R3 and Quant Selected to Develop Prototype for UK’s Regulated Liability Network

R3 and Quant have been chosen to create the technology prototype for the UK’s Regulated Liability Network (RLN) experimentation phase, an initiative led by UK Finance and supported by EY. This project aims to establish a unified platform facilitating various financial transactions using tokenised and traditional commercial bank deposits. The RLN will serve as a central innovation hub for digital transactions, with confirmed participants including Barclays, HSBC, Citi and Visa, among others. R3 will leverage its Corda platform for shared ledger capabilities, while Quant will enhance money interoperability through its Overledger platform.

The collaboration underscores the strategic aims of R3 and Quant in addressing the complexities of regulated financial environments through advanced ledger and API technologies. The prototype will explore multiple use cases across retail and wholesale payments, including ecommerce and bond issuance, supported by technology partners such as DXC Technology and Coadjute.

T+1 and Voice Analytics to Feature at Symphony Innovate 2024 (NYC)

A-Team Group recently caught up with Ben Chrnelich, President and CFO of Symphony Communications to discuss how their Enterprise Collaboration and Workflow platform is helping firms prepare for T+1 – which goes live on May 28, and the significant uptick in e-comms messaging volume over their Federated Communications offerings. 

Both of these core offerings will be in focus at Symphony Innovate 2024 in NYC on April 18th.   

Bringing Insights to Trader Voice will highlight Cloud9 Transcription and Voice Analytics in Action with representation from Goldman Sachs and Capital One. 

As Chrnelich recalls; “Going into 2024, there were signs that capital flows were opening up. People were looking to invest in areas around RegTech and compliance technology. The seriousness of industry fines related to off-channel communication was definitely being acknowledged and addressed by the industry and regulated participants. We’ve seen the messaging volume on our federated offerings grow by almost 400% since Q1 of 2023.” 

Symphony Communications started in 2014 as an industry-backed consortium, to deliver a messaging platform for data security and compliance, and an open architecture platform to facilitate real-time cross-company and inter-company communication. The founding consortium members included BofA Merrill Lynch, BNY Mellon, BlackRock, Citadel, Citi, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, JPMorgan, Maverick, Morgan Stanley, Nomura and Wells Fargo. Today, the company’s solutions support over half a million users, servicing more than 1,000 institutions.

Corporater Unveils Business Process Management for Enhanced GRC and Performance Management (GPRC)

Corporater, a global leader in software solutions for Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) and Performance Management (jointly addressed as GPRC), is proud to announce the launch of a new Business Process Management Engine.  

First introduced in the Nordic market, this significant functional addition is now available globally. 

Digital GRC programs are being challenged by evolving regulatory requirements such as ESG, Cybersecurity, and DORA/operational resilience. At the same time, market innovations in cross-product and cross-border trading activity add to business process complexity. The convergence of governance, accountability, audit, and resilience sets the stage for Business Process Management (BPM) as a foundational and vital tool for the successful digital transformation of an organization’s GRC program. 

The new Business Process Management Engine (BPME) complements a comprehensive toolbox of existing features including risk quantification, Monte Carlo simulations, a flexible Forms & Survey engine, risk aggregation, and AI assistance that collectively enable enterprises to implement a holistic, easy-to-use, enterprise-wide GRC program. 

The new Corporater BPME offers a complete design-to-execution functionality delivering auditable, measurable business processes that comply with regulatory requirements, increase operational efficiency, align with organizational objectives, and support AI-powered integration with relevant GRC and Performance Management data. The net effect is an uplift in organizational agility, resilience, and overall business performance. 

“With the enhanced Business Process Management Engine, Corporater continues to set the standard for integrated enterprise GRC and Performance Management solutions,” said Owe Lie-Bjelland, GPRC Director at Corporater. “We aim to empower organizations to not only manage risks and compliance effectively across the enterprise but also enhance overall business performance through an integrated business-wide GRC program.” 

CJC Achieves Cyber Essentials Certification, Enhancing ICT Defence Capabilities

Crown Jewels Consultants (CJC), the market data consultancy and professional services provider, has attained the Cyber Essentials certification, underscoring its commitment to robust cyber defence mechanisms. CJC was assessed to have met the Cyber Essentials implementation profile, with ICT defences deemed satisfactory against a commodity-based cyber-attack.

The UK government-backed certification aligns with the EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), which aims to bolster the digital resilience of financial entities and their vital infrastructure against cyber risks. The certification process encompassed several critical areas, including secure configuration, access control, malware protection, patch management, and incident response.

Baader Bank Selects Broadridge for Regulatory Trade and Transaction Reporting

Baader Bank has extended its relationship with Broadridge Financial Solutions with an agreement to use the vendor’s regulatory trade and transaction reporting solution to ensure a more unified and comprehensive regulatory reporting framework. The bank already uses Broadridge’s front- and middle-office solutions for order management, trading and market connectivity.

Baader Bank offers asset classes including equities, bonds, derivatives, and funds/ETFs, as well as primary market transactions. The Broadridge platform will support the bank in fulfilling evolving requirements across multiple jurisdictions including MiFID, FinfraG, EMIR Refit and SFTR.

SteelEye Strengthens Presence in APAC by Incorporating in Singapore

SteelEye, provider of an integrated surveillance platform, has strengthened its footprint in Asia-Pacific (APAC) by incorporating in Singapore. This will enable closer collaboration with clients and regulatory authorities and comes at a time of heightened enforcement action by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), which over the past year fined four banks and an insurer for money laundering and market misconduct according to SteelEye’s 2024 Annual Fine Tracker.

Recognising the parallels between regulatory environments in APAC, North America and Europe, SteelEye is well-positioned to continue assisting financial firms in APAC to address compliance complexities. Matt Smith, CEO of SteelEye, comments: “Fortifying our presence in APAC underscores our commitment to providing unparalleled support to our clients in the region. By leveraging our experience, SteelEye’s trade and communications surveillance solutions can enable financial firms operating in APAC to meet their regulatory obligations effectively.”

SEC Approves Watered-Down Climate Reporting Rules

American listed companies will not have to report on their Scope 3 emissions in rules that will, however, require them for the first time to disclose other climate data.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) yesterday approved measures that would bind corporates into presenting data on the climate risks they face, their plans to mitigate them and, for some, their own greenhouse gas emissions. The aim of the rules is to present investors with consistent and comparable data on which to make portfolio and risk management decisions, the SEC said.

“Our federal securities laws lay out a basic bargain. Investors get to decide which risks they want to take so long as companies raising money from the public make what President Franklin Roosevelt called ‘complete and truthful disclosure’,” SEC chair Gary Gensler said. “These final rules build on past requirements by mandating material climate risk disclosures by public companies and in public offerings.”

The Federal rules are the first of their kind in the US but fall well short of requirements under the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). While they have been long in the making, SEC commissioners eventually presented a far more diluted set of measures than had been initially proposed in March 2022, including the declaration of emissions from supply and distribution chains.

Divided Reception

The SEC also watered down reporting requirements on Scope 1 and 2 emissions, those caused directly by companies’ own operations and energy usage. Firms will only be expected to make such disclosures if they are not already obliged to do so in other jurisdictions.

The announcement received a divided reception. Sustainable markets campaigner Ceres said the rules “represent a major victory for transparency in capital markets” but said it “will continue to advocate for voluntary and mandatory disclosures of a company’s full scope of emissions”.

The watering down of the initial proposals comes amid a growing anti-ESG movement in US. Since Gensler first proposed a climate reporting bill, opponents have rallied to demonise the ESG project. Banks and institutions have also lobbied against tough measures.

Many US state leaders have instigated bans on public funds being invested in sustainable markets and conservative movements have put pressure on institutions to row back on their ESG strategies.

Despite the SEC’s lowering of disclosure obligations, a coalition of states has already said it will oppose the measures. The SEC has said in response it will “vigorously defend the disclosures” in court.

Basel Committee Cracks Down on Banks Window-Dressing Ahead of G-SIB Scores

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision met last week to take stock of recent market developments and risks to the global banking system and discuss policy and supervisory initiatives. One issue on the agenda was global systemically important banks (G-SIBs) and window dressing. Building on discussion at its previous meeting, the committee looked at empirical analyses that highlight window-dressing behaviour by some banks in the context of the framework for G-SIBs. Such regulatory arbitrage seeks to temporarily reduce banks perceived systemic footprint around the reference dates used for the reporting and public disclosure of G-SIB scores.

As noted previously by the committee, window-dressing by banks undermines the intended policy objectives of the committee’s standards and risks disrupting the operations of financial markets. To that end, the committee agreed to consult on potential measures aimed at reducing window dressing. The consultation paper, and an accompanying working paper summarising the empirical analyses, will be published next month.

Fusion Risk Management Adds Generative AI Powered Resilience Copilot

Fusion Risk Management, a provider of cloud-based operational resilience, business continuity, and risk management solutions, has announced general availability of its generative AI-powered assistant, Fusion Resilience Copilot, following a successful global beta program. The Copilot is pre-configured to answer questions at the click of a button and enables practitioners to automate manual and time-consuming activities, unlock deeper insights into incidents, and quickly respond to disruptions. Users can also reduce the time and effort required to fully understand the scope and status of an incident and quickly communicate critical insights to stakeholders through
AI-generated summaries.

“Today’s risk teams need a better way to leverage generative AI and automation to streamline manual processes and minimise the response time between impact and action when an incident occurs,” says Eric Jackson, chief product officer at Fusion Risk Management. “Resilience Copilot gives Fusion customers a resilience power-up by placing actionable insights and guidance at their fingertips. Customers can extend their continuity and resilience teams without hiring additional staff and free up critical resources to focus on other value-added activities.”

SIX Adds to ESG Products With SME Assessment Tool

Swiss financial giant SIX has launched a tool that will enable banking clients to make assessments on the sustainability performance of small- and medium-sized enterprises on their loan books.

The service is backed by Greenomy, an ESG assessment and reporting company that the Swiss company acquired late last year. With Greenomy’s software-as-a-service platform, the solution will help banks comply with regulations such as the EU’s new Banking Book Taxonomy Alignment Ratio (EU BTAR).

Further, banking clients will be able to gauge their debtors’ sustainability risk trajectories.

“The importance of gaining a clearer insight into the climate credentials of small and medium-sized enterprises cannot be overstated,” said SIX head of financial information Marion Leslie. “After all, SMEs represent 90 per cent of businesses worldwide, not to mention 99 per cent of the EU’s economy.”

The SME Sustainability Assessment Solution is the latest tool to be released by SIX this year. The Zurich-based operator of the stock exchanges of Switzerland and Spain unveiled a climate-specific data tool last month. That was the first in a programme of product releases that SIX head of ESG product strategy Martina McPherson said would create a one-stop-shop of sustainability data services.