Published
- 01:00 am
Ullink, a global provider of electronic trading and connectivity solutions to the financial community, has launched a fully automated post-trade data management solution called UL PUBLISHER, enabling market participants to report transaction data to relevant regulatory authorities, meet upcoming MiFID 2 regulation and create a centralised view of post-trade data across multiple asset classes and front-office electronic trading systems.
With the introduction of MiFID 2 in January 2018, firms face new challenges in collecting, validating, enriching, submitting and tracking order and trade data across asset classes and front-office trading systems. For transaction reporting, MiFID 2 introduces requirements for more than 60 new data items to be reported, imposes new reporting logic, and places responsibility on both buy-sides and sell-sides to report under different reporting scenarios. New reporting destinations – or Approved Reporting Mechanisms (ARMs) – are also being created introducing new connectivity and integration requirements.
To address this, Ullink’s UL PUBLISHER provides a centralised solution for post-trade data management which consolidates and standardises data across front-office trading systems, providing complete traceability of all actions performed on an order across different front-office order management, risk and execution systems. For transaction reporting, UL PUBLISHER connects firms to a wide range of ARMs for regulatory reporting of eligible, cross-asset class MiFID 2 instruments, and generates reports in specific formats required by the ARMs. The post-trade data captured and normalised by UL PUBLISHER can also feed a variety of downstream compliance workflows, including best execution, trade surveillance and order record keeping.
Richard Bentley, Chief Product Officer at Ullink comments: “Much of the impact of MiFID 2 on post-trade workflows concerns data – the need to collect, normalise and enrich an extended data set across a variety of front-office systems. UL PUBLISHER provides the means to centralise this process across asset classes in a fully-automated fashion, minimising impact on existing trading platforms and providing a single, consistent data set to feed downstream processes. Collation of order and trade information for transaction reporting via an ARM is only one of the potential application areas of this new solution.”
- 05:00 am
Tieto continues as a supplier of Outokumpu’s IT infrastructure services and has signed a five-year contract whereby Tieto will provide Outokumpu with next generation infrastructure services. With Tieto’s solution, Outokumpu enhances its competitiveness by improving operational efficiency through global standardisation and decreased time-to-market.
The continuation contract includes a transformation of the IT infrastructure to provide efficient support to Outokumpu’s various business functions. Outokumpu’s objective is to reduce costs, improve quality of service, mitigate risks and integrate services. Tieto provides multi-cloud capabilities based on the Tieto OneCloud solution which is a combination of public and private cloud capacity platforms with a unified service experience for Outokumpu.
“Tieto will help us to improve stability, optimize the cost base and enhance our competitiveness”, says Matti Suurnäkki, CIO at Outokumpu.
“We are delighted that Outokumpu has chosen us to provide their infrastructure services. I look forward to continuing our common mission to support Outokumpu’s strategic initiatives by modernizing the IT”, says Jaakko Tapanainen, Head of Industrial and Consumer Services Finland at Tieto.
With this delivery, Tieto will help Outokumpu in improving the overall quality level of service and enable the standardization of processes on a global level. In addition, Outokumpu will gain modern, scalable and cost-effective IT infrastructure that ensures business continuity and meets the future business needs.
- 03:00 am
SWIFT, in collaboration with leading global transaction banks, is developing a proof of concept (PoC) application that will test whether distributed ledger technology (DLT) can be used by banks to improve the reconciliation of their nostro accounts in real time, optimising their global liquidity.
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, BNP Paribas, BNY Mellon, DBS Bank, RBC Royal Bank and Wells Fargo are among the banks participating in the PoC. These banks are working with SWIFT to identify the challenges, define the specifications, build the application and ultimately test the concept. An additional 20 banks will join the programme at a later stage to further validate and test the DLT concept. The Results of the PoC will be presented at Sibos in Toronto in October
The PoC supports SWIFT’s goal of making cross-border payments more efficient, a mission it has championed through the launch of the global payments innovation (gpi) service, which offers customers fast, transparent and traceable cross-border payments.
“The nostro DLT proof of concept is deeply embedded in the SWIFT gpi story of streamlining the cross-border payments system,” says Wim Raymaekers, Head of Banking Markets and SWIFT gpi at SWIFT. “It allows us to explore how this maturing technology can provide a collaborative solution to what our gpi member banks have identified as a significant pain point – nostro accounts reconciliation.”
In developing the PoC, SWIFT is leveraging the recently released Hyperledger[1] Fabric v1 technology, and combining it with key SWIFT assets, to ensure that all the information related to nostro/vostro accounts is kept private and seen only by the account owner and its correspondent banking partner. The PoC application will use a private permissioned blockchain in a closed user group environment, with specific user profiles and strong data controls, and user privileges and data access will be strictly governed. The data stored on the ledger and the APIs used to query and update it will also be designed to support ISO 20022 message formats.
Damien Vanderveken, Head of R&D, SWIFTLab and UX at SWIFT, says: “We are very excited to start the DLT proof of concept with these participating banks. This is a great step forward and another example of how SWIFT and the industry can work together to solve concrete business challenges with an innovative and collaborative mindset.”
Since the launch of gpi in February, twelve gpi banks are sending several hundreds of thousands cross-border payments across the globe, and over 30 additional banks started their implementation project for live operations. In total, nearly 100 banks have signed up to SWIFT gpi, representing over 75% of all cross-border payments on SWIFT.
- 04:00 am
Prysm, Inc., a leading digital workplace platform provider, today announced the appointment of Tom Blenkin who will lead the company’s European region as vice president of sales. Blenkin brings with him an industry-proven track record with more than 10 years of experience working in the European software market.
In his new role, Blenkin will be responsible for advancing the company’s go-to-market strategy, business development, and supporting Prysm’s customers in Europe as the business expands in this key region.
“From the start, I have been very impressed with the strength of the Prysm brand and its technology. It has a very strong footing within the digital workplace market in North America and the potential to continue this growth in the European market is an exciting prospect,” said Blenkin. “The collaborative workspace market is growing at a rapid rate, particularly in Europe as businesses get to grips with the productivity and engagement benefits that it provides, and I can’t wait to spearhead this expansion deeper into Europe.”
Blenkin joins Prysm from OpenText, where he was head of sales for Northern Europe and focused on growing the digital experience management business. Prior to this, Blenkin was a sales leader at HP Inc.
“Tom brings an impressive track-record of driving sales in the European market to the Prysm team. His knowledge and experience in the software industry will ensure that our customers are deriving the best possible value from our solution,” said Jason Smith, senior vice president, global sales, Prysm. “We’re thrilled to have Tom bring his expertise to Prysm as we look to strategically grow our brand across the EMEA region.”
Blenkin will be based in Prysm’s London office, overseeing Prysm’s European sales division.
Joining the Prysm European hub in London and its office in Ghent, Prysm recently opened a Customer Experience Center (CEC) in Frankfurt. The new CEC will host new and existing Prysm customers as the company expands across Europe. To learn more about Prysm, visit prysm.com or schedule a demo of Prysm’s digital-workplace platform.
- 07:00 am
Workday, Inc., a leader in enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources, today announced that Eiffage, one of Europe's leading construction and concessions companies, has selected Workday Human Capital Management (HCM). With Workday, Eiffage will have one cloud-based HR system that will help streamline business processes, drive efficiencies, and enable more informed decision-making based on real-time data.
With 64,000 employees across 70 countries, Eiffage’s business activities are focused on construction, real estate development, civil engineering, energy, and concessions. The company sought to replace its network of disparate, local HR systems, and chose Workday for one system that would create common processes throughout the business, equip employees with self-service capabilities, and empower managers with easy-to-use global reporting and analytics.
Additionally, with Workday, Eiffage expects to:
- Streamline and support critical HR processes and operations, utilising a single source for all HR data across the entire global organisation.
- Improve workforce planning with real-time analytics and reporting that equips managers with robust, reliable data about their people and teams, and business leaders with clear insight into the entire workforce.
- Empower employees with access to relevant information and the ability to easily take action and perform HR tasks at any time, from a mobile device.
- 04:00 am
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), the premier post-trade market infrastructure for the global financial services industry, today announced that four new members have been elected to its Board of Directors.
The new directors are Michael Herskovitz, Director of Fixed Income Risk Operations and Technology and Co-Head of Enterprise Operational Risk at AllianceBernstein; Kathleen Lynch, Chief Operating Officer for UBS Americas and Wealth Management Americas; Umesh Subramanian, Co-Head of the Goldman Sachs Technology Division; and Lara J. Warner, Chief Compliance and Regulatory Affairs Officer at Credit Suisse and a member of the Executive Boards of Credit Suisse Group and Credit Suisse.
The DTCC Board of Directors provides direction and oversight for DTCC in the interests of its diverse global stakeholders, while promoting safety and stability across the financial markets. Currently, the Board is composed of 20 directors. Of these, 13 are representatives of clearing agency participants, three are non-participant directors, two are designated by DTCC's Series A and Series B preferred shareholders, one is DTCC’s President and Chief Executive Officer, and one is the Non-Executive Chairman.
• Mr. Herskovitz joined AllianceBernstein in 2006 from UBS, where he was the managing director for the risk and finance technology function. He has held senior technology management and quantitative research positions with Morgan Stanley, including the London-based role of international CIO of Merrill Lynch and Zurich Scudder Investments. Herskovitz has co-authored two books and many research papers on mortgage-backed securities pricing and analytics.
• As COO at UBS Americas and Wealth Management Americas, Ms. Lynch is responsible for the oversight of the front to back control environment, supporting the execution of the division's strategy while also ensuring operational efficiency and effectiveness. In her role as Americas COO, Lynch is focused on further integrating all of the firm's businesses and support functions and strengthening UBS's regulatory and operating framework across the Americas Region. Lynch joined UBS in June 2012 from Merrill Lynch where she served in a number of leadership positions across Global Research and Investment Banking.
• Mr. Subramanian is the global co-head of the Technology Division at Goldman Sachs, and serves as a member of the firmwide Risk, Finance, Model Risk Control, and Technology Risk committees, as well as the Investment Banking Division Technology Investment Committee. Previously, he headed the Finance Engineering team, which included the Market, Credit, Liquidity and Operational risk functions, and led teams that provides quantitative structuring and analytical advice to Investment Banking clients.
- 09:00 am
UK FinTech Delio, the leading white-label platform for private assets, is expanding into the Benelux region in a response to high demand.
The firm, headquartered in Cardiff, Wales launched in 2015 and has already experienced fast growth, opening offices in London and now Brussels. Working with a range of firms from small family offices and corporate finance boutiques all the way through to global financial institutions and investment organisations, across the UK, EU and Switzerland.
To help service its growing base across Benelux, Delio is now recruiting for a senior country manager to head up the region and build a local team as it looks to double its headcount across Europe from 10 to 20 staff by the end of this year.
David Newman, co-founder and COO of Delio, said: “We’ve seen a real appetite for our platform in Benelux with demand growing as fast as it is in the UK. As we expand our presence, we want to demonstrate our commitment to service our customers with a local team of experts dedicated to the region. Brussels is also a natural gateway to Europe and has a deep talent pool and infrastructure. This, combined with the fantastic support we have received to date in Belgium, from ING Fintech Village through to B-Hive, makes a Brussels office a logical next step in our ambitious growth strategy.”
With its bespoke white-label platform, Delio is a complete private asset solution for financial institutions, allowing them to create and deliver a structured and compliant offering linking investors with direct investment opportunities in a way which works for them. Developed specifically to the requirements of each individual financial institution, the white-label platform links high-net worth and ultra-high net worth investors with a diverse range of private deals in areas such as equity, debt and real estate - deals a new generation of wealth creators have had limited access to until now.
Gareth Lewis, co-founder and CEO of Delio, added: “We created Delio in direct response to the growing appetite for new, distinct opportunities among high-net worth investors. It’s this appetite which is disrupting the industry spurring financial institutions to shake-up the way they currently engage with investors and the deals they offer them. Investors are increasingly becoming more entrepreneurial; looking for direct investment deals and hands-on projects alongside a rising trend for impact investing which deliver philanthropic as well as financial returns. Until now, this need has been unmet and we’re pioneering a new approach through FinTech innovation, becoming the go-to firm providing the solution. And with strong organic growth, we’re very excited about what the future holds.”
- 08:00 am
Digital money transfer service WorldRemit has partnered with leading Moroccan financial company Wafacash to further support the growing demand for instant remittances and the immediate access of funds in the country.
WorldRemit customers can now send overseas money transfers to be collected in one of the 1620 Wafacash cash pick up locations all over the country, including Marrakesh, Tanger, Tetouan, Salé, Fes, Agadir, Meknes, Oujda, Kenitra, and Nador among others.
Remittances play an important role in Morocco’s economy – considering that over 8 million Moroccan expatriates are currently living abroad. The country received 7% of its GDP in remittances in 2015 according to the World Bank, totaling some $7 billion.
Catherine Wines, co-founder and Executive Director at WorldRemit, comments: “We are very proud to be joining forces with the leading financial partner for money transfers in Morocco. Wafacash’s impressive market penetration and its reputation for excellence and innovation for 26 years guarantees superior customer service for thousands of customers via 1620 Wafacash branches across the country”.
Samira Khamlichi, chief executive of Wafacash adds: “Our partnership with WorldRemit reflects our commitment and continuous investment into international growth and expanding product offerings for our customers. Moroccans can now receive vital remittances from their family members abroad instantly, simply making use of their unique transaction reference number and a valid ID.”
- 01:00 am
Roostify, a provider of automated mortgage transaction technology, today announced it has named Frank Gelbart as Chief Revenue Officer. Frank will be responsible for driving new and existing revenue streams as well as managing partner relationships for Roostify.
“I am excited to be joining Roostify at a very significant time for the company, which has gone from an early stage startup to a key player in a quickly-growing industry,” said Gelbart. “I look forward to continuing our momentum, fostering key relationships within the mortgage and real estate industry and fundamentally changing the way consumers obtain home loans.”
Gelbart brings over 20 years of experience in enterprise software, including several early-stage, venture-backed software companies. Prior to Roostify, Gelbart served as president/CEO and Co-Founder of Appfluent Technology, a business intelligence infrastructure company, which was acquired by Attunity (NASDAQ: ATTU) in 2015. Prior to Appfluent Technology, Gelbart was the VP of Worldwide Sales at Peakstone Corporation, a venture-backed startup pioneering a new category of e-business capacity management solutions for the enterprise. Gelbart has held senior management positions at Entevo Corporation, Cheyenne Software, and Equinox Corporation. Gelbart is a graduate of the University of Southern California, where he studied Business Administration.
“As Roostify enters its next stage of growth, Frank’s extensive background in enterprise technology and finance will play a pivotal role in producing and managing additional revenue streams for the company,” said Rajesh Bhat, CEO of Roostify. “We welcome Frank to our growing team as we continue our mission to accelerate and simplify the home purchase experience for consumers, lenders, and others.”
- 01:00 am
Verne Global, a global developer at the forefront of data center infrastructure design, today announced the availability of a range of BT Radianz connectivity and hosting services at its innovative data center in Iceland.
The move offers BT’s global financial services customers more choice in the selection of predictable, low-cost, highly efficient data centers to house and connect their applications and services. It also allows BT’s financial markets customers to join a growing ecosystem of participants already located in the Verne Global data center.
BT Radianz Services are designed specifically for the global financial markets. They include connectivity and hosting services between and within global trading venues. The BT Radianz Cloud platform supports the world’s largest secure networked financial community offering access to thousands of applications and services from more than 400 providers.
Strategically located between key North American and European financial centres, the Verne Global data center will provide members of the Radianz Cloud community with an additional choice of secure compute location. It adds to an existing global footprint of more than 20 data centres that offer BT Radianz services.
Iceland is unique in its abundance of low cost geothermal and hydro-electric energy sources complemented with year-round free cooling. This allows Verne Global to present a compelling and sustainable solution for financial services firms looking to reduce costs and carbon emissions, particularly for power-hungry technologies such as high performance computing (HPC) and grid applications.
Stef Weegels, Director of Business Development at Verne Global commented, “We are pleased to expand our financial services capabilities with the addition of BT Radianz Services, which offer a key industry network and a range of connectivity and hosting solutions.” He added, “With the right connectivity, compute and infrastructure resources in place, firms located at the Verne Global data center are able to use technology in ever more innovative, valuable and cost effective ways.”
Michael Woodman, Head of Radianz, BT, commented, "Adding Verne Global’s Icelandic venue to our portfolio of more than 20 global data centers provides BT customers with a new breed of connectivity and hosting opportunities where power and cost efficiencies help our customers to optimise their operations at an application level.” He adds, “This agreement continues to reinforce our reputation as a creator of innovative capabilities, specifically developed for the financial services industry.”
The addition of the Verne Global data center to the Radianz footprint is part of BT’s ‘Cloud of Clouds’ portfolio strategy aimed at helping large organisations connect easily and securely to the applications and data they need, regardless of where they are hosted and where they are based.
