The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has renewed its data strategy published in 2013, taking into account the evolution of technology and aiming to transform how it works. The new strategy will be delivered over five years and is designed to make the FCA smarter in the way it uses data and advanced analytics so that it can transform how it regulates and reduce the burden on firms. The initial focus includes increasing data science resources, developing data and analytics skills, and deploying new tools. The FCA has also started work on a new data collection platform that will replace Gabriel.

SteelEye, a compliance technology and data analytics firm, has taken the next step in its international expansion with the opening of an office in Paris. The office supports SteelEye’s rapid growth and positions the company closer to regulated financial markets in France, as well as the Benelux region, Switzerland and many of its existing clients. Since its inception in 2017, SteelEye has acquired over 40 clients across seven countries. CEO Matt Smith says: “After a successful first two years’ operating out of the UK, we now want to enable more firms to realise the benefits of the SteelEye platform.”

Exchange Data International (EDI), a provider of global security corporate actions, pricing and reference data has partnered Columba Systems, a provider of international future financial events data to sell-side and buy-side institutions. The partnership offers clients access to the dates and release times of company results and company meetings, and the dates of upcoming trade shows and investor conferences worldwide. The data feed is delivered as a zipped package including customised files. The delivery method and period depend on client requirements, but typically include FTP put or fetch. The partnership takes EDI into the front office and trading flow.

CAIXA Asset Management, one of the largest asset managers in Brazil and Latin America, is planning to implement Bloomberg’s Asset and Investment Manager (AIM) solutions, including portfolio analytics and risk management, trade execution and compliance tools. The solutions are expected to increase efficiency and lower costs by optimising operations that ensure compliance with regional rules and regulations. The consistency of data, execution and flow of operations available through Bloomberg AIM is expected to support future growth of CAIXA’s business. The asset manager has also expanded subscriptions to the Bloomberg Terminal.

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has published the 2019 list of global systemically important banks (G-SIBs) using end-2018 data and an assessment methodology designed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS). One bank, Toronto Dominion, has been added to the list of G-SIBs that were identified in 2018, increasing the overall number from 29 to 30.

Fenergo today announced the launch of a new product enhancement, Digital KYC, a real-time, rules-driven, API-enabled KYC solution enabling financial institutions to automate and perpetuate KYC compliance reviews. The product works with existing client lifecycle management (CLM) solutions, automating continuous customer due diligence (CDD) reviews for low to medium-risk clients and reducing the need for repeated manual requests for client data.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published the results of a 2018 peer review of supervisory actions of six European National Competent Authorities (NCAs), including the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), regarding approaches to enhancing the quality of derivative data reported under European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR). The report complements ESMA’s Data Quality Action Plan to improve the quality and usability of derivatives data. Its results are mixed, but on the data quality side, have led ESMA to suggest several initiatives to improve the supervision of EMIR data quality in the short and long term.

Finantix has released the results of a wealth management market survey, ‘New Client Acquisition: How can technology drive sales effectiveness in wealth management’. The survey shows a shift by wealth managers towards a more digital approach to client acquisition: 87% said they will increase digital lead generation in the next 24 months, with 54% making the digital route top priority. Some 75% of tier one multi-market mangers are prioritising digital lead generation, compared to 33% of single-market firms. There is also increasing need for technologies to help build a single view of each client and prospect and drive personalised insights.

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has published a report on governance arrangements for the Unique Product Identifier (UPI). The UPI will uniquely identify the product involved in OTC derivatives transactions reported to trade repositories. This will help authorities aggregate data on OTC derivatives transactions by product, allowing the effective use of OTC derivatives trade reporting data to help authorities assess systemic risk and detect market abuse. The Legal Entity Identifier Regulatory Oversight Committee (LEI ROC) will become the International Governance Body for the UPI and Unique Transaction Identifier (UTI). The UPI Technical Guidance should be implemented by Q3 2022.

Refinitiv continues to build its commitment to the wealth management industry through a strategic partnership with SigFig, an enterprise financial technology firm. The partnership delivers digital advice technology solutions to institutional users of Refinitiv’s BETA clearing and custody platform and will enable SigFig and Refinitiv to deliver an integrated, end-to-end digital advice experience for investors that supports efficient and automated investment management. This is based on SigFig’s direct-to-consumer platform technology that can be used to create an end-to-end robo advice solution, featuring account opening, automated investment management, money movement and return client experience for institutional clients.