BGFI Bank, the Gabon-based financial services conglomerate, has chosen Wolters Kluwer’s OneSumX to provide its regulatory reporting software for its French and European Banking Authority reporting obligations.

Zephyrus Partners has adopted PFaroe as its preferred valuation tool as it targets further growth in the UK pensions advisory space. It will use the platform, on behalf of its client base of scheme sponsors, to introduce efficiency and robustness into its liability valuation and scenario testing process with the goal of supporting their ability to proactively engage with trustees in funding and investment strategy negotiations.

Lazard announced today that Michael Schwartz has joined its subsidiary, Lazard Middle Market LLC, as a Managing Director and Head of Corporate Finance Advisory. He is based in New York.

Akamai Technologies, announced that, in an all cash transaction, it has acquired Soha Systems, an innovator in enterprise secure access delivered as a service. The acquisition is intended to complementAkamai's strategy of securing, protecting and accelerating enterprise applications and services in the cloud.

Sterling’s plunge is an indication that the markets clearly believe that there will be a ‘hard’ Brexit, following on from Theresa May’s comments over the weekend. In the short term, this means that the currency’s value could plumb new depths due to the atmosphere of uncertainty, with the slightest pronouncement having a profound impact on the currency markets.

With cybercriminals, digitisation and the revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2), there’s no doubt our payment industry is facing both challenge and change. So how do new initiatives dedicated to bringing us up to speed plan to pay off?

Anybody who’s wracked their brain for a forgotten password at an online “checkout”, had their computer throw them “the spinning wheel of death” mid-payment or been the victim of cybercrime will know that electronic payments, for all their advantages, still present consumers with obstacles to the simplicity we’re used to with cash transactions.

Banks and financial services are racing to innovate in order to enhance the customer experience. Mastercard recently launched Selfiepay whilst HSBC has said they’ll allow their customers to use selfies to open bank accounts. Samsung has also announced that they’re planning to launch voice and facial recognition biometrics for mobile banking.

 Further to its announcement this morning, Temenos, the software specialist for banking and finance, confirms that Bank of Ireland Group has selected UniversalSuite, its front-to-back solution for retail, commercial and corporate banking, to be implemented as Bank of Ireland’s new core banking and channels platform.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), a top-tier financial services institution, has partnered with Fidor Bank to launch the region’s first ‘community based digital bank’. The new platform is designed to fit the lifestyle of millennial consumers also known as Generation Y, as well as those looking for a digital offering that matches their banking needs.