Former City Index Group Finance Director to take on expanded role following acquisition of the business by GAIN Capital

IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced the acquisition of StrongLoop, Inc., a software provider, to help developers connect enterprise applications to mobile, Internet of Things (IoT) and web applications in the 

Orange has launched a mobile crowdfunding platform in Cote d'Ivoire to which users can make and receive donations via their Orange Money accounts.

Accenture will assist with implemention of the new platform, which will be based on Temenos’ core banking software.

The Stockholm-based bank took a EUR344 million impairment charge on its current IT systems in Q3 as it outlined plans to embark on a major project to rip and replace its core banking and payments systems.

Every couple of months I write a blog taking about trends in crowdfunding. Now one might think that this is simple regurgitation of the same tepid words, like much of the content, which plies the inter-web. But what’s great about crowdfunding is that every couple of months new trends emerge, the industry is developing in front of us and there is genuinely new stuff to write about. So without further ado here are some of the top 3 emerging trends I have been witnessing.

Trend 1: the number of crowdfunding platforms is continuing to grow

From Monday 14 September, London Stock Exchange’s global client base will be able to trade futures and options on the BIST 30 Index, Turkey’s leading index. The flagship BIST 30 Index futures currently trade, on average, more than 180,000 contracts per day on Borsa İstanbul Derivatives Market (VIOP). Liquidity will be provided on screen by market makers.

LCH.Clearnet will provide central counterparty services to London Stock Exchange Derivatives Market and its clearing members.

Morningstar UK Limited, a subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, has announced the winners of this year’s Morningstar Awards for Excellence in Investment.

The annual Morningstar awards took place at The Dorchester Hotel on 10th September, recognising individual fund managers and fund groups that have made a substantial contribution to the retail investment management industry.

The 2015 winners are:

In this role, Aadland will lead the System's activities to address fraud risk and advance the safety, security and resiliency of the payment system. His responsibilities will include chairing the Secure Payments Task Force, comprised of more than 170 payments stakeholders.

Chain, Inc., the leading provider of blockchain technology solutions to financial institutions, announced today that it has raised $30 million in equity funding from a syndicate of financial and payments industry leaders including Visa, Nasdaq, Citi Ventures, Capital One, Fiserv and Orange. Chain's newest partners will also join the company in forming a Blockchain Working Group to explore the application of the technology in various markets and take a collaborative approach to interoperability.

Amid a sea of change, the importance of customer satisfaction to financial institutions remains a constant. The task has never been easy, but the convergence of technological change, cost-cutting, regulatory upheaval and shifting customer expectations have made it more challenging than ever before. It’s never been more clear that financial institutions will not be insulated from the impacts of 21^st century consumerism.