Cynergy Bank reached a significant milestone in February, lending over £130m to SMEs through the British Business Bank’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS),  with further facilities being submitted for approval, Cynergy Bank is expecting to further increase its lending to SMEs under the scheme.

Delivered through British Business Bank accredited lenders, CBILS is designed to support the continued provision of finance to UK smaller businesses (SMEs) during the Covid-19 outbreak.

The scheme enables lenders to provide facilities of up to £5m to smaller businesses across the UK who are experiencing lost or deferred revenues, leading to disruptions to their cashflow.

The bank was able to assist both existing and new customers, with 57% of loans going to existing customers and 43% to new customers.  To elevate the digital banking experience for customers during this time, Cynergy Bank adopted the nCino Bank Operating System which sped up and supported the SME lending process, reducing the need for paper-based processes.

Overall, we were able to provide funding across a number of asset classes including Property Investment and Commercial Banking within which Hospitality and Healthcare accounted for almost half.

Ravi Sidhoo, Managing Director Banking Distribution at Cynergy Bank commented: “We are pleased to announce this significant lending milestone as it demonstrates our support for SMEs at what has been an unprecedented time.  We we­­­­­­­re able to provide much needed monetary injections to so many businesses, while also making the experience as seamless as possible with our digital application process and relationship managed service. The pandemic has been challenging for many SMEs, but we are delighted that we have been able to help robust and solid businesses survive and thrive.  through CBILS.”

As part of its 2021 Cyber Protection Week activities, Acronis, a global leader in cyber protection, today unveiled a new, no-cost version of Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud, its award-winning service provider solution. The new licencing makes it more profitable for service providers to design and offer a comprehensive cyber protection services portfolio with little to no upfront costs.

With today’s announcement, the company’s current Acronis Cyber Backup Cloud will be extended with cyber protection capabilities – including the company’s best-of-breed backup, award-winning anti-malware, and protection management – and renamed Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud.

“Using separate tools to address different IT requirements and counter cyberthreats is a complicated, inefficient, and costly way for service providers to operate,” said Serguei “SB” Beloussov, Founder and CEO of Acronis. “By unifying data protection, cybersecurity, and protecition management in one, any service provider can eliminate the complexity and management headaches while improving security. With this new licensing model for Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud, our partners can deliver superior cyber protection services to their clients at little to no upfront cost.” 

Featuring a set of essential cyber protection capabilities included at no cost or on a pay-as-you-go basis, the new version of Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud enables MSPs to build services at little to no upfront expense, ensuring 100% coverage of clients' workloads with cyber protection.

MSPs can also expand their service portfolio to meet client requirements and market demand with advanced protection packs that extend their capabilities. By adding advanced protection packs such as Advanced Backup, Advanced Security, Advanced Disaster Recovery, and Advanced Management onto of Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud, MSPs gain the flexibility to expand and customise their services to deliver the optimum level of cyber protection for each client and every workload.

Installed with one agent and managed through one console, the centralised management of Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud ensures MSPs can fully protect their clients without having to juggle multiple solutions. A single pane of glass provides the visibility and control needed to deliver comprehensive cyber protection – from creating local and cloud-based backups to stopping zero-day malware attacks with advanced AI-based anti-malware and antivirus defenses that are VB100 certified.

“Acronis’ new licensing model is simplified and their pricing is only getting better for the feature set that Acronis provides on a single agent,” said Matt Couch, UIT Project Engineer at Fisher’s Technology. “Additionally, the onboarding webinar was easy to follow and I feel confident that Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud provides our clients with the most cost-effective and secure solution on the market.”

Proving the power of integration
The announcement comes as Acronis announced the findings of its annual 2021 Cyber Protection Week survey, which surveyed 4,400 IT users and IT professionals from around the world. One of the key findings was that more solutions does not mean more protection – 80% of organisations now run as many as 10 solutions simultaneously for their data protection and cybersecurity needs, yet more than half of those organisations suffered unexpected downtime last year because of data loss.

Acronis has long recognised the cost, efficiency, and security challenges that arise from deploying multiple solutions, which is why the company pioneered the field of cyber protection, integrating cutting-edge cybersecurity, best-of-breed backup, and protectioin management in a single solution. To ensure service providers can build their cyber protection service easily, efficiently, securely, and profitably, Acronis’ new licensing model is effective March 31. 

About Acronis
Acronis unifies data protection and cybersecurity to deliver integrated, automated cyber protection that solves the safety, accessibility, privacy, authenticity, and security (SAPAS) challenges of the modern digital world. With flexible deployment models that fit the demands of service providers and IT professionals, Acronis provides superior cyber protection for data, applications, and systems with innovative next-generation antivirus, backup, disaster recovery, and endpoint protection management solutions. With award-winning AI-based antimalware and blockchain-based data authentication technologies, Acronis protects any environment – from cloud to hybrid to on-premises – at a low and predictable cost.

Founded in Singapore in 2003 and incorporated in Switzerland in 2008, Acronis now has more than 1,500 employees in 33 locations in 18 countries. Its solutions are trusted by more than 5.5 million home users and 500,000 companies, including 100% of the Fortune 1000, and top-tier professional sports teams. Acronis products are available through 50,000 partners and service providers in over 150 countries in more than 40 languages.

IOWArocks, the global marketplace for data, tech, and services, warmly welcomes BondCliQ to its constantly expanding IOWAdata global marketplace. BondCliQ will offer its US corporate bond pre- and post-trade data sets via IOWArocks, leveraging IOWAtech to widen its reach across the industry.

BondCliQ offers buyside users access to centralized corporate bond quote data sourced from the 50,000+ quotes which BondCliQ receives on a daily basis from 40+ dealers. This quote data, in combination with spread-enriched pricing data, allows credit traders to better analyze the market and optimize their trading strategies. BondCliQ's data, available via real time API feeds, end of day files, and historical files, also continues to attract interest from users across a wide range of middle and back office applications, including portfolio valuation, risk, best execution, and TCA, as well as quantitative investors looking to leverage cross-asset correlations.

Renaud Pelletier, CFO and Head of Corporate Development at BondCliQ, commented, "We are excited to join IOWArocks as we believe it will help us to accelerate our EMEA expansion plans significantly. The team is very impressed by IOWArocks' proven technology stack and ability to provide seamless integration into the marketplace. For us, this is all about broadening our horizons and delivering these important data sets to investment firms of all sizes, particular within the European business arena."

Paul Watmough, IOWArocks CEO & Co-Founder, commented, "I am delighted to announce our formal collaboration with BondCliQ. Providing access to these invaluable datasets is a great addition to our rapidly expanding marketplace. In an increasingly volatile global economy, the demand for consolidated access to corporate bond pricing is becoming ever more important. BondCliQ are trusted experts in this space, often being called upon by the likes of CNBC to provide unique industry insights. We are excited to be working with the BondCliQ team, and are looking forward to creating a long and mutually beneficial relationship."

IOWAdata now represents some 43 unique data providers. It delivers highly flexible engagement models, which means data consumers can now purchase only the data they want on commercial terms tailored to suit specific needs and budgets.

Data presented by cryptocurrency trading simulator Crypto Parrot indicates that the blockchain market size in banking and financial institutions is projected to grow at least 15 fold between 2021 and 2026, from $1.45 billion to $22.46 billion. On average, the market size is estimated to grow by almost 74% annually.

In 2022, the market size is expected to hit $2.52 billion, a growth of 73.79% from this year's projections. By 2023, estimations indicate the market size will stand at $4.39 billion, while in 2024, the value will hit $7.63 billion. In 2025, the market will be estimated at $13.27 billion, representing a growth of 69.25% from the 2024 forecast.

Conclusion of blockchain application research to expand market size

Different banking and financial industry players are currently still researching the application of blockchain technology in the sector. The report highlights the impact of the current tests on the market size. According to the research report:

"The tests will likely materialize in the coming years, offering actual use cases in return contributing to the surge in market size. Most of the solutions under research cover the entire business chain from internal organizational processes to the client's end."

Blockchain technology is touted as a game-changer. However, some jurisdictions have not warmed up to the idea fully. The report highlights how regulatory hurdles might impact the technology's rollout. According to the research report:

"Despite the optimism around the role of blockchain in the banking and financial industry, the issue of regulatory hurdles cannot be ignored. To realize the technology's full potential, all players globally need to be on the same page."

Despite the potential setback from the regulatory aspect, there is a consensus that blockchain technology will enable banks and financial institutions to offer better service and more security to customers.

Read the full story with data here: https://cryptoparrot.com/article/blockchain-market-size-in-banking-and-financial-institutions-to-grow-15x-to-22-billion-by-2026 

A Cash Against Documents transaction orchestrated by Saudi-based ITFC was successfully completed between SOFITEX and Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC), using an electronic bill of lading issued by the CMA CGM Group, a world leader in shipping and logistics, through Bolero’s digital trade finance platform for the first time.

The transaction concerned a cotton shipment originating from Burkina Faso, shipped by CMA CGM Group from the Port of Lomé in Togo.

Bolero’s cutting-edge platform executed the encrypted exchange of documents rapidly and smoothly, accelerating a process that would usually take weeks as parties exchanged physical documentation across Burkina Faso, Togo, Saudi Arabia, and Switzerland.

Abou Jallow, General Manager of Operations at ITFC said “With a mandate to advance trade across the developing world, ITFC is committed to working closely with our partners in member countries to capitalise on the digitalization of global trade. Facilitating this online trade transaction for our partners in Burkina Faso marks a crucial milestone in the digitalization of trade in Africa, and we can expect to see improved efficiency across the entire trade cycle. By embracing technology through platforms such as Bolero’s, we can ensure greater visibility, transparency, accountability, and control in the trade of strategic commodities such as cotton.”

“Bolero’s platform is designed to enable trading partners to collaborate securely and efficiently, removing the traditional hurdles of international trade while remaining fully compliant with international standards and regulations,” said Andrew Raymond, CEO at Bolero.

Raymond added; “With its enhanced user experience, the platform delivers greater functionality and seamless integration with banks and other third-party systems, providing end-to-end visibility to corporate clients and banks.”

This transaction is a prime example of the development of digital business in Africa, thanks to collaboration amongst the bank, exporter, trader and carrier.

“By digitizing documentation exchanges and payment processes, Bolero’s platform accelerates trade transactions and demonstrates the potential to drive efficiency in trade operations for the benefit of all trade participants, by combining technology with collaboration,” said Lise Théophile, Middle Office Execution Manager for LDC’s Cotton Platform.

“This is an important step for the maritime industry. Digitalization is a core pillar of CMA CGM strategy. We have been following up on developments and collaborated with BOLERO for years. We were looking forward to this important step. E-BLs facilitate documentation flow between carriers, shippers and banks. With the global sanitary situation, it has become obvious that we must speed up the transition to electronic transmission of international sales documentation. CMA CGM E-Commerce teams have prepared for the challenge and we are ready to develop E-BLs with our global customers.”, said Marc Bourdon, Senior Vice President commercial and agencies network of the CMA CGM Group.

Lassana Kargougou, Sales Director at SOFITEX added “Our first digital shipping consignment via Bolero’s platform was a real success. Eliminating documentary collection delays, which can take up to 21 days, to being able to retain and access all shipping documents in one place without the risk of misplacing them, has increased both efficiency and confidence across the entire process. We are now happy to extend the use of the platform to other partners to digitize the Cash-Against-Documents process related to the sale of cotton fiber”.

Fingerprint Cards AB (Fingerprints™) and Fime have collaborated to achieve compliance with Mastercard’s Reference Specifications for Fingerprints’ latest T-Shape® sensor module and software platform for biometric payment cards. Proactively securing this approval brings widespread deployments even closer as it simplifies the approval process for card manufacturers. Card manufacturers of all sizes can now benefit from saving time and money when launching and scaling biometric card projects.

“This is a very important achievement,” comments Michel Roig, SVP Business Line Payments at Fingerprints. “We are dedicated to ensuring the quality performance, security and user experience of our technology and are working hand-in-hand with the payments industry to simplify the path to further commercial launches like we’re seeing in France. We’ve seen a spike in contactless adoption over the past year, with hygiene front of consumers’ minds. Fingerprint payment cards have a big role to play in fast, frictionless and safe in-store payments.”

Working closely with Fime’s consultants and testing experts, the testing was performed in line with Mastercard’s Biometric Evaluation Plan Summary (BEPS) specifications. The approval validates the performance and presentation attack detection security features to ensure a secure, private and optimized user experience for cardholders.

“As the first approval of its kind, Fime and Fingerprints are pushing both the biometrics and payments industries forward,” comments Stéphanie El Rhomri, Vice President of Testing Services at Fime. “Throughout projects like this, our consultants and testing teams work to refine technologies, tailor test plans and solve challenges to optimize for success. Biometrics is the answer to a smooth user experience without compromising on security. Consumers can now use biometrics more in-store, strengthening security while simplifying the payment experience.”

The second-generation T-Shape technology combines extensive R&D investment with key learnings from successful market pilots and commercial rollouts. It delivers increased performance and power efficiency, enabling the most cost-effective biometric payment cards to be produced and integrated using standard manufacturing processes.

HPD Lendscape, a leading international secured lending platform vendor, has appointed Geoff Snowden as its new Chief Financial Officer to oversee strategic expansion projects to drive its ambitious growth strategy. Geoff brings a wealth of experience to the company and has more than 15 years’ experience in the media, tech, data and professional services sectors.

The senior hire comes follows sustained global demand for HPD Lendscape’s technology, with the company winning 35 new clients and increasing revenue by 36% over the last three years. As a result, HPD Lendscape has committed to a significant programme of investments for its technology platform, with £2million invested in the company’s software during the previous year, despite the pandemic, and £10million earmarked for R&D over the next three to four years.

Prior to joining HPD, Geoff held a number of senior finance positions at Ebiquity plc, the AIM listed marketing analytics specialist, where he played a pivotal role in the rapid expansion of the business as it grew to span 18 markets and 900+ staff.  In his most recent role, he led the carve out and sale of Ebiquity’s Advertising Intelligence business to Nielsen.  Geoff qualified as a chartered accountant at PwC in 2004.

Kevin Day, CEO at HPD Lendscape, said: “This is a significant appointment for our organisation and we are confident that Geoff will be a great addition to our senior leadership team. He brings with him a wealth of experience to assist us as we rapidly grow the business.  We are experiencing high-demand for our technology and we expect this to continue as lenders emerge into a post-pandemic world ready to support the economic recovery, , so Geoff joins us at a perfect time to support our  journey. I look forward to working closely with him as we develop our plans for future expansion.”

Geoff Snowden, Chief Financial Officer, HPD Lendscape, said: “I’m thrilled to be joining HPD Lendscape at a time when they are primed for continued growth, and I look forward to working with Kevin and the HPD team. As a business which has grown successfully over the years and has a strengthened management team in place, the firm is well positioned to broaden its client base and continue to thrive.”

In a world first, Valour, the issuer of investment products focused on innovative technologies, has announced the launch of Ethereum Zero (ETH ZERO SEK - CH1104954362), an Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded product (ETP) that comes with zero management fees. 

Until now, people wanting to gain exposure to ether (ETH) through an ETP pay up to 2.5% management fees, which can reduce the value of the investment. However, with the launch of Ethereum Zero, Valour provides investors with an ETP tracking the performance of the world’s second largest digital asset without any management fee. 

By gaining exposure to digital assets via Valour, investors benefit from the standardisation, risk reduction and operational efficiency of a centrally-cleared product listed on a regulated stock exchange. For each product that is bought and sold on the stock exchange, Valour purchases the equivalent amount of the underlying asset, ETH, meaning the products are fully backed at all times.

“We’ve seen incredible interest in our Bitcoin Zero products, building $50M USD in AUM in three months,” said CEO Diana Biggs. “Now, with a growing number of applications being built on Ethereum -- from DeFi to NFTs -- we are thrilled to provide the opportunity for investors to also participate in this dynamic ecosystem.” 

‘‘At Valour we aim to provide investors with the most accessible digital asset products on the market,” said its Director Johan Wattenstroem. “With Ethereum Zero, we’re making investment in the world’s second-largest digital asset easier, more secure and more cost-effective than all other options.”