Praxent, a fintech product agency with more than two decades of experience, has launched its Accelerator App to help wealth techs expedite time to market. The offering includes pre-built functionality that allows wealthtech providers to launch a robo-advisor with less cost and more speed.

The resources needed to build table stakes features and functionality typically don’t leave enough room for creating notable differentiation. Praxent is helping companies overcome that challenge; the app’s pre-built features include account opening/KYC, accounting funding through MX, recurring deposits, robo-advisor portfolios, investor dashboards and an already established custodian integration through APEX. With Praxent’s app, wealthtech providers no longer have to build from the ground up and are free to spend their time, effort and money on functionality that will set them apart.

“Creating the basic functionality necessary to stand up a robo-advisor app, plus navigating the complex compliance landscape of investing, typically drains significant time and resources from startups,” said Connor Coughlin, Chief Commercial Officer, Fintech at APEX. “With Praxent’s Accelerator App, including the pre-built integration to our flexible digital-first custody engine, those with great ideas will gain significant time and budget back, allowing them to focus on their competitive differentiators.”

Those that leverage Praxent’s Accelerator App, which is built on a single tenant architecture, will then work with Praxent, benefitting from the team’s value engineering, UX design, and fintech expertise to design and develop their apps’ unique features and functionality.

“With our Accelerator App, we’re delivering the speed of off-the-shelf technology with the flexibility of building it yourself – a blend that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the market today,” said Tim Hamilton, CEO and founder of Praxent  “This new offering is another example of how Praxent is accelerating fintech innovation for our clients without ever sacrificing quality."

Fundpath Takes on Fuel with £4M Late Seed Funding Round

Fundpath, the data and technology business bridging the information disconnect between asset managers and wealth managers, confirmed the completion of a £4m late seed funding round with growth capital partner Fuel Ventures. Launched in 2021, intelligent data-driven SaaS platform Fundpath, is transforming the traditional sales process, enabling fund buyers and allocators to share their business responsibilities, parameters, interests and intentions quickly and securely with asset management firms.

PhonePe Raises $200M in Additional Funding from Walmart

PhonePe, one of India’s largest fintech platforms, announced it has raised additional $200 million in primary capital from Walmart, at a pre-money valuation of $12 billion. This new funding comes as a part of PhonePe’s ongoing fundraise of up to $1 billion in capital, following its domicile shift to India last year. With this tranche, the company has raised $650Mn from several global investors. The company expects further investments, which will be announced in due course.

Stripe Raises More than $6.5B in Series I Funding Round

Stripe, which builds economic infrastructure for the internet, has signed agreements for a Series I fundraise of more than $6.5 billion (€6.15 billion) at a $50B (€47B) valuation. Primary investors include existing Stripe shareholders—Andreessen Horowitz, Baillie Gifford, Founders Fund, General Catalyst, MSD Partners, and Thrive Capital—as well as new investors including GIC, Goldman Sachs Asset and Wealth Management, and Temasek.

Samsung Next Invests in Mitiga Brings Total Funding to $45M

Mitiga, the cloud and SaaS incident response leader, announced the completion of Series A Round bringing total funding to $45 million. Led by ClearSky Security, with participation from Samsung Next and existing investors Blackstone, Atlantic Bridge and DNX, this news comes on the heels of Mandiant’s former President/COO, John Watters joining Mitiga as an independent board member.

Clara Secures Debt Financing for up to $90M from Accial Capital to Strengthen its Presence in Colombia

Clara, the leading end-to-end digital corporate spend management platform in Latin America, announcedapproved financing for up to 90 million dollars from Accial Capital, a US debt provider with a focus on emerging markets, and its newly launched fund in collaboration with Skandia FCP IMPACTO, an impact-focused debt fund offered by Skandia, managed by Accial. Clara secures this line of credit before completing their first year of operations in Colombia and is close to celebrating their third anniversary as a company.

Connectd Raises $2.6M to Help Grow and Manage Relationships in the Startup Ecosystem

Connectd, the leading platform for managing and growing relationships between startups, investors and advisors, has secured $2.6m in seed funding as it continues its expansion. Following a series of developments in 2022, including tools for legal and portfolio management, the Connectd platform has continued to attract founders, investors and advisors at scale. In the last two consecutive years, this has led to four times year-on-year growth.

APEXX Global Raises $25M to Expand its Presence in North America and Enhance its Leading Payment Orchestration Platform

APEXX Global (‘APEXX’), the leading global payments orchestration platform, has raised $25m from existing and new investors, closing its Series B  round. The funds will be used to develop APEXX’s products and technology and to expand its presence in North America. APEXX raised the proceeds from investors across Europe, including MMC Ventures, who has backed the company since 2017, alongside Alliance Ventures and Forward Partners who increased their investments after participating in the previous round.

Partnerships 

AllianceBernstein Selects Aiviq for Client AUM and Flow Data Products and Services

Aiviq, a leading cloud-based SaaS business for the global asset management industry, announced a multi-year deal with AllianceBernstein (AB), a global investment management firm, to provide client assets under management (AUM) and flow data management products and services for AB’s international business.

PXP Financial, Mastercard and Payall Collaborate to Take the Pain Out of Cross-border Payments

PXP Financial announced a new collaboration with global technology company Mastercard and payments infrastructure provider Payall, to deliver safe, compliant and efficient cross-border payments and international money transfers. This collaboration offers inclusive payment capabilities that enable PXP Financial's customers to send funds to their partners, employees and suppliers safely, efficiently and more conveniently than ever.

Axiom Bank, N.A. Partners with White Clay to Enhance Data Strategy

White Clay, a company that helps community and regional financial institutions improve relationships and increase revenue, announced its partnership with Axiom Bank, N.A. Axiom Bank has plans to partner with fintech companies to accelerate the growth of its core business. Several members of the bank’s management team had previous experience working with White Clay and appreciated the company’s technology and expertise.

Surecomp and Contour Enter Strategic Partnership to Accelerate Interoperability Between Digital Trade Finance Solutions

Surecomp announced that it is partnering with Contour, one of the global digital trade finance networks, as part of a collaborative vision to drive the digital transformation of trade finance across financial institutions. Surecomp has over 35 years of expertise digitising trade finance processes and its integration with Contour’s decentralised network of banks and corporates will provide users with a fully integrated end-to-end trade service solution.

Sparxpres Partners with Trifork and Tuum to Offer Future-proof Card and Financing Platform

NextGen IT company Trifork and modular core banking technology provider Tuum have entered into a partnership to provide a bespoke card and financing platform to the Danish financial institution Sparxpres, part of Spar Nord. The agreement covers the creation of the platform and five years of subsequent development and operational support. Sparxpres offers competitive digital financing and credit solutions for private customers, as well as gift card solutions for local councils and nationwide retail chains.

GoCardless Partners with Zapier to Automate Payment Processes Across 5,000+ Apps

GoCardless, a global leader in bank payment solutions, has integrated with Zapier, the leader in no-code automation, to help businesses save time and energy when managing their payments. Businesses can now build Zaps for GoCardless, eliminating manual labour for routine and repetitive tasks, such as creating a new payment mandate or tracking failed payments. Zapier’s platform includes over 5,000 apps, making it easy for businesses to connect GoCardless to the software they use every day.

New Partnership Brings Forter’s Fraud Prevention Solution to Wix Merchants

Forter, the Trust Platform for digital commerce, announced its partnership with Wix.com Ltd., a leading global SaaS platform to create, manage, and grow an online presence. The partnership delivers Forter’s accurate, real-time decisions to Wix merchants in certain countries — increasing their approval rates, reducing fraud and delivering superior customer experience.

PwC UK Picks AI Quality Leader TruEra to Collaborate on AI Risk Management

TruEra, which provides the first suite of AI Quality management solutions to test, explain, debug and monitor Machine Learning (ML) models, announced that it has been selected by PwC to collaborate on AI Risk Management in the UK and Ireland. Key elements of the collaboration include using TruEra’s software to validate AI/ML models as part PwC’s AI risk methodologies and more. 

iDenfy Confirms Partnership with GOAT Finance to Provide Identity Verification

iDenfy, full-stack identity verification, compliance, and fraud prevention startup, announced partnering with GOAT Finance, a Lithuania-based P2P/OTC exchange service provider. From now on, iDenfy’s full-stack solution will help verify GOAT Finance customers and deter fraud in real-time. While there’s a narrative about certain obstacles companies face when implementing Know Your Customer (KYC) processes, iDenfy claims that cryptocurrency exchanges, in particular, benefit from regulatory compliance security-wise.

Aubrey Capital Management Partners With Aramea Asset Management To Further Commitment To Germany

Aubrey Capital Management, the Edinburgh and London-based specialist global equity manager, has announced that it is partnering with Aramea Asset Management, one of Germany's largest independent asset managers, to further its commitment to the German fund market. The partnership will enable Aubrey to work closely with Aramea and its subsidiary company Punica Invest to offer the necessary support and expertise to distribute Aubrey's suite of products successfully.

Finastra and Uni Systems Extend Collaboration to Enable Financial Institutions to Meet New Risk Management Regulation

Finastra and Uni Systems have extended their partnership to help financial institutions in the Adriatic, Central and Southeast Europe regions comply with the Basel Committee’s Fundamental Review of the Trading Book (FRTB) reporting requirements, effective in 2025. Under the new agreement, Uni Systems can offer its customers Vector Risk’s Trading Book Market & Credit Risk Solution, via Finastra’s FusionFabric.cloud and hosted on Microsoft Azure, for cloud-based automation of credit and market risk calculations in the trading book.

Noda Chooses ThetaRay AI Solution to Monitor Open Banking Services

Noda, an open banking fintech, and ThetaRay, a leading provider of AI-powered transaction monitoring technology, announced they will collaborate to enhance payment monitoring and compliance capabilities on Noda’s growing platform that is supporting the new digital economy in Europe. Headquartered in the UK, Noda is helping online merchants in Europe receive direct bank payments from eCustomers via a secure and instant one-stop Open Banking payment solution.

MANGOPAY and PayPal Expand Cooperation to Provide Advanced Solutions for Marketplaces’ Complex Payments Needs

MANGOPAY, the platform-specific payment infrastructure provider, and PayPal, a global leader in online payment solutions, announce the strengthening of their long-term strategic cooperation to provide marketplaces with quick access to PayPal’s global payment methods and capabilities. This cooperation will allow marketplaces to easily build a dynamic payment experience and provide additional choice to their end-users by making PayPal available.

Ukrainian Processing Centre (UPC) Chooses Tietoevry Banking as a Partner to Offer Open Banking Services

Ukrainian Processing Center (UPC) and leading software and services company Tietoevry Banking announceda partnership to develop open banking services in Ukraine. The partnership will enable UPC to be the frontrunner in open banking platform with a modern and standardized way for Ukrainian financial institutions to access value-added services through the open API marketplace.

Tarabut Gateway Partners With Rain To Accelerate Crypto Payments In Mena

Tarabut Gateway, the largest open banking platform in the MENA region, announces its new partnership with Rain, the first regulated crypto assets trading platform in the region. The partnership is the company’s first collaboration with a crypto asset service provider. It will bring about faster, cost-effective fiat-to-crypto transactions to Bahrain end-users and enable funding payments directly from user bank accounts without the need to leave Rain’s platform.

Sumsub Partnerships with TrueNorth to Digitally Transform Global Banking

Sumsub, a global all-in-one verification platform, has teamed up with TrueNorth, a leading fintech software development company, to help banks in the US and beyond expand to global markets and digitize their services. Sumsub is a proven leader in regulatory compliance for the fintech industry. Sumsub’s platform lets businesses orchestrate the verification process, welcome more users worldwide, speed up onboarding, and stop digital fraud with customizable KYC, KYB, KYT, and AML solutions.

Launches 

Qik Banco Digital Dominicano Launches on the Temenos Banking Cloud

Temenos announced that Qik Banco Digital Dominicano has launched on Temenos Banking Cloud, becoming the first digital-only bank in the Dominican Republic. Part of Grupo Popular, Qik combines more than five decades of banking experience with the operational agility and cutting-edge digital experiences enabled by the Temenos platform. One of the largest financial groups in Latin America with operations in the Dominican Republic and Panama, Grupo Popular has assets of more than $13 billion and more than 2 million clients.

BankiFi and Financielle Launch Playbook Helping Business Owners Get Time Back

Manchester-based fintechs, BankiFi and Financielle announced the joint launch of a new playbook for small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), giving business owners back their most valuable asset - time. The new playbook has been designed to help SMEs, especially those that are female-led, to tackle some of the most common problems associated with small business management.

Worldline Brings Global Payment Solutions to Web3 with Solana

Worldline, a global leader in payment services, has launched a strategic initiative with Solana, a high-performance blockchain platform designed for decentralised applications and Web3 use cases such as gaming. This initiative, supported by the Solana Foundation, will allow all projects building on Solana direct access to Worldline’s Payment Orchestration platform. These projects will be integrated, allowing for providers to route payments automatically while offering the lowest fees and highest conversion.

NICE Actimize Launches Real-Time Money Mule Defense Solution to Detect Illicit Activity Throughout the Entire Customer Lifecycle

Traditional payments monitoring systems often do not detect money mules' movements as they secure illicit funds from financial institutions. To address this problem, NICE Actimize, a NICE business, announced its cloud-first Money Mule Defence Solution designed to detect, investigate and prevent mule account activity occurring throughout the entire customer lifecycle for both existing customers and new accounts.

CRIF and iwoca Unite to Bring Open Banking-powered Instant Lending to UK Small Businesses

More UK small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) will be able to get instant decisions on lending applications, helping to ease the pressure of the cost of living crisis and boost economic recovery. The innovation has been made possible through a new partnership between top fintech business lender, iwoca, and CRIF, Europe’s leading credit information provider.

Paymentology Powers Fondeadora to Launch Apple Pay in Mexico

Paymentology, the leading global issuer-processor, and Mexico’s leading financial service provider Fondeadora, announce a strategic partnership to expand payment services in Mexico and are among the first to bring Apple Pay to digital banking customers in Mexico. Fondeadora is a digital financial services provider in Mexico that aims to address the shortcomings of the conventional banking system.

QuantCube Launches Industrial Production Indicator

Alternative data specialist QuantCube Technology today announced the availability of the QuantCube Industrial Production Indicator (IPI) nowcast – providing a daily update on industrial production output in the U.S. market. The indicator measures year-on-year changes in outputs from the manufacturing, mining, electricity and gas industries to provide insights into total industrial production, a key driver of GDP.  

UK-based KYB Platform Detected Launches in the US to Support Increasing Demand

London-founded fintech Detected has announced its expansion into the US market. The company, which provides a global end-to-end KYB platform, has established a US entity to better serve its American clients.Since its inception in July 2020, Detected has seen huge growth driven by its innovative approach to global KYB. One agreement with Detected gives access to a global network of data providers as well as a dynamic front-end UI which allows the collection of information directly from business owners.

Merger & Acquisition

GoLogiq to Acquire Institutional Investment Advisory Firm, CPG Research & Advisory, in $15 Million Merger

GoLogiq, Inc., a U.S.-based global provider of fintech and consumer data analytics, has signed a mutual non-binding letter of intent to acquire Sydney-based CPG Research & Advisory, a leading global provider of independent investment consulting services. CPG is expected to bring to GoLogiq more than 30 years of experience as an independent investment advisor and asset consultant.

HSBC acquires Silicon Valley Bank UK Limited

HSBC Holdings plc announces that its UK ring-fenced subsidiary, HSBC UK Bank plc, is acquiring Silicon Valley Bank UK Limited (SVB UK) for £1. As at 10 March 2023, SVB UK had loans of around £5.5bn and deposits of around £6.7bn. For the financial year ending 31 December 2022, SVB UK recorded a profit before tax of £88m. SVB UK’s tangible equity is expected to be around £1.4bn. Final calculation of the gain arising from the acquisition will be provided in due course.

Job Moves

TradeSun Makes Senior Hires as Trade Digitalization Ramps Up

TradeSun has made senior appointments across the US, APAC region and Europe as the company, a leader in AI-driven trade automation and compliance, continues its global expansion. Lloyd Parata has been appointed Senior Sales Director for Asia Pacific, based in Australia. Meanwhile Ian Laverty has taken on the role of Chief Revenue Officer. Amy Chestnutt has joined TradeSun following its recent acquisition of Coriolis and its automated sustainability assessment platform.

Sam Farrell Joins Torstone as Head of North America

Torstone Technology, a leading SaaS platform for post-trade securities and derivatives processing, announcesthat Sam Farrell has joined the firm as Head of North America. Based in Toronto, Sam will have oversight of all the US and Canadian operations for Torstone. Sam will continue to expand Torstone’s footprint in North America, further establishing the business as a key provider within the US and Canadian markets.

Ex-Barclays Director Philip Harding Joins Cashflows Executive Team

Cashflows, the platform that makes it easy for merchants to accept payments, announces the appointment of Philip Harding as Account Development Director. Philip joins Cashflows following more than 12 years at Barclaycard Payments, where he rose to the Director of International Corporates. In this role, Philip focused on financial services and insurance, following various roles in issuing and acquiring. Philip also has previous experience working at FedEx, where he held the position of National Business Development Executive.

ZEDRA Appoints Jon McKay as Global Head of Legal

ZEDRA, the fast-growing global specialist in Corporate, Global Expansion, Active Wealth, Pensions & Incentives services as well as Fund Solutions, announced the appointment of Jon McKay as Global Head of Legal. In his role, Jon will report to ZEDRA CEO, Ivo Hemelraad, and will be responsible for leading ZEDRA’s internal legal team and providing legal support to the business across all its service lines and offices.

Accelerated Payments Appoints C Ray Hines as Vice President of Business Development in Ohio, USA

Alternative finance provider Accelerated Payments announced the appointment of C Ray Hines as Vice President of Business Development. Ray’s wide-ranging expertise in the business funding market and abundant experience in the Midwest will prove crucial as Accelerated Payments increases its market share in North America. Ray, a specialist in SME financing, boasts over 35 years of experience in the business financing industry.

Yapily Appoints New VP of Sales to Accelerate Growth Across Europe

Open banking platform Yapily has appointed Lisa Gutu as Vice President of Sales in Europe, where she will play a key role in accelerating Yapily’s strategic growth plans in the region. Lisa brings unparalleled open banking experience and deep open finance, payments, and API expertise to Yapily. Over the last 8 years during her time at Trovata, and as COO of Salt Edge, she has led new and innovative open banking initiatives working with large banks, fintechs, and strategic partners across Europe.  

ComplyAdvantage Hires Jim Anning as Chief Data Officer

ComplyAdvantage, the leading fraud and financial crime detection firm, has named Jim Anning as the company’s Chief Data Officer as part of its commitment to innovation in anti-money laundering / countering financial terrorism (AML/CFT) services. The newly created role on the Executive Leadership Team reflects the centrality of quality and comprehensive insights to the company’s mission and products.

Baker Hill, a leading financial technology provider in delivering solutions for loan origination, risk management and analytics, announced its Baker Hill NextGen® Banker Application was named a Product Innovation of the Year nominee by TechPoint for the 24th annual Mira Awards. The TechPoint Mira Awards are Indiana’s largest and most prestigious technology awards, and the annual awards gala will celebrate the “Best of Tech” in Indiana at the JW Marriott Indianapolis on Saturday, April 22, 2023. 
 
This year, TechPoint received a record-breaking 236 submissions for the awards this year. Baker Hill stood out among a competitive pool of submissions and the company’s NextGen® Banker Application was nominated for the Product Innovation of the Year category. The Baker Hill NextGen® Banker Application empowers the customer- and member-facing teams at financial institutions to collect and submit loan requests confidently and efficiently, resulting in maximum growth opportunities and an enhanced borrower experience. With the NextGen® Banker Application, banks and credit unions, which play vital roles in the economies of their local communities, can empower their team members with the most innovative and convenient tools to assist prospective borrowers with their loan applications.

“Baker Hill is committed to providing our network of community financial institutions with new products and innovations that simplify the lending process. The Baker Hill NextGen® Banker Application was developed based on dedicated focus group sessions, user testing and research, as well as Baker Hill’s long-standing history of providing innovative fintech solutions,” said Mike Horrocks, Vice President of Product Management at Baker Hill. “Banks and credit unions have trusted us for over 35 years to meet their complex lending needs. Being recognized in this year’s TechPoint Mira Awards is yet another testament to Baker Hill’s unwavering focus on our clients’ and their business goals.”

“This year’s Mira Award nominee selection process was the most competitive our team has ever seen, with a record-breaking 236 entries for the awards this year,” said Ting Gootee, president and CEO of TechPoint. “This demonstrates the remarkable achievements and spirit of innovation that our talented nominees are known for, and Baker Hill’s latest product innovation exemplifies this. We look forward to recognizing the winning companies and their valuable contributions to Indiana’s economic growth at our awards gala in April.”

With so many changes and disruptions to normal business operations, employee training has become a key component in the success of any organization. Remote employee training can be highly beneficial for businesses that want to maintain the same high learning standards while potentially decreasing costs and improving flexibility. This blog post will explore how remote training solutions provide improved access to resources, increased engagement between trainers and trainees, better utilization of data-driven insights, reduced risk exposures, and improved process efficiency – all while allowing organizations to maintain their commitment to quality staff development across distant teams. We'll review best practices for utilizing remote technology platforms that ensure optimal results from virtual instruction opportunities – ultimately providing a valuable tool for an organization’s long-term success.

The importance of employee training and how it can help businesses succeed

Proper employee training is essential for any business to thrive in today’s competitive world. Investing in effective training and upskilling of employees can transform businesses, helping them gain a competitive advantage and long-lasting success. Employee training improves staff productivity and motivation, results in better customer service levels, enables team collaboration, and ensures everyone knows the company’s processes and procedures. Remote employee training also provides an easy way to stay on top of deadlines, ensure all policies are followed, keep key personnel informed about industry insights and advancements, and is immensely cost-effective. By providing remote employee training programs, your organization can benefit from higher standards of efficiency and effectiveness and be more successful in achieving its goals.

Strategies for ensuring your remote employees stay engaged and motivated during training

Training content development strategies are essential for ensuring remote employees stay motivated and engaged during their training. Organizations can create online courses with multimedia components or have short, frequently scheduled check-ins with training facilitators or team leads. Training should be adapted to each employee's situation, considering their work environment, training needs, and potential challenges. Utilizing various platforms like video conferencing, tools like Slack, and messaging services can help keep engagement high while staying connected in a distributed environment. Companies can also leverage more interactive activities—like leaderboards and raffles that award points for completing learning milestones—to ensure remote employees remain interested in the training process.

Common challenges faced by businesses during employee training

Training new employees can be challenging for some businesses, but it is increasingly difficult when they are distant or remote. One of the most significant challenges with remote employee training is the lack of direct supervision and oversight, often resulting in unsatisfactory performance. Additionally, employers have to cope with the financial burden of distance learning materials and issues around language barriers and cultural differences between remote employees and their supervisors. Furthermore, inadequate communication practices can also present difficulties for employers in delivering consistent messages across distributed teams. Employers should recognize these challenges and create an organized, comprehensive process to implement remote employee training programs successfully.

The benefits of remote employee training – cost-efficiency and easy reachability

Remote employee training offers a range of benefits for businesses. One significant advantage is that it is cost-efficient for businesses due to the lack of need for physical resources such as printing or training space. What's more, remote employee training can be securely and quickly rolled out and accessed by a wide variety of employees worldwide, regardless of location, allowing a business to develop its workforce at an accelerated rate with the potential to have almost instantaneous results. Ultimately, these factors make remote employee training an attractive option for many employers and should be seriously considered when deciding how best to train staff efficiently and effectively.

Types of remote employee training tools available

With the ever-evolving digital technology, the possibilities for remote employee training are now more incredible than ever. From video conferencing and eLearning programs to webinars and screen-sharing tutorials, a variety of tools are available to help businesses train employees without them having to step foot in an office. Companies can use these options to quickly develop strategies that may have been difficult to implement in traditional learning environments, such as interactive classes, mobile apps, or speaking engagements. Additionally, with services such as cloud storage and project management software, employers can quickly transfer necessary documentation directly to remote employees. Investing in these innovative types of remote employee training can be highly beneficial to small and large businesses.

Measuring success when implementing a remote employee training program

Learning how to measure success when implementing a remote employee training program is critical to its success. First, if the employees are actively engaged in the learning process, this indicates that the materials and resources of the program are effective. Second, exam scores during or after the course can be used as an assessment to gauge how well employees have comprehended what they have learned. Furthermore, feedback from attendees will help indicate whether any areas need improvement or further development. Lastly, tracking post-training performance and productivity in tasks related to what has been taught through remote employee training helps establish employee goals and benchmarks, track progress, and subsequently identify measurable business results related to training initiatives.

Concluding thoughts

Despite the challenges and complexities of training remote employees, there are several benefits to offering remote employee training. Not only can it help you save on costs, but it also enables you to reach a larger, more geographically dispersed population of people. Utilizing effective remote training tools and techniques can motivate and engage your employees throughout their learning journey. Additionally, measuring success is essential for effectively evaluating your training program’s progress. By understanding the potential pitfalls and preparing for them, an organization can successfully offer effective remote employee training that allows its business to grow and scale with success.

Clearwater Analytics, a leading provider of SaaS-based investment management, accounting, reporting, and analytics solutions, today announced a new services partnership with BNP Paribas’ Securities Services business, a global multi-asset servicing specialist with EUR 11.1 trillion in assets under custody and EUR 2.3 trillion in assets under administration, to offer investment accounting and reporting solutions combined with the bank’s custodian services. Securities Services at BNP Paribas is a leading global custodian providing multi-asset post-trade and asset servicing solutions to buy-side and sell-side market participants, corporates, and issuers.

This collaboration combines Clearwater Analytics distinctive value proposition and end-to-end investment lifecycle solutions with BNP Paribas’ Securities Services business solutions and opens business opportunities with asset owners across the bank’s custody network of over 90 markets globally. Joint customer INTÉRIALE Mutual is already taking advantage of the combined offering.  

“This is an opportune moment for asset owners that struggle with difficult-to-use legacy systems to open the door to a modern best-of-breed solution that can achieve measurable business impact at speed and scale,” said Arnaud Claudon, Head of the Asset Managers and Asset Owners Client Lines, Securities Services at BNP Paribas. “We are delighted to offer robust and complete solutions dedicated to institutional clients through this collaboration with Clearwater, efficiently combining banking and non-banking services. It does strengthen our strategic ambition to complement our core offering with best-in-class specialised providers.”

Clearwater’s comprehensive solution for investment data management and reporting is ideally suited for insurance providers and organizations seeking a “single pane of glass” view to their investment portfolios in order to act on capital allocation data in seconds, and enable multi-asset-class, daily aggregation, reconciliation, and book-of-record reporting. Backed by a global client servicing team, Clearwater facilitates a streamlined onboarding process and fast account set-up for its growing client base in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

“We believe this joint collaboration with BNP Paribas is an ideal on-ramp for asset owners to act on growth opportunities across their investment portfolios,” said Gayatri Raman, President, Europe at Clearwater Analytics. “We invite asset owners to explore our powerful, game-changing solution that fully leverages our award-winning technology platform and BNP Paribas’ suite of custody activities. Together with BNP Paribas, we aim to extend this solution to our key core markets.”

UBS plans to acquire Credit Suisse. The combination is expected to create a business with more than USD 5 trillion in total invested assets and sustainable value opportunities. It will further strengthen UBS’s position as the leading Swiss-based global wealth manager with more than USD 3.4 trillion in invested assets on a combined basis, operating in the most attractive growth markets.

The transaction reinforces UBS’s position as the leading universal bank in Switzerland. The combined businesses will be a leading asset manager in Europe, with invested assets of more than USD 1.5 trillion.

UBS Chairman Colm Kelleher said: “This acquisition is attractive for UBS shareholders but, let us be clear, as far as Credit Suisse is concerned, this is an emergency rescue. We have structured a transaction which will preserve the value left in the business while limiting our downside exposure. Acquiring Credit Suisse’s capabilities in wealth, asset management and Swiss universal banking will augment UBS’s strategy of growing its capital-light businesses. The transaction will bring benefits to clients and create long-term sustainable value for our investors.”

UBS Chief Executive Officer Ralph Hamers said: “Bringing UBS and Credit Suisse together will build on UBS’s strengths and further enhance our ability to serve our clients globally and deepen our best-in-class capabilities. The combination supports our growth ambitions in the Americas and Asia while adding scale to our business in Europe, and we look forward to welcoming our new clients and colleagues across the world in the coming weeks.”

The discussions were initiated jointly by the Swiss Federal Department of Finance, FINMA and the Swiss National Bank and the acquisition has their full support.

Under the terms of the all-share transaction, Credit Suisse shareholders will receive 1 UBS share for every 22.48 Credit Suisse shares held, equivalent to CHF 0.76/share for a total consideration of CHF 3 billion. UBS benefits from CHF 25 billion of downside protection from the transaction to support marks, purchase price adjustments and restructuring costs, and additional 50% downside protection on non-core assets. Both banks have unrestricted access to the Swiss National Bank existing facilities, through which they can obtain liquidity from the SNB in accordance with the guidelines on monetary policy instruments.

The combination of the two businesses is expected to generate annual run-rate of cost reductions of more than USD 8 billion by 2027.

UBS Investment Bank will reinforce its global competitive position with institutional, corporate and wealth management clients through the acceleration of strategic goals in Global Banking while managing down the rest of Credit Suisse’s Investment Bank. The combined investment banking businesses accounts for approximately 25% of Group risk weighted assets.

UBS anticipates that the transaction is EPS accretive by 2027 and the bank remains capitalized well above its target of 13%.

Colm Kelleher will be Chairman and Ralph Hamers will be Group CEO of the combined entity.

The transaction is not subject to shareholder approval. UBS has obtained pre-agreement from FINMA, Swiss National Bank, Swiss Federal Department of Finance and other core regulators on the timely approval of the transaction.

Bank of England statement: "We welcome the comprehensive set of actions set out by the Swiss authorities today in order to support financial stability. We have been engaging closely with international counterparts throughout the preparations for today’s announcements and will continue to support their implementation. The UK banking system is well capitalised and funded, and remains safe and sound."

DECTA, a leading provider of end-to-end payment infrastructure, has ramped up its strategy for UK growth, appointing Scott Dawson as Head of Sales and Strategic Partnerships. The payments company offers services such as acquiring, BIN sponsorship & white label card issuing, a white label payment gateway, 3DS, point-of-sale (POS) terminals, and technical payment processing to a wide range of mid-low risk merchants, banks, and payment service providers (PSPs) across many sectors, including but not limited to eCommerce, hospitality, construction, ticketing, furniture and travel.

Dawson, an industry veteran of more than 20 years, will be tasked with further strengthening the UK’s business development, relationship management, marketing, and operations teams, as well as building on the success already achieved locally in the UK. Previously, he served as Commercial Director at Neopay, while he’s also held fraud management positions at PSI Holdings and Neteller, before becoming Senior Fraud Manager and then Business Development Manager at ClickandBuy, which was acquired by Deutsche Telekom.

Since his recent appointment, the UK HQ has seen tremendous growth, with its personnel expected to more than double by the end of this year – while its new, larger London premises will help facilitate its rapid expansion plans. As well as the team, DECTA will also seek to grow its regulated payment services – including acquiring & issuing – in the UK while continuing to provide technical solutions on a global scale. Having initially identified the opportunity in the UK before the global pandemic, the company is now well-positioned to accelerate its technology and expertise across the region.

Scott Dawson, Head of Sales and Strategic Partnerships at DECTA, commented: “I’m incredibly excited to have joined DECTA and be heading up the team that will grow our presence in the UK. Our product offering is broad, deep and flexible, which means we have everything required to succeed in the region. I believe we have a robust strategy for strong growth in 2023 and I’m looking forward to working with the team to execute it.”

He added: “The key to our success to date has been a laser focus on our technology. We consistently optimise our solutions to ensure our offering is always best in class and aligned with exciting new trends in fintech, such as open banking and embedded finance. As well as growing the business with our current products and services, we have been working on exciting new projects which we cannot wait to launch throughout this year.”

corfinancial^®, a leading provider of specialist software to the financial services sector, announces that New York-based investment manager Jennison Associates (Jennison) has implemented Salerio, their post-execution trade processing, matching, confirmation and settlement instruction management system. 

Salerio’s centralised trade processing management enabled Jennison to retire several inefficient and expensive-to-maintain legacy systems. This provided major gains in data accuracy and real-time management of executed trades earlier in the middle office trade management process.

Jason Minkler, Managing Director and Head of Operations at Jennison Associates, said: “Salerio provides exception management workflows across multiple asset classes via a centralised dashboard which has significantly improved our middle-office processes. We are now able to automate trade workflows and reduce operational risk. The software delivers the mission critical capabilities and governance needed to get ahead of issues.”

Minkler adds: “The Jennison team and corfinancial worked very well together, forming a strong partnership that gave us a solid knowledge base before going live with equities in December. Additional asset classes are scheduled to go live throughout 2023. Furthermore, Salerio supports Jennison’s global trading model, with corfinancial providing round-the-clock support.”

David Veal, Senior Executive – Client Solutions at corfinancial, said: “Our post-trade processing solution is intuitive, making it easy for clients like Jennison Associates to migrate away from legacy systems with confidence. Working in partnership with Jennison, we have enhanced Salerio, which will benefit firms preparing for T+1.”

Founded in 1969, Jennison Associates manages $164 billions of client assets (as of December 31, 2022) in a range of equity and fixed income investment strategies. Jennison’s investing approach is rooted in its fundamental research and security selection; all portfolios are built from the bottom-up, security by security, and its internal research underlies all investment decisions.

Tamara, a fintech startup based in Saudi Arabia, has secured a $150 million debt facility in its latest fundraising round.