AxiomSL, the industry’s leading provider of regulatory reporting and risk management solutions, today announced the launch of a new Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) solution to automate compliance with new sustainability and social impact reporting requirements being developed by the European Banking Authority (EBA), the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and other regulatory bodies. The new solution standardizes the process of integrating ESG data attributes, such as counterparty exposures, climate risk reference data and social impact data, with existing financial reference data in a common data dictionary to streamline ESG reporting for financial institutions.

The EBA has led the way on ESG reporting requirements for financial institutions with its proposed draft technical standards, which provide a framework for disclosing how climate change may exacerbate other risks within institutions’ balance sheets, how institutions are mitigating those risks, and their green asset ratio on exposures financing taxonomy-aligned activities, such as those consistent with the Paris agreement goals. These disclosure requirements are expected to be applicable starting in June 2022. ESMA has also begun to develop a taxonomy for financial institution ESG reporting. To meet these requirements, financial institutions will need to be able to consistently and accurately disclose their climate-related exposures in addition to traditional financial risk data.

“Creating a sustainable future is about more than just reducing emissions and committing to global initiatives. Financial institutions need to be able to accurately measure and report on their exposure to ESG risks to track progress and drive improvement,” said Alex Tsigutkin, Founder and CEO, AxiomSL. “By integrating essential climate risk and social impact data with our existing financial data in a common data dictionary, we are making it possible for institutions to automatically capture and report ESG exposures in the same manner in which they’ve been reporting traditional financial risks, bringing some much-needed rigor and standardization to ESG reporting.”

The AxiomSL ESG solution ingests proprietary, bank-reported and third-party ESG data from all major data vendors, reducing that information down to granular data attributes that can be tagged with reference data required for regulatory disclosure. By integrating these individual ESG attributes with existing financial data in a common data dictionary, the solution makes it possible to automate ESG risk disclosures using an appropriate methodology that ensures both accuracy and consistency. In addition to fulfilling regulators’ disclosure requirements, this consistent data flow also makes it possible for institutions to continually benchmark their progress against stated sustainability and social impact improvement goals.

For more information about the AxiomSL ESG solution, please visit www.axiomsl.com/new-esg-disclosure-requirements/

Red Hat and KPMG LLP today announced an ongoing collaboration to augment the KPMG Ignite AI platform with Red Hat OpenShift as a foundational technology. Building on Red Hat OpenShift, KPMG Ignite provides the agility, scalability and flexibility needed to deploy AI at scale, and enables Ignite to be deployed more consistently across the hybrid cloud.

According to the KPMG recent AI study, “Thriving in an AI World”, the rate of AI adoption skyrocketed in many industries because of COVID-19, but many leaders feel this uptick is moving too quickly. The study indicates however, that organizations who prioritize AI in their operations can better know and serve their customers, automate repetitive operations, better inform business strategy and drive greater innovation. To capitalize on these benefits, many of KPMG clients as well as KPMG itself seek to embed AI through multiple IT functions into their overall organizational technology fabric providing better management and analysis of their AI data.  

To help meet this need, KPMG offers the Ignite AI platform. Ignite is a U.S.- patented portfolio of AI capabilities that brings together machine learning, document ingestion and optical character recognition capabilities to help analyze and decipher both structured and unstructured data. Ignite focuses on automating, accelerating and enhancing existing AI solutions so organizations can achieve real value from data to make better business decisions across an entire organization.

KPMG chose Red Hat OpenShift as an enabler of AI across a broad set of modern footprints, providing more flexibility for clients to work across the hybrid cloud, from private clouds to multiple public cloud environments. As the underlying Kubernetes platform, Red Hat OpenShift is a key element for Ignite, based on its ability to provide greater agility, flexibility, portability and scalability for nearly any AI workload in almost every enterprise IT deployment. OpenShift also provides security features and application controls, along with robust, native continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) capabilities, helping to more quickly operationalize AI capabilities into production with greater security.

This flexibility is necessary to more rapidly develop, deploy and run machine learning (ML) models and associated intelligent applications in production while mitigating risk of being locked into a single cloud provider or hardware stack. Additionally, with the foundation of Red Hat OpenShift, data scientists using the platform can focus on ML modeling and deployment without having to act as IT operations teams or systems administrators.

KPMG has also formed a strategic alliance with Red Hat to provide and enhance these hybrid multi-cloud experiences for clients, bringing greater choice, control and freedom of open source to fuel digital acceleration. This innovative technology approach affords organizations the flexibility of working with and across several of its cloud alliance partners.

Supporting Quotes

Joe Fernandes, vice president and general manager, Cloud Platforms, Red Hat
“AI solutions are changing the way we do business, enabling organizations to better serve their customers and get more done quicker - but they must be built on a hybrid cloud platform that can help deliver stable, production-ready innovation. With Red Hat OpenShift, KPMG Ignite has a hybrid cloud platform with the flexibility and scalability required to accelerate AI/ML initiatives from pilot to production, helping advance their clients' digital transformation initiatives.”

Kevin Martelli, principal, software engineering, KPMG LLP.

“When determining the underlying technology platforms for Ignite, we needed technology that was flexible and easy-to-use that offers enterprise-grade security across a hybrid cloud. With Red Hat OpenShift, containers and Kubernetes are at the center of Ignite, providing data scientists and developers the much-needed agility, flexibility, consistency, portability, and scalability to train, test, and deploy machine learning models anywhere.”

Some elements of trade finance – such as checking the key documents underlying the trade – have been slow to digitalise. But that hasn’t prevented innovation: it’s facilitated it. Just ask ING Bank, says Conpend’s Founder Marc Smith and CEO Torben Sauer 

ING Bank has a strong reputation as a trade finance bank, as well as an innovator. Given this, it was a matter of time before the bank cracked one of the most intractable concerns preventing the full digitalisation of trade finance: the fact the documentary evidencing of the underlying trade (including bills of lading and letters of credit) remained paper based. Supply chains often involved countries and companies with sub-optimal connectivity that rely on paper-based documents being physically posted to the bank for manual checking. The checking is usually undertaken at a service centre, often in a third country: all of which generates delays as well as raises concerns over human errors and – in the worst-case scenarios – illegality.  

Attempts to digitalise the supply chain have been met with only partial success: there remaining a high percentage of trade-related documents that are printed originals requiring the human eye to ensure compliance (with all the imperfections and dangers this entails). Yet ING’s propensity for innovation has led them in a different direction. First, it accepted that electronic documentation is simply not viable for certain supply chains, which led it to focus instead on automating the process of checking the paper-based documents. 

Working with Conpend – a trade finance artificial intelligence (AI) automation specialist – ING deployed AI for the mundane aspects of documentary processing, which includes checking for compliance against International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) rules, as well as against anti-money laundering (AML) guidelines. A further check involved sanctions screening, including against America’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) regulations. 

Integrating Conpend’s TRADE AI app, which automatically checks documents against inputted rules and regulations, the process has not only been made more efficient, it has freed up the operatives in the service centres to undertake the more meaningful work of checking the anomalies spotted by the app’s AI reading. 

The documents arrive by envelope and are scanned and securely sent to the operatives, who apply the TRADE AI app. The documents are scanned for key words and phrases against input rules and stipulations. If an anomaly is spotted, a query is raised and one of the operatives checks the document.  

The app has the power to convert all documents – whether they are copies, originals, clear or unclear papers – into machine readable words through optical character recognition. Yet the app is also self-learning from all previous transactions. Applying the learning to all future documents, the result is a process that is faster, more accurate and more precise than any human checkers can achieve – allowing it to produce analysis as well as recommend actions and solutions – all while constantly improving. 

Faster turnaround times, reduced errors and improved interaction with clients for day-to-day activities were ING’s aims, all achieved by the TRADE AI app that has now been adopted by the bank as part of their Digital Bank and Robotic Process Automation strategies. 

“The partnership has been a journey, and it has been approached as one right from the start, with no expectations that TRADE AI would be installed and immediately save time,” said Dermot Canavan, Trade Operations Manager at ING Bank. “That said, the app has delivered more than we expected quicker than we expected.” 

The partnership between Conpend and ING Bank – forged through the development of trade documentary checking – is now entrenched, opening up other bank processes that could benefit from AI. 

GoldenSource, the leading independent provider of Enterprise Data Management (EDM) and Master Data Management (MDM), has announced the appointment of Xavier Gerardin as Global Head of its OnDemand solution.

Based in London, Gerardin, formerly ION’s hosted services lead, will lead the Global OnDemand managed service – which provides clients with dedicated hosting and technical and business assistance services for GoldenSource’s EDM clients utilizing both private and public clouds – as the business continues to evolve. A 20-year veteran, with experience that includes managing over 100 financial software programmes, Gerardin will be tasked with bringing global clients new levels of efficiency to their data management lifecycle.

Commenting on his appointment, Gerardin said: “GoldenSource is well placed to support financial institutions as they continue to adapt to technological change. In this new, more complex environment, our OnDemand offering enables clients to reduce fixed costs and complexity, while increasing the scope and quality of the services they receive.”

John Eley, CEO of GoldenSource added: “Xavier’s appointment is a prime example of our continued investment in our world class managed services offering in the EDM space. Almost 50% of our clients currently use our OnDemand services. We expect this to grow significantly over the next few years. In line with the rapid advancements seen in the use of cloud and managed services, to focus on our investment objectives, Xavier will offer unrivalled expertise in running complex technology projects.”

Leading fintech company, AutoRek, is delighted to have been recognised at the Systems in the City Financial Technology Awards 2021 in both the ‘Best CASS Solution’ and ‘Best Wealth Management Solution’ categories and are excited to have achieved the accolade ‘Best CASS Solution’ for the second consecutive year. 

Lyn Canavan, Head of Marketing at AutoRek, commented: “We are delighted to have won this prestigious award and to be recognised again as a provider of the ‘Best CASS Solution’ by the Systems in the City Financial Technology Awards judging panel. The AutoRek team are pleased to have all their hard work and dedication to providing an innovative automation solution recognised and awarded year after year.” 

Organised by Goodacre, a specialist business and technology consultancy, the awards are an endorsement for suppliers of services and systems to the regulated financial services sector. Based on an independent and factual annual accreditation process, the selection process is overseen by three independent judges.

The Awards provide an important point of reference for user firms assessing the suitability of their operational infrastructure.

AutoRek would like to congratulate all other winners and nominations and we hope to be back again next year.

USA home to a third of the world’s teller cash recyclers

RBR’s Branch Transformation 2021 reveals that the migration of cash away from the teller, declining footfall in branches, and a wider shift towards cashless payments led to a slight fall in teller assist units (TAUs) in 2020. However, the number of teller cash recyclers (TCRs), which account for the majority of TAUs, increased, and it is recycling technology which will drive growth over the coming years. 

The number of recyclers rose in half of the 24 markets covered in the study. RBR’s research shows that the USA is the largest market for recyclers, accounting for a third of installations worldwide. Spain and Italy also stand out for having large numbers of TCRs.

Recyclers are credited for their capacity to boost efficiency at the teller line, as they allow for the automation of cash handling at the teller counter, drive up the speed at which tellers can serve customers and reduce the number of cash-handling mistakes. The research shows that such technology has also proven a key enabler of branch transformation strategies, particularly the increasingly common open-plan format. By providing safe storage for cash, they allow banks to remove the protective screen from the teller counter, and thus facilitate a more welcoming atmosphere for customers. 

Number of teller assist units by type, 2016-2025 (thousands)

Source: Branch Transformation 2021 (RBR)

Number of recyclers to increase by 8% by 2025

TAUs will continue to be valued for their efficiency gains, branch transformation potential and high security and RBR forecasts that the TAU market will return to overall growth. This growth will be driven by recyclers, which are forecast to increase by 8% by 2025.

In some countries where cash use is relatively high, such as the USA, Brazil and Indonesia, banks will continue investing in TAU technology to improve their teller operations. Of particular note is the USA, where TAU numbers are expected to increase by 21% over the next five years. US credit unions and regional banks are beginning to deploy TAUs, while the larger US banks carry on rolling out units.

Emily Beeby, who led RBR’s Branch Transformation 2021 research, commented: “Despite rising competition from other channels, it is interesting to observe how banks feel it is necessary to provide a secure and fast service at the teller line to complement self-service within the branch, with the aim of providing customers with a choice of where and how they can conduct transactions”.

Northern Trust has launched a machine learning-powered document capture capability as the foundation of a multi-year investment to digitize alternative asset servicing and enhance the experience for asset owner clients that invest in complex private market and unlisted assets.

Digital document capture enables Northern Trust to streamline historically manual workflows by automating the receipt and processing of alternative asset documents and fund manager reports on holdings and performance of hedge funds, private equity and other alternative assets. Northern Trust’s proprietary solution combines robotic process automation and cloud-based technology to provide transparency and data standardization that enables greater understanding of portfolio risk and performance.

“As alternative asset classes continue to grow in importance to institutional investors, Northern Trust is committed to driving efficiency and reducing operational risk through the use of emerging technologies,” said Pete Cherecwich, President of Corporate & Institutional Services at Northern Trust. “Digital document capture is a huge step forward, and only the start of our larger plan to enhance alternative asset servicing for the benefit of our clients.”

Northern Trust has more than US$1.6 trillion in alternative assets under custody and administration (as of December 31, 2020) and processes more than 1.5 million alternative asset documents each year. The intelligent document capture solution deploys custom-built robotic process automation that enables self-service operations to collect documents from emails, whether in the form of download link or within the email text. Documents are stored on a cloud-based drive where intelligent tools extract identifying details such as the type of document (e.g., statements, capital call notices, and distribution notices) and the name of the fund company, tasks previously performed manually. 

Automated document capture enables Northern Trust’s alternative asset servicing teams to focus on more strategic aspects of the process and reduces the need for manual intervention when coordinating saving, storage and categorization. Since alternative assets are often valued on only a monthly or quarterly basis, asset owners can also benefit from faster servicing of their assets and deeper data insight provided through artificial intelligence. 

The proprietary document capture tool is the first in a series of releases supporting Northern Trust’s strategy to harness emerging technologies to digitize alternative asset servicing, a growing sector of its asset servicing business.

Finastra has named HCL ‘Partner of the Year’ at its annual Partner Day, held virtually on June 29, 2021. The firm is being honored for its initiative in conceptualizing a highly repeatable, cost-effective Treasury-as-a-Service offering, built on Fusion Opics, and underpinned by Microsoft Azure, for small- and mid-tier financial institutions. HCL not only demonstrated a deep understanding of industry pain points, but of how Finastra’s technology could be applied in a new and impactful way. Additionally, HCL has invested in selected countries in APAC to serve a joint customer base with Finastra’s Fusion Summit and Fusion Cash Management solutions.

“HCL demonstrated a visionary instinct to tackle an unaddressed business segment,” said Denise Parker, Senior Vice President, Partners and Ecosystem, Finastra. “Taking the reins, HCL built a dedicated team to deliver sales, marketing, implementation, and support resources. Within eight weeks of initial sales activity, HCL created in excess of 20 opportunities representing an impressive revenue stream. This partnership serves as a blueprint for further digital-sales-driven partnerships.”

Other partners were also honored for the significant roles they played - not only in driving business, but in collaborating with Finastra to make a meaningful impact on the banking industry through innovative projects and product implementations. These include:

·       Excellence in Enablement: DXC Luxoft

DXC Luxoft has onboarded teams across all of Finastra’s business lines and solutions, consuming more than 3,000 hours of training. Onboarding was completed in a record time of four months, with the highest scores for certifications across the board. As a part of the graduation from the Finastra partner program, DXC Luxoft developed an impressive solution demo video, showing that the team was ready to meet market opportunity head on, and begin promoting the quality and breadth of the Finastra portfolio.

·       Trailblazer: Accenture

Accenture, which was named Partner of the Year in 2020, has again proven that they are always a step ahead of the market, identifying new ways to reimagine the status quo and deliver innovative and exciting solutions. In the past year, Accenture has brought Finastra services into new customer segments, including positioning Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) for lending to mid-tier banks. They also developed SME Banking Insights – an app to help SMEs monitor and manage their finances with cutting edge analytics – on Finastra’s FusionFabric.cloud open developer platform.

·       Emerging Markets Partner: TCM Partners

TCM Partners brings Finastra a deep footprint in emerging markets, with strong growth potential. TCM Partners has unmatched local knowledge in Latin America, making them highly regarded in the market by a loyal customer base. As well as being highly technically skilled and savvy sellers, TCM Partners has embraced the partner journey with Finastra.

“At Finastra, partnerships play an essential role in how we approach the market,” Parker added. “The pace at which the industry is transforming, and the rate at which customers’ demands are changing, means that partnering is, quite simply, a necessity. As part of Finastra’s Fusion Orbit partner program, partners play multiple roles within the business opportunities that we drive together. Finastra’s mission is to develop the world’s most successful, dynamic and engaging partner ecosystem.”

To learn more about Finastra’s partner program, please visit the website.