headed by Someck while Schematiq founder Darren Harris has been appointed as chief product officer.

“This collaboration is not just a strategic fit for both companies but a transformative move for the entire industry,” said Harris. “Together, we will drive innovation, expand market influence, and deliver exceptional value to our clients. The future is incredibly exciting.”

S&P Global Unveils Scientist-led Climate Research Group

S&P Global has established a Climate Centre of Excellence, bringing together scientists and strategists to help guide the data and ratings company’s environment and nature research and methodologies.

The centre will harness the company’s market and ESG datasets to generate sustainability-linked information that can be used by clients of the company’s S&P Global Market Intelligence, S&P Global Ratings, S&P Global Commodity Insights, S&P Global Mobility and S&P Dow Jones Indices businesses.

“To push the frontiers in climate research, S&P Global scientists are diving into some of the most complex data and modelling challenges in the physical and economic sciences,” said the centre’s chief science officer Terence Thompson. “We are bridging multi-disciplinary gaps and perspectives to enable advancements in our science-driven methodologies providing actionable information on climate-related risks and opportunities.”

Among the themes the centre aims to tackle are physical and climate hazards, probabilistic risk modelling and supply-chain exposure.

AI Added to SmartStream’s Air Data Management Platform

SmartStream has added artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning capabilities to the latest version of its Air data management platform.

The Dubai-based maker of transaction technology for financial institutions has incorporated the technology into the ninth version of its SaaS-based product with the creation of two modules, Air Data and Air Cash.

Air Data is an automation module that streamlines tasks including cross-checking between different systems, pre-settlement error detection and trade record comparisons. Air Cash handles cash reconciliation.

CommCentral Unveiled by Broadridge to Monitor, Utilise Communications Data

Broadridge Financial Solutions has rolled out CommCentral, a cloud-based application that enables bank and broker-dealer clients to query and surface insights from investor communications.

Users of CommCentral can also create customised alerts and communications monitors to unearth cues and prompts that can generate and streamline workflows.

CommCentral “offers firms immediate access to essential communications data through intuitive dashboards, helping streamline tasks and facilitating informed decisions”, said Swatika Rajaram, head of US proxy and post sale at Broadridge. “Firms will achieve enhanced efficiency and insights into investor communications and ongoing trends leveraging our expertise and transformative technology.”

ESG Software Firm Datamaran Doubles Funding in $33m Financing Round

ESG software maker Datamaran has received a US$33 million financial injection via a Series C funding round. The facility will help accelerate the London-based company’s expansion in the US and build out generative artificial intelligence capabilities.

The latest funding round was led by Morgan Stanley Expansion capital and doubles Datamaran’s total external financial commitments.

Datamaran has almost 200 clients, including JPMorgan, for whom it monitors more than 400 external ESG risk factors.

EZOPS Acquisition Boosts NeoXam’s Data Management Capabilities

NeoXam has acquired EZOPS, a company that offers clients artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled data control, workflow automation, reconciliation, and regulatory reporting services.

Paris-based financial software specialist NeoXam said the purchase would enable it to expand its presence in US, Ireland and India, where EZOPS has its offices. The move comes as NeoXam seeks to bolster its AI capabilities to enhance its software.

With 150 staff, the EZOPS acquisition will increase NeoXam’s headcount to 800 globally. NeoXam said the New York-based firm brings data management, regulatory reporting, reconciliation and automation expertise.

“These capabilities are expected to complement NeoXam’s existing offerings, allowing the combined entity to deliver more powerful and comprehensive solutions to clients across the financial industry,” NeoXam said.

The company has had a busy 2024 including a recent agreement to handle the entire reporting process for Ecofi, Groupe Credit Cooperatif’s asset manager, and the integration of data, indices and other services linked to ETFs and other passive funds via SIX’s ULTUMUS feed to its DataHub.

Canoe Provides Data Services to Alt Funds Processing Firm Fundcraft

Fund-of-fund management clients of Fundcraft now have access to Canoe Intelligence’s data management capabilities, enabling them to streamline their data and document processes.

The deal will see the alternative investments operations services provider utilise New York-based Canoe’s artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced technology to collect, clean, validate, order and distribute their data.

Luxembourg-headquartered Fundcraft said also that the deal will help fund managers better integrate their data sets, enhance documents management and increase operational efficiency.

This announcement comes after Canoe raised $36 million in a Series C funding round from backers that included Goldman Sachs’ alternatives venture investor.

“By combining Canoe’s expertise in automating document and data management with Fundcraft’s comprehensive platform, we’re making it easier for fund administrators to work smarter and focus on what matters most—driving value for their clients,” said Canoe vice president of sales in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region Toby Bailey.

ISS ESG Adds Biodiversity Data to Fund Rating and Screening Tools

ISS ESG has incorporated nature-focussed data into its ESG funds assessment tool.

Investors can use the ISS ESG Biodiversity Fund Screening dataset to establish the risks from nature and water loss faced by equity and bond funds. It expands the sustainable investing arm of ISS STOXX’s Fund Rating and Fund Screening tools, which offer clients a broad spectrum of ESG assessments of their holdings.

“ISS ESG has applied its extensive ESG research and data management expertise to enhance its ESG Fund Rating thematic coverage, developing a broad and deep dataset to help support a wide range of investor use cases,” said Till Jung, head of ESG business at ISS STOXX.

SG Fund Rating can be accessed via its DataDesk and through data feeds, APIs and the cloud. It is built on 2,600 ESG data factors.