Rabobank has completed its largest-ever blockchain pilot, executing 19 real-time Euro Commercial Paper transactions using the technology.

The transactions, which are the first of their kind, involved financial institutions and regulators from across Europe and underlined how blockchain technology can be used to enhance borrowers and asset managers’ liquidity, as global investors contend with liquidity crunches and money market turbulence.

In total, Rabobank’s pilot executed more than €40 million in notional, one-week maturity Euro Commercial Papers in EUR and GBP in a fixed and floating format, from the Dutch State Treasury Agency and Rabobank Treasury in the Netherlands and Erste Bank in Austria to UK-based asset manager Northern Trust Asset Management.

The transactions were executed, distributed and settled in under 30 minutes, as opposed to the standard two business days, providing close to real-time liquidity to Northern Trust Asset Management for publicly issued and traded debt securities on both primary and secondary markets. The securities were issued out of the existing CP and CD funding programmes of participating borrowers with assigned individual XS-ISIN.

The trade economics and settlement instructions were confirmed and matched in real-time using a private-permissioned ledger-based platform built by Rabobank and integrated into operational flows and legacy front-to-back risk systems. The securities were instantly issued in and settled against fiat cash on Euroclear Bank’s infrastructure and harmonized with the issuing and paying agent on their infrastructure, and soon the electronic trading venue of Tradeweb. The transactions reduced the execution, issuance cost and time, improved operational efficiencies and contributed to real-time trade supervisory.

European regulators, including The Netherlands Authority for Financial Markets (AFM), also had dedicated access to the blockchain, which allowed them to trace and track the pilot transactions in real-time, highlighting the potential for the technology to support regulatory efforts across financial markets.

The transactions were the continuation of pilot transactions executed by Rabobank in 2021 with NN Investment Partners and PGGM. Rabobank is now working on building the ecosystem and network effect with key institutional players.

Youssef el Mir, Global Head of Trading at Rabobank, said: “We believe the digitisation of money markets can enhance liquidity and transparency at a critical time for the asset management industry. Our 2021 pilot was all about proof of concept. These latest transactions, and the solution we’ve worked collaboratively to deliver, prove that blockchain technology can be smoothly and seamlessly integrated in financial institutions’ legacy systems with the right approach.

“As the top global money market dealer, we can now offer the security and operational efficiency of fast delivery versus payment settlement to borrowers and fixed income asset managers, helping them to standardise and better manage cash flow and portfolio risk.”

Roland van der Vorst, Global Head of Wholesale & Rural Innovation at Rabobank, said: “Blockchain’s reputation as a technology with legitimate applications for global financial markets has undoubtedly been shaken by the turmoil surrounding cryptocurrencies. The scale and success of our pilot, delivered in partnership with some of the biggest financial institutions in Europe, will hopefully help to address misconceptions and show the revolutionary impact innovation in this space can truly have.”

Philippe Verriest, Head of Innovation, Research and Development at Euroclear, said: “We are delighted to have worked on this truly innovative project with our industry partners. The pilot successfully resulted in a large reduction in ECP instrument issuance and settlement processing times while also providing near-instantaneous liquidity to the issuer. Through our scalable infrastructure and network, we were able to jointly provide secure, real-time issuance and settlement of these instruments. In our role as a financial market infrastructure, we are here to support and collaborate with the market in the development of pioneering technologies that will drive real efficiencies.”

Dr Leonard Franken, Technology & Innovation at Autoriteit Financiële Markten (AFM), said: “These are exciting times, shared infrastructures as blockchain can bring great efficiency in the market and we are just at the beginning of exploring. Pilots like these bring a lot of knowledge and experience to all involved parties, also AFM, and feed the collective innovation capabilities”.

Temenos today announced that it has signed an agreement to grant license rights to NdcTech, a wholly owned subsidiary of Systems Limited and one of its largest regional system integrators partners, to develop further and market the Temenos Country Model Banks on top of Temenos open platform for financial institutions in these seven Middle Eastern countries.

NdcTech is committed to invest and develop regulatory and business-specific localized functionality to enhance these Model Banks for banks of all sizes in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

As part of this agreement, NdcTech will become a trusted partner for upgrade services in those countries to enable customers to seamlessly upgrade their technology stack and offer them a modernization path to a SaaS model on the Temenos Banking Cloud.

Temenos holds a leading position in the region and boasts a raft of clients across these seven countries including some of the largest and most innovative institutions in the Middle East from Al-Rajhi Bank, to First Abu Dhabi Bank to stc pay. All Temenos clients will be able to work with NdcTech and Temenos to enhance the Model Banks and contribute to the product roadmap.

Country Model Banks are a key differentiator for Temenos. By enabling partners to develop new country models, Temenos is able to scale this competitive advantage, rapidly building new model banks compatible with the banking services on Temenos composable platform and available for instant deployment on Temenos Banking Cloud.

NdcTech is one of the largest System Integrator and partner for Temenos in Middle East and Africa. The company’s rich engineering expertise, in-depth knowledge of modern banking platforms and unique development methodologies have led to this strategic collaboration.  Working together, NdcTech and Temenos will open up new business opportunities and drive revenue growth among existing clients through cross-selling by incorporating regulatory requirements and innovations relevant to local market practices.

William Moroney, Managing Director, Middle East and Africa at Temenos, said: “We are excited to announce this agreement with NdcTech, which expands our addressable market and opens new opportunities for growth in these seven countries in the Middle East.  NdcTech will invest in the Country Model Banks to accelerate our competitiveness in the region by delivering local IP such as market-specific products. With these partnerships, we bring additional investment in our platform and scale in specific countries which ultimately delivers incremental growth.”

Ammara Masood, CEO, NdcTech said: "We are delighted to be granted this license by Temenos to develop Country Model Banks in Pakistan and in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. This milestone is a testament to our capabilities as a long-standing partner of Temenos. Our deep knowledge of global market practices and regulations coupled with expertise in modern architectures has enabled us to be the trusted partner for the region’s pioneering banks. This region is full of potential, and now we are not only driven but also equipped to extend our footprint by collaborating with leading banks in this space.”

ING today announced some changes to the Management Board Banking. In line with our strategic priorities and in order to further simplify our management structure, we will combine the roles of head of Retail Banking, Challengers & Growth Markets and Market Leaders. Pinar Abay, currently head of Market Leaders, will be appointed to the role effective 15 May 2023 (subject to regulatory approval). She will continue to be responsible for our businesses in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg and will expand her role to Australia, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, Spain, and Turkey.

Aris Bogdaneris, currently head of Retail Banking and Challengers & Growth Markets will step down from the Management Board Banking as of 15 May 2023 and will leave ING per 1 August 2023 to pursue other opportunities.

Separately, Ron van Kemenade, currently chief technology officer of ING, will step down from the Management Board Banking effective 30 April 2023. In June 2023 he will join Lloyds Banking Group as Group Chief Operating Officer (subject to regulatory approval). The process of identifying a successor for Ron has started. Any announcements will be made in due course.

Steven van Rijswijk, CEO of ING said: “Giving customers a superior experience is at the core of ING’s strategy. Bringing together the leadership roles of all our Retail Banking markets is a logical next step to further improve the consistency, scalability and efficiency to the products and services we offer. As Pinar, Aris and their teams have already been working closely together over the past years, I am confident we can build upon the work done so far, making a real difference for our customers who expect their banking experience to be personal, easy, relevant and instant.”

“I want to thank Aris for his tireless contributions over the last 7.5 years, having thoroughly reshaped ING’s retail offering and network, adding millions of primary customers, and developing a far more substantial fee business, while solidly maintaining our position as the leading mobile-led bank in many markets. We wish him well in his further endeavours. I’d also like to thank Ron who, for over a decade, played a pivotal role in creating the strong Tech foundation that enables us to offer a superior digital experience to our customers. Scalable Tech and ops are absolutely essential to make a difference for our customers, which we underscored by naming Ron our first CTO at the board level. I want to wish him well in his new position.”

Aris Bogdaneris said: “I’m extremely proud of leaving our Retail Banking business and Challengers & Growth units in a great position, with strong customer growth over the past years, a much more focused footprint, improved revenue generating capabilities and a substantially improved digital and Business Banking offering. It’s the right time for the next generation of leadership and Pinar is the ideal person to take Retail Banking and drive the next phase of its development. I want to personally thank Steven and the many great people I worked with at ING on what has been a great ride.”

Pinar Abay said: “I very much look forward to further grow our retail banking franchise with more than 37 million customers around the world, with our distinctive brand, superior customer experience and leading digital technology. I also want to take this opportunity to thank to Aris for the very strong foundation he has built including a very diverse and talented organization across the globe.”

Ron van Kemenade said: “It will be hard for me to leave the orange family after almost twenty years. At the same time, I’m excited to take up a new opportunity, gaining a new perspective. I will always cherish the years I spent at ING, everything I’ve learnt, the experience I’ve gained and most of all the great people I’ve worked with.”

Pinar Abay was appointed as a member of the Management Board Banking and head of Market Leaders effective 1 January 2020. She joined ING in 2011 as the country manager of ING in Turkey. Before that Pinar was a partner at McKinsey & Company.

Aris Bogdaneris was appointed head of Challengers & Growth Markets and a member of the Management Board Banking as of 1 June 2015 and as head of Retail Banking effective 1 May 2021. Before joining ING, he served at board level at various international financial institutions in Europe and North America with responsibilities for retail banking, operations, and IT.

Ron van Kemenade was appointed chief technology officer and member of the Management Board Banking effective 1 May 2021. Since joining ING in 2003, he held various positions with responsibility for IT, channels, payment services, product and programme management. Before joining ING, Ron worked at telecom provider KPN, lastly as director Consumer Internet and Media Services.

Opensee, the leading platform allowing business users at financial institutions to analyse the most granular data in real-time, has raised 11 million euros in a Series A  funding round led by Omnes Capital, with the participation of Laurion Capital and Societe Generale  Ventures. 

Today, financial institutions are storing unprecedented volumes of data as new regulations have introduced reporting that has multiplied the underlying data requirements 10-fold or more. Legacy data architecture at most institutions is unable to support real-time analytics or allow business units to realise the full potential of the data they store.  

Opensee addresses the data stack challenge facing financial institutions through a single, scalable platform able to absorb the exponential growth in collected data and make 100% of the data accessible in real-time, to the most granular level and with no limit on the size of the data set.  

The platform allows business users to manipulate data for simple or complex calculations with embedded analytics for a wide range of use cases, ranging from risk management and regulatory reporting to trading decisions and ESG analysis. It removes the need for additional computing tools and significantly reduces operational risk. Low code analytics enable Front Office, Risk and Finance managers to harness data for more informed decision-making, to identify opportunities to gain a  competitive advantage or to respond better to client needs.  

Tier 1 banks currently use the Opensee platform for analysis and the production chain of regulatory reporting in capital markets, liquidity and capital reporting by finance departments. Asset managers,  hedge funds and brokers use it for analysing and enhancing trade execution. To democratise access to data at scale, Opensee has gone live in offering a public Cloud hosted platform with turnkey solutions, building on the initial deployment of its platform on-premise or on clients’ Private Clouds.  

The Series A funding will support Opensee’s innovative product roadmap, the development of advanced AI analytics to support automated data quality controls and certification as well as multiple turnkey solutions delivered as a fully managed Cloud SaaS. Opensee will also add to its 70+ team of experts in data and financial markets while expanding its international footprint in North America and  SE Asia to drive sales and implement a follow-the-sun support network for its clients. 

Stephane Rio, Founder and CEO of Opensee, said: “Our goal is to enable more financial institutions to leverage the valuable business and risk intelligence hidden within their data. We are making our platform and solutions more widely available through our new fully managed Cloud SaaS offering. This  funding round has brought us a complementary group of international investors who shares our  vision and whose support will be invaluable in the next stage in our growth journey.”

François-Xavier Dedde, Director at Omnes Capital’s Venture team, who will be joining Opensee’s  Board, said: “With outdated data stacks and increased regulatory pressures, financial institutions have a hard time coping with an ever-increasing mix of cost and complexity. Opensee’s solutions are a clear  answer to these challenges.”  

Emmanuel Naim from Laurion Capital Management, another new member of Opensee’s Board, said:  “Recent market conditions have highlighted how the understanding of any metric is more important than the calculation itself. We’re delighted to be supporting the company in its development and US  expansion.”  

Didier Lallemand, Managing Director of Societe Generale Ventures, said: “The technology, expertise  and client-facing approach that Opensee offers combined with the feedback of our internal  stakeholders after the implementation of the cutting-edge solution, give us great confidence to  support the company in its growth trajectory.” 

Paul Taylor, CEO, Thought Machine, says: “Partnering with Bpifrance is a significant moment for the business. Running on Vault Core, Bpifrance is modernising how financial services are delivered to businesses of all sizes. We share Bpifrance’s vision in delivering next-generation, modern financial services, and are excited about the bank’s ambitions to scale over the coming years.”

Arnaud Caudoux, Deputy CEO at Bpifrance in charge of Finance, Risks, Information Systems and Guarantee, says: “Bpifrance wants to build on its network, experience and mission to offer French companies the best financing and support, both online and with business managers. With Thought Machine, we have chosen a cloud-native core banking system, operating entirely in event-driven logic and in real-time, perfectly aligned with our architectural choices and allowing us to achieve our ambitions.”

Bling Europe, a pocket money card and financial education app for children has secured €3.5 million in seed funding just six months after launch.

Bling founder Nils Feigenwinter says the firm has issued more than 10,000 Bling cards to children since its launch in the summer. Bling developed the initial product with support from SocGen-owned BaaS player Treezor.

“It’s a challenging time to build a consumer fintech, but we just delivered viral growth and monetized from day 0,” says Feigenwinter, “Our numbers speak for themselves”.

Coined the “Fintech Wunderkind” by German media, Feigenwinter was a former Kids TV host who went on to found three companies in his teens, including Switzerland's largest student magazine, a family merchandise and licensing house, as well as a consultancy agency specialized in young adult topics.

Investors in the round include Peak and La Famiglia, with support from the founders of Amorelie, Orderbird and IDnow. Other participants include former ING-Diba CEO Ben Tellings, family influencer Carmen Kroll, Angel Invest, IBB Ventures and Prediction Capital.

Feigenwinter says Bling is aiming to capture a multibillion-euro market with an expanded range of savings and money management products to suit family finances.

“For decades, families have been neglected as a target group," he says. "We are changing that. Our products are centred around family development. And with our new savings plan, beginning at birth and extending into teenhood, we prepare to push this strategy further.”

CoreChain Technologies, the first B2B payments network built on blockchain, today announced that it has partnered with Odoo, a leader in open-source all-in-one business software, to provide embedded B2B payments and financing for Odoo’s ecosystem of eight million users.

The award-winning CoreChain platform is a white-label solution that allows any company, ERP, bank, or payment network, to utilize embedded B2B payments. CoreChain’s distributed ledger technology provides a tamper-proof record for every buyer-supplier transaction and an immutable source of truth for transactions with perfect visibility to both parties.

CoreChain’s payments solution also unlocks opportunities to finance accounts receivable held in unpaid invoices that age toward settlement due dates, frequently 30 to 120 days in arrears. This enables small businesses to improve cash flow. Instead of relying on a traditional bank loan, suppliers can align with their customers to tap into new lines of credit.

“There’s a growing buzz around embedded payments,” said Briand Kitchens, Partner Advisor at Odoo. “However, while many B2C businesses have successfully embedded payments into their online and mobile offerings to increase revenues, boost customer loyalty and gain deeper customer insights, there’s been a void for those seeking better B2B solutions. CoreChain is that solution, offered as a white label service and built using blockchain to facilitate secure and efficient B2B payments. CoreChain’s embedded payments technology will bring tremendous value to the Odoo community.”

With 3,850 partners and 90,000 community members working with its software, Odoo has built a strong global ecosystem. The Company also has one of the biggest business app stores in the world, with more than 30,000 apps, and operates international offices in Belgium, Luxembourg, USA, India, Mexico, Hong Kong, and Dubai.

“As one of the most popular business management software solutions in the world, Odoo sits at the nexus of millions of B2B transactions - including both payments and lending - and now in partnership with CoreChain, can offer a new source of value and revenue across its ecosystem,” said Chris Aguas, Co-Founder and CEO of CoreChain. “It’s always exciting to see the democratization of B2B financial transactions in action.”

The FCA is beginning to “flex its muscles” with notices issued to firms needing more data on vulnerability - a Consumer Duty expert has warned.

The regulator has started to use its Section 165 powers to issue notices to firms, requesting more data to meet the vulnerability monitoring requirements of Consumer Duty. 

Ahead of implementation in July next year, firms have a responsibility to understand how Consumer Duty is being implemented across the value chain. Manufacturers have until April 2023 to inform intermediaries of how they are going to implement Consumer Duty and understanding and communicating vulnerability is a key part of this.

The regulatory action follows a huge variation in the proportions of consumers being identified as vulnerable. Andrew Gething, Consumer Duty expert and managing director of MorganAsh argues this is most likely due to the way vulnerability is measured, rather than radically different cohorts of consumers.

Andrew comments: “The key issue is there are still firms who are only reporting the proportion of vulnerable customers in single figures. The reality is they are just not assessing their customers or recording their vulnerability in any sort of consistent manner. It, therefore, comes as no surprise to see the FCA flexing its muscles and issuing notices in preparation for July.”

A good approach for firms is to compare the proportions and severity of vulnerable customers against the FCA Financial Lives survey.  While each firm will be different, the data is based on 13,000 consumers and provides both a clear benchmark and a good place to start.

MorganAsh has been supporting firms across the financial services sector in their preparations for Consumer Duty. Earlier in the year, MorganAsh launched MARS – the MorganAsh Resilience System, a new online tool that provides brokers and advisers with a consistent and objective approach to managing and monitoring vulnerability.

Andrew adds: “A simple measure is to understand the proportions of vulnerable consumers being identified. Using the MorganAsh MARS tool, customers are reporting the proportion of vulnerable customers around the 50 per cent mark, in line with the FCA’s Financial Lives Survey. Although there is variation by age and between each firm.

“We are seeing results slightly higher than the FCA Financial Lives Survey, but this is probably due to the cohorts of customers we are starting with, where there are proportionally more vulnerable. Nonetheless, the data shows a clear disparity in vulnerability assessments. It should all serve as a reminder to firms that a consistent approach to vulnerability assessments is necessary to produce the required data for both the regulator and for Consumer Duty.”