Published
- 09:00 am
London Stock Exchange plc has today received regulatory approval from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to be authorised as an ARM (Approved Reporting Mechanism) through its UnaVista platform.
The approval means that UnaVista is able to offer transaction reporting services for its customers to help them in meeting their reporting obligations under MiFIR.
UnaVista is one of the largest ARMs in Europe under the current MiFID regime and is now ideally positioned to offer an enhanced service, covering the broader scope of instruments and the increased number of reportable fields under MiFIR.
UnaVista’s ARM will be connected to all European National Competent Authorities (NCAs), so its customers will not need to build and manage connections to each of the NCAs themselves. Using the ARM service, customers can send in all of their data from multiple sources and UnaVista will determine which transactions are reportable and which competent authorities to send it to. UnaVista will also be offering an assisted reporting model for customers who want to connect via their broker or technology partner.
The ARM is part of LSEG’s MiFID II and MiFIR reporting services, which also include an APA service for trade reporting provided through TRADEcho, a partnership between London Stock Exchange and Boat Services.
Mark Husler, CEO of UnaVista said:
"We are delighted to have received regulatory approval to be authorised as an ARM under MiFIR. Through our enhanced UnaVista offering and the recently approved TRADEcho platform, LSEG can offer customers a single connectivity solution for all their real time publication and reporting requirements under MiFID II and MiFIR for both on-exchange and OTC transactions. We already have hundreds of clients testing on our platform and benefiting from our experience of preparing firms for regulatory go-live."
- 03:00 am
SWIFT announces today that Citibank and Standard Chartered Bank have joined SWIFT India Domestic Services Private Limited (“SWIFT India”) as shareholders.
The shareholders of SWIFT India currently comprise (in alphabetical order): Axis Bank Ltd, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Canara Bank, Citibank, HDFC Bank Ltd, ICICI Bank Ltd, Punjab National Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, State Bank of India, SWIFT SCRL and Union Bank of India. The shareholders of SWIFT India bring the insights and knowledge of domestic customers and users of the services of SWIFT India. They represent their own institutions and the interests of the broader Indian financial community, which includes domestic banks, market infrastructures and their respective customers.
On the occasion of forging this partnership, Debopama Sen, South Asia Head for Treasury and Trade Solutions, Citibank, said: “Citi has had a long standing global association with SWIFT, which now extends to this strategic partnership in SWIFT India. Our focus at Citi is to support the growth of the digital ecosystem that is taking shape in India with our global experience. This association will help enable efficiencies in managing Corporate-to-Bank digital flows in India on a secure and robust platform.”
Sanjay Gurjar, Managing Director & Head, Transaction Banking for India and Nepal, Standard Chartered Bank said: “At Standard Chartered, we continue to promote digitisation and innovation for our clients. Given our long association with SWIFT across markets, SWIFT India's Corporate to Bank connectivity was a logical extension of our endeavour to help clients automate and digitise flows, whilst gaining efficiency through standardisation and process automation."
Kiran Shetty, Chief Executive Officer, SWIFT India said: “We are committed to support the ambitious digitisation agenda of India and are delighted to welcome equity participation from Citibank and Standard Chartered bank to our existing pool of shareholders. This further reinforces the trust & commitment of the Indian financial community in SWIFT India, to accelerate digitisation of domestic information flows & financial messages of the world class standards.
- 03:00 am
IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO), a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions, today announced that it has partnered with six leading securities finance market participants as part of its ongoing effort with Pirum Systems to build a solution to address Securities Finance Transaction Regulation (SFTR) reporting requirements.
Joining IHS Markit as design partners for the SFTR reporting solution are BNY Mellon, Brown Brothers Harriman, Deutsche Bank Agency Lending, eSecLending, J.P. Morgan and Rabobank. Each member of the initial design group will contribute their requirements and market expertise to ensure the fully-hosted, end-to-end reporting framework suits the diverse needs of the securities lending and repo communities.
“We are always looking for efficient, cost-effective solutions to provide higher levels of automation to our clients. Working with IHS Markit will help us steer an industry-leading solution for streamlining SFTR reporting," said James Day, managing director at BNY Mellon Markets.
Thomas Poppey, senior vice president at Brown Brothers Harriman added, "BBH is pleased to be working with IHS Markit given their proven track record in delivering thoughtful technology and data products. As a regulation with broad application, SFTR is featuring prominently in our client conversations and we look forward to contributing towards a comprehensive reporting solution that meets their needs."
The IHS Markit SFTR reporting solution will ultimately enable market participants impacted by SFTR to report transactions through an interoperable, modular platform. These modules will assist in handling the complex data challenge posed by SFTR from data exchange, enrichment and warehousing – from reconciliation and reporting to approved trade repositories. Users will also be able to leverage this solution to comply with the reporting requirements mandated by MiFID II.
“There are real benefits to using a solution supported industry-wide to deal with the intricacies of SFTR reporting, which requires processing of over 150 reportable items,” said Patrick Moisy, head of liquidity and trading services at J.P. Morgan. “Our main objective is to simplify this complex reporting process for our clients and we expect this partnership to design the most effective solution possible.”
SFTR was enacted by the European Parliament in 2015 to provide greater transparency on cross-asset class lending, borrowing, repurchase agreements and sale/buy-back agreements among counterparties in the EU. The regulation will be phased in through 2019, and additional reconciliation requirements are under consideration for a later date.
“There is an industry-wide need for efficient reporting under SFTR, and we are pleased that we have such a large part of the global securities lending market on board as initial design partners,” said Pierre Khemdoudi, managing director of Securities Finance at IHS Markit. “This broad group of market participants will work closely with our securities finance experts, ensuring our SFTR solution delivers the technology and seamless workflow required to assist in meeting this regulatory obligation.”
Rajen Sheth, CEO at Pirum added, “It was clear from the start of our SFTR investigations that collaboration would be the key to delivering a comprehensive and cost-effective solution for the market. Forming our partnership with IHS Markit on this venture was the first part of the journey. We are now excited to join forces with our design partners and welcome the opportunity to work with them to deliver the SFTR solution.”
- 02:00 am
Before starting CardUp, I spent years in the payment industry where the goal of increasing credit card usage was set time and again. In Singapore, the average consumer has six different cards paired with plenty of loyalty perks, resulting in very little loyalty to a single card. I always thought about what could be done to increase spend on cards that would also be mutually beneficial to card networks, issuers and consumers.
Also when I looked at my own monthly expenses, it seemed ironic that majority of my big recurring payments such as rent could not be put on cards. I relied on bank transfers and checks to pay for these items when I had a card spend limit dangling in my face. And then there were the exciting trips I imagined affording with the thousands of rewards points I could earn by spending more money on my card. That’s why I sketched a plan for CardUp – an online platform that lets consumers and businesses pay for big-ticket items using their card, in places where cards have not historically been accepted.
CardUp offers both individuals and businesses the ability to make payments such as rent, insurance premiums, supplier fees or even taxes, without requiring the recipient to accept card payments or take any additional steps such as signing up for our service. Users simply create a CardUp account and schedule one-off, advanced or recurring payments. Five business days ahead of the payment’s due date, CardUp charges the user’s card for the amount owed, plus a processing fee. The recipient receives the funds by bank transfer on the due date, and the consumer will get a notification when it’s been completed.
Even businesses can enjoy the convenience by managing their expenses with CardUp to improve cash flow management, make payables painless, and earn rebates. And with each payment, users – both consumers and businesses – can earn their usual rate of reward points or air miles and also unlock additional CardUp rewards that are tailored specifically to their interests.
Though CardUp began in Singapore, demand has grown rapidly and we’ve had people and companies around the world asking if they could use our service. We are delighted to be part of the Start Path virtual mentorship program which is helping us push our own boundaries and expand to other markets. Though we’re only just getting started, I’m really excited to continue exploring the world of possibilities in fintech and changing the payments landscape with Mastercard. Stay tuned for the next ‘Fridays with Fintechs‘ blog on Friday, October 13.
- 04:00 am
Compuware Corporation, the world's leading mainframe-dedicated software company, is pleased to announce Day One support of IBM's new z/OS version 2.3 operating system. Compuware's products, including COPE, ThruPut Manager, Topaz and its COBOL and PL/I productivity tools, work with z/OS 2.3 to help customers manage higher transactional volumes while delivering applications faster and with greater quality. New operating system features including encryption-readiness technology and software installation improvements are also supported.
"Digital transformation is driving higher transaction volumes and accelerating the rate of application changes made by enterprises. It also demands a higher level of data security than ever before, as code is developed and tested more frequently," says Christopher O'Malley, CEO, Compuware. "The IBM z14 is the ideal foundation for this environment, and the new z/OS and compatible applications are key to maximizing the platform's unmatched capacity, performance reliability and security strengths."
Building upon the already robust record of the mainframe and the z/OS operating system, IBM z/OS 2.3 provides enhanced data protection for z/OS data. This includes encryption-readiness technology that enables z/OS administrators to determine which traffic patterns to and from their z/OS systems meet approved encryption criteria. These new features can be combined with Compuware Application Audit, providing end-to-end visibility into privileged user behavior, to deliver superior protection against insider threats.
z/OS 2.3 also continues to lay the foundation for installation improvements through enhancements supporting a basis for a common software installation process. Compuware has been a leader in a multi-vendor effort to standardize product installation on the mainframe, which the company believes will strengthen the mainframe ecosystem and create a better future for mainframe customers and for the mainframe market overall.
Compuware worked in collaboration with IBM to ensure its breadth of solutions work seamlessly upon customer migration to the new z/OS 2.3 operating system.
- 08:00 am
KICKICO, an undeniable success story in the evolving world of blockchain investing, who raised more than 84 000 ETH during its 2-weeks ICO and now listed in top-3 Russian ICOs, moves forward with seven league steps – already in October three huge ICO campaigns are ready to take off to CryptoSpace. Campaigns will be launched both on their lendings and on KICKICO, in the last case, KICKICO’s backers have privileges. Buying tokens of one of the projects on KICKICO platform, backers will get 2 cryptocurrencies -– tokens of the campaign and 8 per cent of KICK tokens calculated from overall payment.
KICKICO team did a major step none of fundraising platform does - KICKICO team personally met with the teams, with the projects’ creators, KICKICO carefully examined the projects itselves and now it can сlaim with a clear conscience - teams and authors are real and “HOT” (Honest, Open and Transparent) - all what mostly describes KICKICO’s principles and what favours the community. Most of them have many years of offline experience on the field of their project and now they are striving to become blockchain pioneers in their industry.
STORIQA
Participants of KICKONOMY and the first “HOT” Star is STORIQA. It is a new project brought to you by the co-founder of the popular BoomStarter Platform. They are far not the strangers in blockchain, they have expertise how this markets work, no doubts they perform all the planned with their newbie. STORIQA is aimed at the creation of all manner of e-commerce shops in which customers can use cryptocurrencies, including their own STQ token, to pay for all goods and services. STORIQA’s goal is to provide a peer-to-peer network which will allow consumers to connect with producers from all over the globe. That means that with STQ tokens, you can buy millions of real commodities from anywhere in the world. And, since it is peer-to-peer, it is as if you are standing in front of the seller himself, no middlemen, no extra fees! STORIQA is bringing e-commerce to a whole new level. Besides being the part of KICKONOMY, they will accept KICK tokens, provide specials offers, give discount to KICK holders. There is a 24hr ONLY Pre-ICO is scheduled for October 12th, 2017 so get your Ethereum ready! Then, the regular ICO will begin on October 25th and run until completion or October 31.
- 01:00 am
NYMBUSâ, the core banking modernization company, today introduced NYMBUS SmartDigitalä, a digital-first banking platform that extends a customer-centric banking experience directly to end-user customers through online and mobile channels. The platform allows financial institutions of any size to more fully engage with their digital-minded customers, letting them offer their full range of services and products across all devices and touchpoints with a modern design and user experience.
Digital technologies have disrupted the customer relationship with financial institutions. Today’s radically different customer demands and expectations threaten to reduce financial institutions to low-margin utilities, further distancing them from owning the customer relationship. To avoid becoming a back-end utility, financial institutions are beginning to adapt to the new reality by modernizing their technology, processes and thinking.
NYMBUS SmartDigital is a flexible, consumer and business-centric digital banking platform built with an open architecture and flexible APIs. This allows financial institutions to easily integrate with third-party apps, and serve their current and future customers with banking technology that is simple, efficient and easily accessible at any time, through any device. SmartDigital ultimately allows financial institutions the ability to compete against non-traditional financial institutions, and provide the user experience consumers expect and currently enjoy from the likes of Facebook, Google, Apple, and others. The proven platform is currently running at over 37 global financial institutions with average assets of $8 billion, and used by over 10 million end users daily.
“The scale of digital disruption is unprecedented and digitalization is no longer an option for the banking industry. It’s inevitable and a matter of survival,” said David Mitchell, president at NYMBUS. “With the addition of SmartDigital, financial institutions currently running obsolete technologies now have the ability to add a next-generation digital product suite. Then we will turn on the NYMBUS SmartCore platform when their contracts expire or we will just buy out their current contracts. We want all financial institutions that have been held hostage on their legacy technology to be able to upgrade and enhance their digital channel offerings now. NYMBUS will do everything we can to help these financial institutions survive and make their experience to change frictionless.”
NYMBUS SmartDigital, based on the BSC myGEMINI Omnichannel platform, will be sold under an exclusive license from BSC as a standalone product or as part of NYMBUS SmartCoreâ, its flagship core platform. This follows NYMBUS’ recent announcement of key management appointments, and previous news of the company securing a deal with Surety Bank and closing an additional $16 million funding round. For more information on NYMBUS, visit nymbus.com.
- 03:00 am
PDL Community Bancorp (the "Company"), the federally-chartered holding company for Ponce Bank (the "Bank"), announced today that the reorganization of Ponce De Leon Federal Bank into a mutual holding company structure and the Company's stock offering in connection with the reorganization has been completed.
The Company issued and sold 45.0% of its outstanding shares to subscribers in the stock offering, which includes the Bank's Employee Stock Option Plan ("ESOP"). Additionally, the Company issued 3.3% of its outstanding shares to the newly-formed charitable foundation, the Ponce De Leon Foundation, a charitable foundation formed in connection with the reorganization and dedicated to supporting charitable organizations operating in the Bank's local communities. The remaining 51.7% of the Company's outstanding shares were issued to Ponce Bank Mutual Holding Company, the Company's federally-chartered mutual holding company.
A total of 8,308,362 shares of common stock of the Company were sold in the subscription offering at a price of $10.00 per share. The offering was oversubscribed by eligible account holders who had a first-tier priority (those depositors having a qualifying deposit as of October 31, 2015) in the subscription offering, and the ESOP. Total subscriptions in the subscription offering amounted to $225,431,590 based on orders received for 22,543,159 shares at $10.00 per share. Orders from eligible account holders accounted for the substantial portion of the orders received. Accordingly, shares were allocated to first tier subscribers and the ESOP in accordance with the Plan of Reorganization from a Mutual Bank to a Mutual Holding Company and Stock Issuance Plan, as amended, and as described in the Company's Prospectus.
Some eligible account holders may not receive all shares for which they subscribed. Eligible account holders wishing to confirm their allocations may do so by contacting the Stock Information Center at (888) 317-2811. The Stock Information Center is open Monday through Friday, between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Shares of the Company's stock are expected to trade on the Nasdaq Global Market under the trading symbol "PDLB" beginning Monday, October 2, 2017.
Steven A. Tsavaris, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank said, "We want to thank our customers and our employees for their support and vote of confidence in the future of the Bank."
Carlos P. Naudon, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company said, "Our customers, employees and community have all been the key to our enduring history of success and the Bank and the Company will remain committed to their customers, employees, community and shareholders."
Raymond James & Associates, Inc. acted as agent in the stock offering and served as financial advisor to the Company and the Bank in connection with the reorganization and stock offering. Locke Lord LLP acted as legal counsel to the Company and the Bank in connection with the reorganization and stock offering. Silver, Freedman, Taff & Tiernan LLP acted as legal counsel to Raymond James & Associates, Inc. in connection with the reorganization and stock offering.
Ponce Bank is a federally-chartered savings bank headquartered in Bronx, New York. The Bank conducts its business from its administrative office and 13 branch offices. The Bank's branch offices are located in Bronx, Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn, New York and Union City, New Jersey.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements about the reorganization and stock offering. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding anticipated future events and can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They often include words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," and "intend" or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "would," "should," "could," or "may." Forward-looking statements, by their nature, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Certain factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expected results include delays in consummation of the offering, failure to receive required regulatory approvals, increased competitive pressures, changes in the interest rate environment, general economic conditions or conditions within the securities markets, and legislative and regulatory changes that could adversely affect the business in which the Bank and the Company are engaged.
- 05:00 am
Vancouver-based Etherparty today launched the official public crowdsale for their FUEL token, the cryptocurrency that will power self-executing digital agreements on the user-friendly smart contract platform. One hour after the ICO officially went live, the company identified a potential security issue, caused by a fraudulent contribution address, and temporarily shut down the website to protect all participants.
Etherparty's site was later restored after the issue was resolved at 11:35 A.M. PDT, after going offline for 90 minutes. The blockchain company has promised to compensate any affected contributors, with its proprietary FUEL token, prior to the temporary website shutdown at 10 A.M. PDT.
"We have received overwhelming support from our investors, partners and the community throughout the fine-tuning process for Etherparty," said Kevin Hobbs, CEO of Etherparty. "Unfortunately, this also means unwanted attention in the form of phishing and hacking attempts despite the vigilance of our tech and support team."
"Our team has been consistently and successfully thwarting potential security issues to avoid further escalation," commented Lisa Cheng, Founder of Etherparty. "However, we do acknowledge and apologize for the temporary disruption to our otherwise successful launch day. Etherparty is eager and committed to compensating all affected contributors for the inconvenience."
Despite the problem, Etherparty's ICO got off to a positive start, selling over 10,000,000 FUEL tokens in the first hour. The smart contract company sold over 400,000,000 FUEL tokens prior to the official launch in the pre-sale. The ICO is open until October 29, 2017, or when all distributed tokens have been sold.
For more information visit etherparty.io and subscribe to the mailing list. You can also join the community Slack channel, or join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and BitcoinTalk.
Dan Sommer
Senior Director at Global Market Intelligence
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