Financial IT speaks with Vivek Bajaj,Vice President, Global Banking & FM, IBM Cognitive Solutions at Sibos 2016. Vivek speaks about how cognitive might help financial institutions to combat fraud and comply with regulatory standards,

ICAP, a leading markets operator and provider of post trade risk mitigation and information services, announces today that it has appointed Stuart Connolly as Head of Client Product Development for its Post Trade Risk and Information (PTRI) division, effective Monday 21 November. In this newly created role, Stuart will report to Jenny Knott, Chief Executive Officer for PTRI, and will be based in London.

ICCREA Banca, a holding of the Iccrea Banking Group, has selected Misys FusionCapital to drive transformation and innovation across its Italian trading business. This new project provides front office and consolidated post-trade processes to improve straight through processing (STP) and improve risk management.

Under the agreement, ICCREA Banca expects to reduce operating costs by €5 million over 10 years. The bank will also be able to extend its Misys software licence across the Credit Cooperative bank network (BCC), as it provides enhanced services to these organisations. 

 OpenLink, the global leader in trading, treasury and risk management solutions for the energy, commodities, corporate and financial services industries, today announced the completion of a major upgrade of its energy trading risk management system at Mabanaft Ltd. The project was delivered on time and within budget, and will significantly reduce costs, increase automation and give Mabanaft Ltd greater granularity and control of its risk data.

Fidessa group plc has today announced that China Renaissance, one of the leading investment banking, securities and investment management firms in China, has implemented Fidessa’s Asian trading platform to support the expansion of its equities business across Asia with a centralised order management and execution system.

A new study by Lipis Advisors, experts in real-time payments, has found that the cost of migrating to Instant Payments infrastructure for small and medium sized banks is far lower and more controllable than previously thought. This revelation suggests that smaller banks are actually better positioned to respond to regulatory and consumer pressures for Instant Payments, and that real time banking doesn’t need to be the preserve of large, well-funded banks.

I would like to see more guarantees of support for freelancers, contractors and the smallest micro-businesses - those who have traditionally been overlooked by UK chancellors at Budget time. That means less red tape for them to deal with, an easier tax system to navigate and more opportunities to maintain a healthy cash flow and let their businesses thrive.

As part of their commitment to provide consumers with innovative offerings and customer-centric banking experiences, today, Metro Bank announces the launch of its new commercial internet banking platform - marking yet another disruptive step for the challenger bank. 

Since its initial launch in 2010, Metro Bank has demonstrated an innovative, customer-focused approach that has scored its success as a true challenger - being the first new high street bank to open in the UK for over 100 years. 

More than 3,000 financial institutions have signed up to use The Know Your Customer (KYC) Registry, SWIFT’s centralised repository that maintains a standardised set of information about financial institutions required for KYC compliance.

Launched in December 2014, The Registry provides a secure, cost-effective KYC solution that enables banks, fund distributors and custodians to maintain and grow their correspondent network. As an industry utility, The KYC Registry is designed to help these institutions save significant time and money while meeting their KYC obligations.