Capriza, a leader in enterprise mobility for business applications, today announced Schroders, the global asset management company with £375 billion (€433.5 billion/USD $487.1 billion) assets under management as at 30 September 2016, has selected Capriza to power its drive to digitisation. Capriza’s Zapp capabilities will be deployed across the organisation as it responds to the waves of change in the financial services sector.

Schroders wanted the ability to link and re-configure core processes from funds administration to sales, marketing to investment strategies using easy-to-use front-end technologies. Capriza achieves this without extensive IT intervention and requiring virtually no re-training of app-savvy modern users.

Commenting on choosing Capriza, Graham Kellen, Chief Digital Officer of Schroders, said: “Schroders is trusted with the investments of a variety of clients. We have to deliver the highest levels of efficiency and responsiveness to our clients. This pursuit mean we cannot restrict ourselves to outdated technology. This investment in Capriza sends the clear signal that we are taking this challenge seriously and we see clear value for our clients globally.”

While Capriza is already in use by pioneers in sectors as diverse as automotive, healthcare and education, Schroders will be one of the first in the financial sector to benefit from its transformative technology. Its early adoption will deliver a distinct competitive edge in a sector, asset management, which has traditionally been more conservative with its technology platforms.

Russell Acton, VP and GM, International at Capriza, welcomed Schroders bold move: “Blue chip organisations like Schroders, where success is measured in decades and centuries, quite rightly think hard before embracing technologies. There is no ‘rip and replace’ option for complex core systems, so Capriza’s ability to enhance customer service and increase efficiency by smartly reconnecting these systems is a winning proposition.”

EBA CLEARING today announced the timely kick-off of the testing phase for its pan-European instant payment infrastructure platform scheduled to go live in November 2017.

Twenty-eight of the funding institutions from all over Europe were represented at a meeting in Milan, which marked the start of the testing phase and included a demonstration of the functioning of the new system in the test environment run by EBA CEARING’s technical solution provider SIA.

“The timely delivery of our instant payment system in the test environment is a key milestone on our journey towards the go-live of the service in November 2017. I would like to thank our funding institutions and our technology partner SIA for their vital contribution to the successful implementation of this first version of this pan-European system,” said Hays Littlejohn, CEO of EBA CLEARING. “We now look forward to engaging the growing community of early movers and their trusted service providers in the pilot user tests that will follow our acceptance testing with SIA. The system will be open to any AS-PSP adhering to the EPC Scheme. We will offer different options to interact with the system in order to ensure that any type of user from anywhere in Europe can access the platform."

“The on-time delivery of complex pan-European payment infrastructure projects is the core value of the long-standing partnership between EBA CLEARING and SIA. We are pleased to have added another chapter to this successful track record with the prompt implementation of their new realtime platform in our test environment,” said Massimo Arrighetti, CEO of SIA. “We are delighted to support EBA CLEARING as well as banks and other payment service providers across SEPA in this major pan-European cooperative endeavour with our international expertise and experience in delivering highly resilient, secure, scalable and flexible payment  About EBA CLEARING infrastructure and with our wide range of innovative solutions. We are fully committed to facilitating the onboarding by the future users and helping to pave the way for the timely launch of a new generation of payment products and services.”

EBA CLEARING’s new infrastructure platform will provide a real-time payment processing facility, which will be available around the clock on any day of the year. Account-servicing payment service providers (AS-PSPs) from all over Europe will be able to use this highly flexible solution for any payment product in euro that will be fully compliant with the instant payment scheme (“SCT Inst Scheme”) of the European Payments Council (EPC) and in line with the ISO 20022 global messaging standards for real-time payments. The pan-European instant payment service of EBA CLEARING is scheduled to go live in November 2017 on the launch date of the SCT Inst Scheme.

SIX x-clear Ltd – the clearing arm of SIX Securities Services – is now able to provide clearing services for the Nasdaq Nordic cash equity markets (including ETFs). From 20th February, 2017, SIX x-clear offers an enhanced and interoperable clearing solution for Denmark, Finland and Sweden.

After regulatory and operational arrangements are finalized, Nasdaq Nordic will confirm SIX x-clear Ltd as a third interoperating Central Counterparty (CCP). As of February 20th, 2017, SIX x-clear will offer comprehensive clearing services for trades executed on Nasdaq Nordic trading platforms. The Nasdaq Nordic cash equity markets include the trading venues Copenhagen, Helsinki, Stockholm and First North Sweden, operated by Nasdaq Stockholm. Settlement will take place in the relevant home market of the securities.

SIX Securities Services centrally manages counterparty risk and reduces post-trade costs. The new clearing services allow members to have one net settlement for all trades across all platforms cleared by SIX x-clear. Cross-platform netting and cross-margining of risk combined with a tiered pricing structure offer clients the best suited solution for their needs in terms of scale, cost, risk and liquidity. Clearing members of SIX x-clear can use the clearing services seamlessly by switching the trade flow to clear through SIX x-clear.

Valerio Roncone, Head Markets & Clients SIX Securities Services, adds: «We are delighted to be able to provide comprehensive clearing services in the Nordic region. This is an important step which offers clients an opportunity to extend their clearing consolidation with SIX x-clear and further optimize their post trade processing.»

smartTradeTechnologies, a multi-asset electronic trading solutions pioneer,has been working with a number of institutions on MiFIR/MiFID II implementations.

Transparency, best execution, algorithmic trading and transaction reporting are some of the key areas of concern identified. With less than a year before the 3-Jan-2018 deadline, smartTrade announces that it is ready for MiFID II challenges.

smartTrade provides banks and dealers with cross-asset solutions for sales-trader workflow management, record keeping, best execution and transaction reporting, as well as platform resiliency.

In order to help investment firms electronify their sales-trader workflow and address their pre-trade and post-trade transparency requirements, smartTrade provides a unique and truly cross-asset single-dealer platform supporting both FX and Fixed income instruments, including derivatives. The platform allows users to visualize key regulatory information based on dynamic rules and can be integrated with upstream and downstream sources, such as a pricing engine, internal website or Approved Public Arrangement (APA) provider.

For Best Execution and Transaction reporting, smartTrade’s clients can leverage the market leading smartAnalytics solution. This solution addresses big data analytics requirements, facilitating the storage of all trading information (quotes, RFQs, orders and trades, including intermediate states) as well as generating numerous business and regulatory reports.

The smartTrade MiFID II solutions can be delivered as a fully hosted and managed certified platform, as well as software only. The hosted option reduces time to market and costs. It also meets algorithmic trading requirements, in particular for high-frequency trading (HFT), such as microsecond timestamping.

“Many financial firms have approached us looking for a partner to help them get ready in time for MiFID II.” says David Vincent, CEO of smartTrade Technologies. “With less than a year to go, clients appreciate our regulatory expertise, proven delivery record and our hosted and managed solution which allows for a quick yet assured time to market.”

 Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) announces the appointment of Frieda Lewis to Managing Director, Chief Commercial Diversity Officer at Broadridge.

In her expanded role at Broadridge, Lewis will focus on advancing the company’s diversity and inclusion efforts by developing and executing a strategy that enables Broadridge to better understand and serve its diverse, global marketplace.

Lewis joined Broadridge in 2008, serving as Managing Director, Global Relationship Management. In addition to her responsibilities in Relationship Management, Lewis has demonstrated a long-term commitment to Broadridge's diversity and inclusion initiatives.  She is credited with launching the Women's Leadership Forum at Broadridge, and is a member of Broadridge’s Executive Diversity Committee. Outside of Broadridge, Lewis is a member of the Board of the Women's Bond Club, Governing Member of the Wall Street Women's Alliance, member of the SIFMA Diversity Board and a member of the Bank Insurance & Securities Diversity Board. 

“The best business practices are made better through diversity of people, opinion, and inclusion,” said Chris Perry, President of Global Sales, Marketing and Client Solutions, Broadridge. “Frieda will help Broadridge build on its progress in integrating diversity into every aspect of our business—including our workforce, clients, suppliers, products, and services—to improve our relationships with clients and prospects, and the overall client and stakeholder experience.” 

“The future of diversity leadership is enabling colleagues to better engage clients and the community, which will drive business growth and improve the bottom line,” said Frieda Lewis, Managing Director, Chief Commercial Diversity Officer at Broadridge.

Prior to joining Broadridge, Lewis spent 25 years in the financial services industry, holding senior executive positions at Sun Life Financial and Mellon Financial. She had a 16 year tenure with Fleet Financial Group, where she served as President and CEO of Fleet Brokerage Securities and its wholly owned subsidiary Fleet Clearing Corporation.

Broadridge has long been recognized for its diversity and inclusion efforts, including being named one of the “Best Places to Work for LGBT Equality” for five consecutive years by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. The company was named to Fortune Magazine’s 2016 list of the “World’s Most Admired Companies” and was also ranked among the 30 “Best Companies to Work for in New York State” for nine consecutive years by the New York State Society for Human Resource Management.

Oracle Financial Services Analytical Applications and PwC announced today a global collaboration to offer premium technology, implementation and consulting solutions to help financial institutions meet near-term and ongoing compliance with the International Accounting Standards Board’s (IASB) new IFRS9 and FASB’s proposed CECL reporting standards.

Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO), the world leader in digital security, announces that it has won the ACT Canada IVIE Award in the "Privacy by Design" category for its ID Verificati on solution. As banks and mobile operators look to provide more convenient services through digital and self-service channels, the need to validate a custom er's identification becomes even more necessary. Gemalto's ID Verification enables this new convenience while maintaining security by allowing customers to scan their picture ID remotely on their device. 

The service helps to comply with anti-money laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations by providing a consistent, seamless and integrated way to verify ID documents, such as drivers licenses or passports, across customer service channels – online, face-to-face, ATM or mobile app. Gemalto's technology valida tes legitimate IDs, flags counterfeits, and provides a trust score in real time regardless of the point of interaction. 

In a face-to-face scenario, for example, to open a bank or mobile phone account, a representative will use a tablet to scan the customer's ID, which the system verifies against a database of document templates from 180 countries for visual integrity, data consistency, and ID security features. 

In a self-service scenario, customers first scan their driver's license or ID and then take a selfie. The system uses facial biometrics to verify that the picture on the card matches the selfie, and if so, can automatically fill out the name, address and other fields in the bank's online forms. 

"This solution is being deployed commercially in response to global AML and KYC regulatory compliance needs," said Bertrand Knopf, Senior Vice President of Secure Transactions for North America at Gemalto. "Banks and MNOs now have access to the same level of document verification technology governments around the world have been using, that we adapted to work across all customer channels, face-to-face, ATM, mobile or online." 

The award was presented by Dr. Ann Cavoukian, former Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario and now Executive Director of the Privacy and Big Data Institute – Where Big Data meets Big Privacy at Ryerson University. 

Canadian and US banks and mobile operators can deploy ID Verification immediately by contacting Gemalto.  

BNP Paribas Securities Services, one of the world’s leading providers of clearing and custody services, has partnered with industry-leading fintech company Calypso Technology to provide investment banks with a full, end-to-end post-trade services offering across asset classes.

Linedata (NYSE Euronext: LIN), the global solutions provider dedicated to the investment management and credit industries, today announced that Aperio Group, a $16 billion research-based investment manager specializing in active tax management, factor tilts, and socially responsive strategies for high net worth investors, has chosen its comprehensive range of investment management solutions.

Linedata order management system (OMS), Linedata Longview, offers a single platform that reduces cost and operational risk by creating efficiencies, offering a flexible configuration, asset-specific workflows and an interface that can be tailored for various roles across the front and middle office. Aperio is replacing internal systems and adopting Linedata’s hosted OMS solution to manage increased client trade flow across separately management accounts (SMAs), including pre-trade compliance, trading, post-trade processes and reporting.

“Linedata was the right fit for us because of its customizable, high performance platform which will provide Aperio with the flexibility and scalability to meet our clients’ growing needs”, offered Patrick Geddes, Aperio Group CEO and Chief Tax Economist. “Our partnership with Linedata gives us enhanced order management tools, integration with partners, and workflows that will reduce risk and add efficiencies benefiting both Aperio and our clients.”

Arnaud Allmang, North America Head of Asset Management at Linedata said: “Working with Aperio to deliver a robust, automated OMS solution that supports increased trade flows aligns with our operating model of an integrated platform of capabilities that is able to evolve with our clients’ business”.