Solidatus Targets Asia-Pacific from Office in Singapore

Solidatus, provider of a data lineage and business relationship mapping solution, has opened an office in Singapore to address Asia-Pacific markets. The expansion comes off the back of two trade missions to Asia in 2018, both of which were at the invitation of the UK Department of International Trade. John Berven, who has experience of the region and spent 18 years at State Street Global Markets, where he managed foreign exchange sales team that covered institutional investors in Hong Kong and Singapore for five years, will lead the Singapore office and be the first Solidatus employee outside the UK.

CAT NMS Names FINRA as Plan Processor for the CAT after Dropping Thesys

CAT NMS has selected the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) as plan processor for the consolidated audit trail (CAT), having dumped previous plan processor Thesys Technologies earlier this year. CAT NMS, which is responsible for implementation of the CAT, has also released updated industry member technology specifications and industry member technical specifications scenarios.

ESMA Names Three UK CCPs to Offer Services in the EU Following a No-Deal Brexit

ESMA has named three UK central counterparties (CCPs) that will be allowed to provide services in the EU following a no-deal Brexit. The CCPs are LCH, ICE Clear Europe, and LME Clear and have been selected to limit the risk of disruption in central clearing and avoid any negative impact on the financial stability of the EU in the case of a no-deal Brexit. ESMA also supports continued access to UK central securities depositories (CSDs) and is in the process of selecting which ones will continue to be recognised in the EU after a no-deal Brexit.

Broadridge Report Reveals Damage of Poor Personalised Communications

Broadridge Financial Solutions has released a rather telling report for those at financial institutions responsible for customer onboarding and client lifecycle management. The report shows that personalisation in communications can make a significant impact on customer loyalty. Some 35% of 3,004 consumers surveyed in the US and Canada said companies they use need to improve communication experiences, while 25% stopped doing business with a company specifically due to poorly personalised communications, a percentage that grows to 35% among millennials.

IHS Markit Adds ESG Solution for Private Capital Markets

IHS Markit has introduced an environmental, social and governance (ESG) data collection and reporting solution for private equity (PE) firms, venture capital (VC) firms, their portfolio companies and investors. The solution is part of iLEVEL, a platform connecting participants in private capital markets. ESG reporting in iLEVEL covers 29 metrics relevant to investors seeking data from portfolio companies and PE or VC funds. The metrics include CO2 footprint, diversity in employment and independence of board members, helping general partners and limited partners apply non-financial data to their value creation and risk management processes, two areas of interest for investors.

ChartIQ Raises $17.4 Million in Series B Funding

ChartIQ, a provider of HTML5 real-time data charting software and most recently a desktop integration platform that connects disparate applications into a unified desktop solution, has completed Series B funding, led by German investor Digital+ Partners, of $17.4 million. The company will use the funding to increase hiring efforts, expand its headquarters in Charlottesville, Virginia and invest in research and development. It currently employs 50 staff globally and includes nine of the largest global investment banks among its customers. In total, ChartIQ has raised over $20 million in funding since its founding in 2012.

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.