Bats Europe, the region’s largest stock exchange operator, and BIDS Trading LP (BIDS), the largest block trading ATS by volume in the U.S., announced today that Bats Europe has agreed to license BIDS technology to launch Bats LIS, a new block trading service for the European equity market.

 JHC, a leading provider of innovative wealth management solutions, has announced today that it has signed a new contract with global technology pioneer APSU, for cloud-based services to further enhance its long-standing FIGARO Managed Service offering.

Cowen Group, announced that Matt Baldassano has joined Cowen as Managing Director, Head of Global Securities Finance. Mr. Baldassano is based in New York and reports to Dan Charney, Head of Equities.

ACI Worldwide, a leading global provider of real-time electronic payment and banking solutions, today announced that allpago, the leading payment service provider (PSP) in Latin America, has achieved 150 percent annual growth, in terms of volume of transactions, with ACI. A long-standing ACI customer, allpago enables companies globally to do business and accept payments across Latin America, incorporating locally-preferred credit cards and alternative payment methods via location-based checkout.

PartnerRe announced that Jörg Bruniecki has been appointed to the position of Head of Global Client & Broker Management effective August 1, underlining PartnerRe’s commitment to providing valuable partnerships and solutions to its clients and brokers.

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc. (KBW), a full-service boutique investment bank and broker-dealer that specializes in the financial services sector, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF), today announced that R.J. Grant has been named Director of Equity Trading.

Grant joined the firm in 2005 and has spent the last decade on KBW’s equity trading desk, most recently as Senior Managing Director & Head of Market Making. He now assumes the position previously held by John Ragan, who is retiring after 23 years of service at KBW.

The RMR Group Inc announced the acquisition of the business of Tremont Realty Capital LLC, or Tremont, a firm that specializes in commercial real estate finance. Tremont principally raises debt and equity capital for owners of commercial real estate and serves as a manager of funds invested in commercial real estate loans. Since its founding in 2000, Tremont has completed over $4.6 billion worth of commercial real estate transactions and currently has over $200 million of real estate loans under management.

Calvert Investments launched the Calvert Energy Research Index (CALNRG), which marks the seventh addition to the firm’s growing suite of responsible indexes and its second research index. The new index focuses on investing in companies that manage either energy use in a sustainable manner or that are actively engaged in facilitating the transition to a more sustainable economy through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the expanded use of renewable energy sources.

TIAA, a leading financial services provider, announced today an agreement to acquire EverBank, a nationwide consumer and commercial bank with $27.4 billion in total assets. This acquisition significantly expands TIAA’s banking and lending products and complements the company’s full suite of retirement, investment and advisory services available to help customers achieve financial well-being.

NICE  announced the launch of Scenario Analyzer, which allows organizations to conduct precise, in-depth analysis of various business challenges related to the cross-channel customer journey.

Some specific business use cases that can be addressed include: