Style Analytics, the provider of factor-based analysis software for investment professionals, announces that it is enhancing its Peer Insights product with data from eVestment, a global leader in institutional investment data and analytics. Peer Insights, designed for the buy-side, provides objective factor-by-factor comparisons between individual funds or peer groups enabling the user to identify underlying exposures to sectors, countries and risk to make superior investment choices.

Over 75% of the top 50 institutional investment consultants worldwide rely on eVestment data and analytics for manager research and screening. eVestment is the largest, most comprehensive institutional database of traditional and alternative strategies in the institutional market, offering users deep insight into institutional managers and their products.

The eVestment data available via Peer Insights will provide asset owners and consultants with a representative view of each institutional manager’s performance at the peer and fund level and help asset managers differentiate their products in a crowded market. As firms are increasingly using factor approaches to support communication about their investment decisions and drivers of performance, Peer Insights with eVestment data will become an ever more essential tool.

Sebastien Roussotte, CEO of Style Analytics, commented, “Style and eVestment have had a very strong partnership for many years now. For Style, strengthening this partnership with an unrivalled and unique value proposition will be of great benefit to our common clients.”

“The opportunity to integrate eVestment’s unique and powerful data with Style Analytics’ Peer Insights product is one more way eVestment is working to bring data-driven insights that allow investment professionals to achieve better outcomes,” said David Keogh, managing director of eVestment’s London office. “We’re excited about this integration and are eager to see the impact it has on the investment professionals using Peer Insights.”

Over 59,000 data breach notifications have been reported across the European Economic Area by public and private organizations since the GDPR came into force on 25th May 2018,  according to DLA Piper's GDPR Data Breach survey. The Netherlands, Germany and the UK topped the table in the report with approximately 15,400, 12,600, and 10,600 reported breaches respectively. The lowest numbers of reported breaches were made in Liechtenstein, Iceland and Cyprus with 15, 25 and 35 reported breaches respectively.

The Netherlands, with 89.8 reported breaches per 100,000 people topped the list when the number of notifications were weighted against country populations, followed by Ireland and Denmark. Of the 26 EEA countries where breach notification data is available, the UK, Germany and France ranked tenth, eleventh and twenty-first respectively on a reported fine per capita basis. Greece, Italy and Romania reported the fewest number of breaches per capita. 

According to Ross McKean, a partner at DLA Piper specializing in cyber and data protection: "The GDPR completely changes the compliance risk for organizations which suffer a personal data breach due to revenue based fines and the potential for US style group litigation claims for compensation. As we saw in the US when mandatory breach notification laws came into force, backed up by tough sanctions for not notifying, the GDPR is driving personal data breach out into the open.  Our report confirms this with more than 59,000 data breaches notified across Europe in the first 8 months since the GDPR came into force."

To date 91 fines have been reported.  Not all of these relate to personal data breach and several relate to other infringements of GDPR. The highest GDPR fine imposed to date is €50 million, which was made against Google on 21 January 2019. This was a French decision in relation to the processing of personal data for advertising purposes without valid authorisation, rather than a personal data breach.

Also commenting on the report, Sam Millar, a partner at DLA Piper specializing in cyber and large scale investigations said: "The regulators have already started to flex their muscles with 91 GDPR fines imposed to date but the fine against Google is a landmark moment and is notable partly because it is not related to personal data breach.  We anticipate that regulators will treat data breach more harshly by imposing higher fines given the more acute risk of harm to individuals. We can expect more fines to follow over the coming year as the regulators clear the backlog of notifications." 

Digital Isle of Man has today announced the formation of a Blockchain Office and the launch of an Isle of Man Sandbox,established to guide blockchain businesses through current (and future) regulatory landscapes, with expert-led assistance and support.

These initiatives form part of a major new commitment for the Isle of Man to become an international hub for blockchain businesses, providing a fully supportive and collaborative environment. The Island welcomes innovative technology, and will not regulate blockchain in isolation, giving businesses the flexibility to best use this emerging and transformative technology.

Launch of Isle of Man Blockchain Office

Digital Isle of Man will create a Blockchain Office, a unique hub that is dedicated to growing the blockchain sector.

The primary function of the Office will be to facilitate a dialogue between businesses and regulators, and to help blockchain platforms design and future-proof their concepts in accordance with relevant legislation and regulation. 

The Office will also provide expertise, guidance, and marketing support, as well as facilitate and encourage collaboration between companies.  

Launch of the Isle of Man Blockchain Sandbox

Through the Blockchain Office, businesses will be able to apply to participate in the Isle of Man Blockchain Sandbox.

Applications for the Sandbox will be open from March 2019, with the office fully functional in the spring. Early participants will not be charged fees for the facility, which will provide them with access to an environment where they can develop and test blockchain platforms.

The sandbox will benefit from the expertise garnered from future participation in other international forums and sandboxes that encourage cross-border testing.

A robust selection process will also ensure that all participants are of the highest quality, as the Island seeks to create a ‘centre of excellence’ ecosystem.  

Lyle Wraxall, CEO of Digital Isle of Man commented:

‘With the launch of the Blockchain Office and Sandbox, the Isle of Man is making a firm commitment to be a fully supportive jurisdiction for the blockchain industry. We are looking to attract premium blockchain businesses and the world’s top exchanges to the Island, and we will be creating new tech-agnostic regulation inspired by best practice that we’ve seen from other high-quality jurisdictions around the world.’

Emerging blockchain community

Interaction between blockchain and the e-Gaming sector is already evidenced in Isle of Man legislation that allows virtual currencies to be deposited, withdrawn and gambled with e-Gaming operators, and the Island is home to the first blockchain-enabled lottery platform run on Ethereum using smart contracts.

Daphne Caine MHK, Political Member for Digital Isle of Man commented:

‘The Isle of Man – which was among the first jurisdictions in the world to establish a legislative framework for virtual currencies – has been home to leading exchanges since 2013, and is the headquarters of blockchain businesses including CoinCorner, Quanta, Luckbox and Qadre.

‘The creation of the Blockchain Office solidifies our commitment to maintaining our reputation at the forefront of innovation and emerging technologies and responding quickly to new business models. It is encouraging to see that the sector is supported by a community of legal, accountancy and fiduciary firms, service providers and advisors, and the Island’s long-established financial services and e-Gaming sectors act as a strong foundation for the industry.’

Showing support for the Isle of Man’s latest blockchain announcements, Danny Scott, CEO, CoinCorner, commented:

‘The Isle of Man Government has always been very supportive of the industry. As one of the first Bitcoin exchanges to be established on the Island, CoinCorner has been fortunate to work closely with the Government on a number of key projects including drafting the current 'Virtual Currency Business' guidelines. Being located here has given us strong foundations and it's great to see innovation continue in an industry with such potential.’

Laura Bailey, Chair of Qadre, also commented on the announcement:

"At Qadre, we work closely with regulators and governments around the world. Collaboration with the Isle of Man government has been of utmost importance to us since our inception. We are proud to have a base in a jurisdiction that embraces technology and is at the forefront of providing regulatory guidelines to business. The launch of the Blockchain Office represents a key milestone for the island - and we are delighted to now have a formal partner dedicated to driving growth and innovation in blockchain technology right on our doorstep."

AxiomSL, the leading global provider of regulatory-reporting, risk and data-management solutions, today announces that Joao Serodio has been elevated to the role of Product Manager for the Trade and Transaction suite, including the Securities Financing Transactions Regulation (SFTR) solution. Joao takes on this expanded role as AxiomSL approaches launch of its SFTR solution, following the European Commission adoption of the SFTR RTS on 13 December 2018.

Since joining AxiomSL in 2018, Joao has been focused on developing the SFTR solution within the broader Trade and Transaction suite of solutions residing on the ControllerView data-management platform. The platform allows those who adopt the SFTR solution to readily extend the benefits of “managing only the exceptions” to other existing AxiomSL reporting solutions, such as EMIR, MiFIR, ASIC, etc.

"We’re quite excited to have Joao expanding his influence in the role of Product Manager for Trade and Transaction Solutions," said Ed Royan, EMEA CEO of AxiomSL. "Joao’s experience and knowledge of trade and transaction reporting, and his specific experience with securities transactions, complements that of our established team and provides strategic guidance for addition of the SFTR component to the existing solutions.”

“AxiomSL’s focus while developing our SFTR solution was to ‘nurture’ an SFT along its lifecycle to achieve SFTR purposes for our clients,” said Joao. “The solution will interface with different source systems, both at a trade level and at the confirmation and settlement levels, enriching the trade information with reference data, and ultimately defining the lifecycle event. We foresee the potential beyond the challenges of reporting SFTR trade events for getting greater Return on Data Investment by using the AxiomSL solutions, for example, to tackle the Margin and Reuse file calculations or managing the resolution of unpaired and unmatched trades.”

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will give banks and credit card issuers more time to adopt the E-Payments User Protection Guidelines (“Guidelines”).

Fiserv, Inc., a leading global provider of financial services technology solutions, today announced a new approach to mortgage technology designed to allow lenders to manage the complex mortgage ecosystem from end-to-end. 

More than 220 CEOs, heads of government and regulators gathered at the Paris Fintech Forum last week to share practices and views on the actual state and the future of digital finance and financial technologies. Robocash Group was among speakers invited to give insights on the use of the robotic technologies that have allowed the company to become an established fintech player and grow rapidly in Europe and Asia.

This year, the fourth edition of the Paris Fintech Forum held on January 29-30 gathered more than 2,500 representatives of the digital finance and fintech industry from over 60 countries. More than 220 CEOs, heads of government and regulators were on stage sharing their insights on the actual state of the market worldwide and the future challenges and opportunities. All the key thought leaders have shared the opinion that financial technologies and digital finance play a significant role for the better financial inclusion globally.

Closing the panel about the future of finance at fintech time at the Forum in Paris, Ms Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, said, “I believe that fintechs can actually do unbelievable good and maybe money in the process but I'm not focusing on that. I’m thinking about the two billion people who are unbanked or totally underbanked, and they can actually have access to transactions platforms and money in a relatively safe way thanks to fintech”.

As an active player in the field of alternative lending and marketplace funding in Europe and Asia, Robocash Group was one of 62 companies invited to showcase its expertise and business model during the Fintech Selection session. In his pitch, Sergey Sedov, Chief Executive Officer of Robocash Group, spoke about the benefits and outcomes of the robotic approach, which the company has already applied in eight markets in Europe and Asia since the origination in Russia in 2013.

According to the study of Google & Temasek in 2017, SEA was the fastest growing internet region in the world, but the potential is untapped. The Global Findex also stated that 70.5% of adults with no bank account had a mobile phone in SEA in 2017, which means that the territorial fragmentation and the widespread informal employment still leave people underserved by traditional banks.

“I saw myself how people are struggling to get access to credit in the emerging markets in Asia. In total, it might take up to four weeks to have a loan from banks. At the same time, when entering SEA in 2017 as a fintech, we faced many challenges driven by the lack of data too. However, thanks to the AI, the sort of robotic technologies, we can assess the creditworthiness of borrowers efficiently in a few minutes and be profitable”, mentioned Sergey Sedov when speaking about the benefit of the automation for customers and business.

As for the actual results, Robocash Group has originated more than 4.3 million private loans in 7 markets altogether since the origination. More than 5 million people have used the services of the group. At the same time, the issue in 2018 increased by 124% compared to the previous year.

Considering the opportunities for the further growth, Chief Executive Officer of Robocash Group mentioned that the company is aiming to disburse $1 billion in 2020 and become the No.1 alternative lender in Asia by the size of active customer base thus facilitating better access to finance for the population in the market.

PCI Pal, the specialist provider of secure payment solutions for contact centres, and its partner Pay360 by Capita, are together hosting ‘The Future of Payments and Compliance’ event to help organisations understand the latest PCI compliance obligations and the latest trends 
 
The event, which takes place on Thursday 21^st February in London, invites financial directors, compliance managers, contact centre managers and heads of cyber security to discuss the current trends and future innovations in combating credit card data breaches in contact centre environments. 
 
Tony Smith, Sales Director EMEA of PCI Pal said: “Following the various high-profile credit card data breaches and subsequent high financial penalties that have been in the headlines, our event provides delegates with a timely updated on how best to protect their customer’s payment card data. We will be discussing how PCI compliance and data security can be achieved in contact centre environments, as set out by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC).   
 
“Alongside our partners, Pay360 by Capita, we look forward to providing an insight into the trends and future innovations of payment security and compliance, and to offering expert advice and case study examples of how best to protect customers’ payment card data, in a world where digital breaches are seemingly becoming all too common.”
 
The Future of Payments and Compliance event is taking place on 21^st February from 1:00pm until 4:15pm at Capita Pay360, 30 Berners Street, London, W1T 3LR.  To register for the free event, click here:  https://www.pcipal.com/en/future-of-payments-event/.

Top Image Systems Ltd., a global innovator of intelligent content processing solutions, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by Kofax, a leading supplier of Intelligent Automation software to automate and digitally transform end-to-end processes, and a portfolio company of leading private equity investment firm, Thoma Bravo. Under the terms of the agreement, Top Image Systems stockholders will receive $0.86 per share in cash for each ordinary share of Top Image Systems, representing a 65% premium over Top Image Systems’ volume weighted average price (VWAP) over the past 30 trading days. 

Brendan F. Reidy, Chief Executive Officer of Top Image Systems, commented: “We are pleased to announce this transaction with Kofax. The transaction will allow Top Image Systems to continue to provide its innovative content processing and remittance solutions to our customers while benefiting from the substantial resources of Kofax and Thoma Bravo. Our Board of Directors believes this transaction is in the best interest of our stockholders.”

“TIS customers will enjoy single-vendor access to Kofax’s Intelligent Automation solutions that deliver increased efficiency, enabling the human and digital workforces of tomorrow,” said Reynolds C. Bish, Chief Executive Officer of Kofax. “Leveraging TIS’ SaaS expertise will assist us as we further advance the secure cloud capabilities of our end-to-end Intelligent Automation platform.”

The Board of Directors of Top Image Systems has unanimously voted to approve the definitive agreement and to recommend that stockholders approve the transaction. Closing of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including, among others, the affirmative vote in favor of the transaction by holders of a majority of the Company’s outstanding ordinary shares present and voting at a meeting, and required regulatory approvals. It is anticipated that the special meeting of Top Image Systems’ stockholders to vote on the transaction will be held in early 2019, and, if the transaction is approved, the merger would be expected to close shortly thereafter.

The transaction will be financed with cash from Kofax’s balance sheet. There is no financing contingency to the obligations of Kofax to consummate the transaction. Canaccord Genuity LLC is serving as financial advisor to Top Image Systems, and Greenberg Traurig, LLP is acting as legal counsel to Top Image Systems.