Intel Corporation and TPG announced a definitive agreement under which the two parties will establish a newly formed, jointly-owned, independent cybersecurity company. The new company will be called McAfee following transaction close. TPG will own 51 percent of McAfee and Intel will own 49 percent in a transaction valuing the business at approximately $4.2 billion. TPG is making a $1.1 billion equity investment to help drive growth and enhance focus as a standalone business.

Through this transaction, TPG, a leading global alternative asset firm with demonstrated expertise in growing profitable software companies and carve-out investments, and Intel, a global technology leader that powers the cloud and billions of smart, connected computing devices, will work together to position McAfee as a strong independent company with access to significant financial, operational and technology resources. With the new investment from TPG and continued strategic backing of Intel, the new entity is expected to capitalize on significant global growth opportunities through greater focus and targeted investment.

The new company will be one of the world’s largest pure-play cybersecurity companies.  Intel Security unveiled a new strategy that refocused the business on endpoint and cloud as security control points, as well as actionable threat intelligence, analytics and orchestration. This new strategy allows customers to detect and respond to more threats faster and with fewer resources.

“Security remains important in everything we do at Intel and going forward we will continue to integrate industry-leading security and privacy capabilities in our products from the cloud to billions of smart, connected computing devices,” said Brian Krzanich, CEO of Intel. “As we collaborate with TPG to establish McAfee as an independent company, we will also share in the future success of the business and in the market demand for top-flight security solutions, creating long-term value for McAfee’s customers, partners, employees and Intel’s shareholders. Intel will continue our collaboration with McAfee as we offer safe and secure products to our customers.”

"We believe that McAfee will thrive as an independent company. With TPG’s investment, along with continued support from Intel, McAfee will sharpen its focus and become even more agile in its response to  rapidly evolving security sector," said Jim Coulter, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of TPG. "TPG is excited to partner with Intel and McAfee management to accelerate growth of the business by enhancing its go-to-market strategy and continuing to grow and strengthen its core product offerings.”

“At TPG, we look to partner with both established and emergent leaders in dynamic and growing markets,” said Bryan Taylor, Partner at TPG. “We have long identified the cybersecurity sector, which has experienced strong growth due to the increasing volume and severity of cyberattacks, as one of the most important areas in technology. Given McAfee’s leading global market position, loyal customer base, and trusted technology, we see a compelling opportunity to invest in a highly-strategic platform that is growing consistently and addressing significant and evolving market demand.”

Positioning the New Company for Future Growth

Chris Young will be appointed CEO of the new company upon closing of the transaction. He published an open letter to Intel Security’s stakeholders outlining benefits of the transaction and new company.

“As a standalone company supported by these two partners, we will be in an even greater position of strength, committed to being the best provider the cybersecurity industry has ever seen,” Young said. “We will continue to focus on solving the unique demands of customers in the dynamic cybersecurity marketplace, drive innovation that anticipates future market needs, and continue to grow through our strategic priorities.”

Currently, Intel Security’s comprehensive software platform protects more than a quarter of a billion endpoints, secures the footprint for nearly two-thirds of the world’s 2,000 largest companies, detects more than 400,000 new threats each day, and represents more than 7,500 strong of the industry’s most talented professionals. The business has demonstrated strong momentum. Through the first half of this year, Intel Security Group revenue grew 11 percent to $1.1 billion, while operating income grew 391 percent to $182 million. Intel Security also increased total bookings 7 percent per year on a constant currency basis from 2013 to 2015.¹

Terms of the Transaction, Financing and Timeline

Under the terms of the agreement, TPG will own 51 percent of a newly-formed cybersecurity company in a multi-step transaction valuing Intel Security at approximately $4.2 billion, based on an equity value of approximately $2.2 billion plus McAfee net debt of approximately $2 billion. The debt initially will be financed by Intel until completion of audited financial statements for McAfee (expected within three to five months of close). The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2017, subject to certain regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.

Skrill, a Paysafe company, has launched a new brand for its instant banking solution: Rapid Transfer. Rapid Transfer allows consumers to upload funds to their digital wallet and make online payments instantly from their bank account without leaving a merchant’s website.

Available in the UK, Germany, Austria, Italy, France, Hungary and Spain with more than 100 banks, Rapid Transfer provides consumers with a payment option that has the convenience of traditional online banking and opens up a faster transaction method for online merchants.

Optimised for mobile, desktop and other devices, Rapid Transfer negates the need for multiple log-ins, offering consumers a seamless, quick and secure experience.  Once Skrill has verified that the requested funds are available, the payment is confirmed to the merchant in real-time.

For merchants, the benefits include receiving payments instantly using Skrill’s banking network; higher sales conversion rates thanks to no customer registration required and a safe and secure payment method with easy integration mechanisms.

CEO Digital Wallets at Paysafe Lorenzo Pellegrino said: “Rapid Transfer is a fast, safe and convenient instant banking solution for consumers to move funds, and it provides merchants with an improved payment option with competitive conversion rates. It’s another way for merchants to offer consumers fast and effective payment choices.”

Pellegrino adds: “Instant payments are key in today’s digital world. Once the new Payment Services Directive is introduced in 2018, we’ll see more payment methods relying on access to bank accounts. Rapid Transfer, our instant banking solution, offers an immediate way for customers and merchants to solve this issue today.”

MSCI ESG Research announced that its ESG Fund Metrics is available on FactSet, a leading provider of integrated financial information and analytical applications, offering users transparency on the ESG quality and characteristics of over 23,000 mutual funds and ETFs.

Launched in March 2016, the MSCI ESG Fund Metrics tool measures the environmental, social and governance (ESG) characteristics of covered portfolio holdings and ranks or screens funds based on a diverse set of factors including sustainable impact, values alignment and ESG risk, including carbon footprint.

Greg King, Head of Wealth Management at FactSet said, “There is growing demand from institutional investors and wealth managers to get more transparency into the ESG characteristics of their portfolios that enable them to respond to their client’s interest in sustainability. We are pleased to offer MSCI’s new suite of fund metrics, scores and rankings to our users.”

Eric Moen, Managing Director of MSCI ESG Research said, “Since we launched this new tool we have received a tremendous amount of market interest and feedback. The availability of Fund Metrics on FactSet, which is an extension of our current ESG Ratings data also available on FactSet, is a key initiative designed to help many of our clients integrate the ESG evaluation of funds into their existing workflows.”

Funds will receive an overall score, the Fund ESG Quality Score, a peer group percentile rank and individual E- S- and G- Scores. The ESG Quality Score assesses the ability of covered underlying securities to manage medium- to long-term risks and opportunities. FactSet users will receive free access to top level Fund Metrics as part of their existing subscription. Top level metrics include the Fund ESG Quality Score, Peer Rank, Global Rank, Carbon Intensity, Sustainable Impact Exposure and SRI Exclusion Exposure. Subscribers to the full product will also have access to over 100 Fund Metrics to evaluate the ESG attributes of their portfolio including carbon footprint, fossil fuel reserves, board diversity, CEO pay concerns and tobacco involvement.

MSCI ESG Research is the world’s largest provider of ESG ratings, research and data. Many of the largest wealth managers including three of the top four wire houses and 47 of the top 50 global asset managers incorporate MSCI ESG Research into their investment decision making process.

A survey conducted by Compass Plus, an international provider of electronic payments and retail banking software to processors and financial institutions, has revealed that industry expectations about the future of mobile payments are not aligned with consumer attitudes. Almost 60% of industry experts believe that one day traditional wallets will be replaced by mobile wallets, however, when asked how they will pay in 10 years’ time, just 6% of consumers believed their main payment method would be using a mobile.

Compass Plus has been undertaking research into consumer and industry expectations of the payments market since 2011 and this year’s results took in the views of more than 150 consumers and almost 100 payments and banking experts. The results saw the number of respondents who think the mobile device will be their main payment method in the future was approximately the same as previous surveys - down just 1% from the 2015 results (from 7%). However, 42% of consumer respondents’ stated that they did not want to be restricted to just one payment method, and would continue to use multiple channels over the next decade.  

The survey also found the number of respondents that had been issued with contactless cards since 2014 had more than doubled, from 29% in 2014 to 62% in 2016, demonstrating the UK’s FIs’ commitment to contactless technology. However, despite having been issued with a contactless card, 12% of respondents did not use the feature – the majority of which were aged over 45.

Consumers’ perceived views of the security of each payment method were also addressed – with cash remaining the method thought of as the most secure (63%), whilst approximately a quarter of respondents believed mobile payments, online payment providers and contactless cards were the least secure. 

Maria Nottingham, Managing Director at Compass Plus GB, said: “Despite consumers not believing the mobile will become their main payment method in the next decade, 67% of the respondents would rather leave their wallet at home than their phone, up from 56% in 2015. Regardless of whether or not the mobile will one day become the ‘go-to’ way to pay, what is clear is that for the foreseeable future consumers still want choice.”

Allied Irish Banks (AIB) has deployed a new mobile solution from Cassiopae that enables AIB in both Ireland and the UK to easily produce bespoke finance quotes for its customers. AIB Finance and Leasing had a requirement to move its current pricing tool so that it met with the bank’s digital strategy whilst maintaining compatibility with the complex calculations used in the bank’s internal systems.

The solution from Cassiopae enables multi-jurisdiction and multi-currency structures whilst maintaining Cassiopae‘s Financial Engine (as used in Cassiopae’s Freehand product) that is already in widespread use across the asset and vehicle finance markets and has been the industry standard for nearly 25 years. Alun Booth, CEO of Cassiopae in the UK, said: “With today’s competitive digital marketplace, it’s critical for our clients to have access to the latest technology, across devices, so as to improve the customer experience and minimise processing costs. Whilst working with our long standing client AIB Finance and Leasing, we have been able to provide them with security of using a tried and tested financial engine in conjunction with the latest technology. ”

Brendan Crowley - Head of Asset Finance Area Dublin at AIB Finance and Leasing commented: We are a customer focused, digitally enabled bank firmly focused on delivering on the needs of our customers in a simple and efficient manner. The app provided by Cassiopae has allowed us to do this whilst maintaining the critical requirement of consistency of calculations.” 

The newest version of Fasoo Enterprise DRM builds on Fasoo's three-tiered suite of solutions, used by enterprise organizations around the world, to discover, classify and protect sensitive data as it is created and distributed. Fasoo Enterprise DRM 5.0 newest features include:

• Enriched risk management model – Uses advanced policy assessment techniques for quick and easy validation of security policies; comprehensive usage and policy statistics to quickly adjust policies; and a proactive policy change interface that allows administrators to change security policies quickly and easily.
• Flexible exception policy management – Flexible exception policy settings can now be applied to different users, groups or roles; granular exception policy templates and a built-in approval workflow solution simplifies exception policy requests to reduce change management issues.
• Improved external sharing – Sharing policies include restricting external collaboration permissions based on flexible policies; allowing document owners to easily change restricted number of views, device counts or validity periods with template based enforcement; and minimized helpdesk issues with the addition of a sleep mode that wakes only when the protected document is in use.
• Improved usability – Expanded security policies including encryption by file extension, application and scheduled batch; extended platform support including Mac, desktop virtualization and application virtualization on Windows, iOS and Android; more out-of-the-box pre-integrated modules that automatically encrypt/decrypt sensitive files; and improved client ADK allowing third party application vendors to more easily develop and customize Fasoo compatible user applications.

"For companies to operate efficiently, information must be shared routinely inside and outside of the organization," stated Fasoo's CEO Dr. Kyugon Cho. "Unfortunately this sharing of information, in whatever form, is what puts organizations in harm's way.  We are continually looking for ways that will take insecurity out of the mix while giving users the ability to use information in the most efficient way possible."

According to the Ponemon Research report, Risky Business: How Company Insiders Put High Value Information at Risk, a company's most valued employees still unintentionally put important and sensitive corporate information at risk. Validating this, the annual Insider Threat Report, highlights the fact that inadvertent data breaches (71 percent) top the list of insider threats companies care most about. These data points substantiate the need for organizations to protect information at the file level with a solution that makes it easy to collaborate without ever putting confidential data at risk.

The Fasoo Data Security Framework, which includes Fasoo Enterprise DRM, plays a pivotal role to enforce security policy on data among three layers of data protection. At the front-end, Fasoo eData Manager discovers and classifies the data, and reapplies policy to data unprotected by policy exceptions and exclusions. At the back-end, Fasoo RiskView helps manage risks holistically by collecting and analyzing data usage to help pinpoint and mitigate security risks. This multi-layered approach enhances and completes an organization's security framework.

EQ Investors (EQ) the boutique wealth manager led by John Spiers, today unveiled its new client portal that gives investors a self-service environment with anytime access to portfolio and performance information. The portal provides clients with a clear view of all their investments in one place, both for EQ funds and those held elsewhere.

The new portal is part of EQ’s on-going programme to continually improve its services to support clients. Context-sensitive charts and graphs provide a graphical view of investment information with full insight into holdings, pricing data, market value and transactions all available.

In addition to ISA and pension holdings, the portal provides details on alternative investments such as VCTs and EIS’s.

Key capabilities of the portal include:

• Intuitive easy-to-use, web-based interface
• Full visibility of investments and recent transactions across multiple platforms
• Aggregated holdings across entire investment portfolio – unrestricted by wrapper type
• Multi-layer views that enables clients to drill-down into portfolio details
• Current asset allocation and geographical diversification breakdown
• Transparent performance charts on a 24/7 basis
• Client balance sheet incorporating assets and liabilities.

John Spiers, CEO at EQ Investors, said: “Despite the ridiculous amounts of money spent on platform technology over the last few years, investors still struggle to see a holistic view of all their investments in one place.

“We all spend more time online than ever before and demand more information on a 24/7 basis. A portal which offers the high level information clients need in a secure, user friendly and accessible format is therefore a no-brainer. We’ve already had a lot of positive feedback.”

The portal was developed in conjunction with the digital user experience experts at Radical Company. The portal is currently available to EQ’s Bespoke clients and will be rolled out to the rest of the firm’s clients in the Autumn.

You can view the new portal here.

Barclays and innovative start-up company Wave have become the first organisations to execute a global trade transaction using blockchain technology.

The letter of credit transaction between Ornua (formerly the Irish Dairy Board) and Seychelles Trading Company is the first to have trade documentation handled on the new Wave platform, with funds sent via Swift. It is hoped this landmark transaction could herald a new era of simpler, safer and faster trade finance.

Currently trade transactions of this nature often involve a high number of participants in different jurisdictions around the world, which in turn requires a significant amount of paperwork, counter-signing and courier journeys.

The new blockchain based system developed by Wave uses distributed ledger technology to ensure that all parties can see, transfer title and transmit shipping documents and other original trade documentation through a secure decentralised network, eliminating many of the current inefficiencies in international trade. The new system could therefore speed up trade transactions, reduce costs for companies around the world and reduce the risk of documentary fraud.

Companies around the world stand to save significant costs and time, with the shipping industry and financial institutions expected to be some of the biggest beneficiaries. Barclays has identified substantial direct cost savings that can be made on courier costs alone using the Wave system, and it could also bring down the time taken to complete an end to end trade finance transaction from days to a few hours.

Wave was one of eleven companies to have gone through the Barclays Accelerator programme in New York last summer, during which time it received expert mentoring from the bank. Since then it has been working with Barclays’ Trade & Blockchain team in the UK and South Africa to explore the various use cases of its innovative technology. Barclays is also seeking to involve other banks in supporting adoption of Wave’s system, with the hope that this can develop into an industry wide improvement in how trade documentation is managed.

This announcement follows other blockchain firsts and exploratory work by Barclays. Last year, the bank signed a proof of concept with Safello to explore how blockchain technologies can be harnessed in the financial services sector. Barclays was part of the initial group of banks to join the R3 consortium designed to spearhead crypto technology solutions in financial services and also was the first big British bank to form a partnership with a digital currency firm, Circle, facilitating social payments on the blockchain using Circle's payments app by providing the underlying fiat currency accounts. More recently, Barclays, with its Smart Contract Templates application, publically demonstrated R3’s corda platform for the first time.

Baihas Baghdadi, Global Head of Trade & Working Capital at Barclays, said: “One of the biggest headaches in global trade currently is the vast movement of paper required to facilitate transactions, with multiple organisations in the chain. That is why we’ve been very keen to partner with Wave in using blockchain technology to save time and money for our clients, and potentially transform trade finance for businesses around the world.”

Gadi Ruschin, CEO at Wave said: “Effective use of blockchain technology really can have a huge impact on the future of trade. By adopting our system, trade can be done more easily and more cheaply. Studies show that as much as 5% of the cost of a trade transaction comes from the handling of documentation, so there is a significant opportunity to improve this element of the trading process. We think we’ve got the right answer, and look forward to working with Barclays to develop it further and create an industry wide solution.”

David O’Rourke, Group Trade Finance Manager at Ornua Co-operative, said:  “Moving to paperless trade would be hugely beneficial in supporting the supply chain, through reduced costs, error free documentation, and fast transfer of original documents to our customers worldwide.”

Following the successful pilot Barclays and Wave will be working with a select group of trade finance clients to develop the service further.

AxiomSL, the leading global provider of regulatory reporting and risk management solutions, announced today that it has expanded its liquidity reporting solution for financial firms in Switzerland to cover the Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR) requirements. This is following the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority’s (FINMA) requirement for NSFR disclosures from 30 June 2016.

Building on AxiomSL’s global expertise in regulatory reporting, the expanded liquidity solution gathers both securities positions and cash flow data into a single flexible unified data model. It also provides pre-defined liquidity calculations required to support the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR), and the NSFR calculation, reporting and disclosure requirements as defined by FINMA’s Liquidity Circular and Ordinance. AxiomSL’s solution will soon also cover the Additional Liquidity Monitoring Metrics (ALMM) on which we are waiting for final regulatory guidance.  

Key features of AxiomSL’s liquidity solution include a High Quality Liquid Assets (HQLA) and Net Cash Flow classification module allowing granular position-level tracking. An important automated feature is the Collateral Management Module tracing the rehypothecation and waterfall allocation of a bank’s securities. This reduces manual calculation and rework efforts required by banks to support the NSFR’s encumbrance period calculations or the LCR’s Collateral Swaps allocation.

The solution also supports data intensive aggregations, for example to summarize deposit balances or calculate net derivatives balances. A significant benefit is AxiomSL’s ability to drill down from management summaries through to underlying transaction level detail to support reconciliation and interrogation throughout the system.

Alex Tsigutkin, Chief Executive Officer, AxiomSL said, “AxiomSL’s enterprise data management (EDM) platform with automated processes ensures financial firms not only compliance, but also enhances internal liquidity monitoring and reporting. As a result, our integrated platform enables firms to measure their liquidity more accurately – by business line, client and transaction – and provide warnings and prompts as their liquidity position evolves in order to facilitate more efficient management of assets.

“Our liquidity solution for Switzerland’s financial firms provides a strategic approach to regulatory reporting and liquidity management requirements, and delivers increased transparency, controls, and efficiency whilst meeting the continuously evolving and challenging regulatory landscape.”

AxiomSL is currently supporting liquidity reporting, namely the LCR, NSFR and ALMM across the European Union, United States, Asia Pacific and the Middle East.