De-risking in trade finance: time to act
As financial authorities express concern about de-risking in correspondent banking, a similar phenomenon is emerging in trade finance, driven by the high costs of KYC compliance.
Regulation
BIAN unveils API-ready release to boost cloud banking ambitions
The Banking Industry Architecture Network (BIAN), a not-for-profit fintech industry body, has launched its latest release of its service landscape. Termed SL 6.0, the framework is designed to provide a “globally standardised and simplified” banking architecture structure, using a service-based architecture.
KYC Registry aligns with Wolfsberg DDQ
Swift is aligning its KYC Registry with the new Wolfsberg Due Diligence Questionnaire (DDQ) for correspondent banks. First issued in 2004, the DDQ was updated in response to regulatory pressure.
Securities markets: standing at the crossroads
Financial technology has the potential to radically transform the securities industry. The fast pace of change could lead to disintermediation, according to an Iosco study.
Daily News at Sibos 2017 – Day 2
Read our second Daily News at Sibos edition of the Sibos 2017 conference in Toronto – all the latest news and analysis from Swift’s premier event of the year. Free to read online or pick up a complimentary print copy if you are at Sibos!
Regtech to the rescue
Regulatory technology (regtech) is often cited as the answer to the rising cost of compliance, risk and reporting duties at banks. Will it help financial institutions escape IT silos and enhance control over data?
Talking heads: real-time payments – instant gratification
With myriad domestic instant and real-time payments systems being deployed internationally, is the next logical step cross-border, real-time payments? We asked some Sibos delegates what they think.
The race to meaningfully engage with customers is on
The disruptive threats that banks face today are well documented: fintechs, decentralised cryptocurrencies, distributed ledger technology and now the tech giants like Amazon, Facebook and Apple, to name a few. These players are all now placing themselves between retail banks and their customers, meaning that banks are not just competing with other banks anymore.
Cybersecurity: into the data breach
Cybersecurity has become a significant issue as attacks are increasing. In the new payments ecosystem, where third-party developers can directly interact with banks’ customers, data privacy and security become paramount, according to the World Payments Report 2017.
ECB Guide: assessments of fintech credit institution licence applications
The European Central Bank (ECB) has published a guide to assessments of fintech credit institution licence applications.
Infographic: Common Reporting Standard (CRS) – a year on
Financial institutions face unprecedented data management and compliance challenges as they continue to grapple with multiplying CRS and FATCA related global tax transparency regulations.
Venture into Accenture’s fintech innovation adventure centre
Fintech start-ups are being invited to apply to Accenture’s sixth FinTech Innovation Lab London, a three-month programme offering mentoring and the chance to accelerate business development. Accenture says this year’s lab has introduced a new stream to help regtech start-ups, because banks are “being compelled to open up their customer data and ensure this data […]
Baker Hill forges partnerships with Allied Solutions and Experian
With a pair of newly-announced deals, Baker Hill continues to deliver what company president and CEO John M. Deignan calls “the cutting-edge technology and comprehensive analytical intelligence our clients need to compete and win in today’s lending environment”. David Penn at Finovate (Banking Technology‘s sister company) reports that Baker Hill has partnered with Allied Solutions, which will refer […]
Peer Mountain aims high with data trust solution launch
Luxembourg-headquartered start-up Peer Mountain has unveiled a peer-to-peer self-sovereign identity, compliance and commerce delivery solution as it seeks to exploit the Equifax data breach episode. The firm says it gives users control of their data across blockchain. Consumers can choose who can access the data without the need for third party involvement. Peer Mountain says […]
PSD2 – the tip of an Open Banking API iceberg?
It’s been over a year since I first blogged on the subject of open banking and it is fair to say, mainly driven through the regulatory pressures of PSD2 and the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) led UK Open Banking initiative, that across Europe, much progress has been made in moving the banking industry to adopt APIs.
Innovate Finance contest calls for fintech start-ups
Innovate Finance, a UK-based fintech membership association, is seeking start-ups for its latest Pitch360 competition. The contest is open to any start-up in the following sectors: Distributed ledger technology (DLT) Financial inclusion Cybersecurity Cross-border payments Peer-to-peer and alternative funding Regtech Personal finance management and robo-advice Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning Sandboxes The winner will […]
Abu Dhabi wants eyes open wide via digital currency guide
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) has set out its approach to initial coin offerings (ICOs) and virtual currencies under the Financial Services and Markets Regulations (FSMR). It cites the usual stuff that distributed ledger technology (DLT) has “extraordinarily wide application to financial services and markets as a whole” […]
EC investigates Dutch and Polish banking groups over fintech access
The European Commission (EC) has confirmed its officials carried out unannounced inspections in “a few member states” concerning online access to bank account information by competing service providers. The EC doesn’t name the countries involved, but “according to people familiar with the matter” that spoke to the Financial Times, Poland and the Netherlands are among […]
DBS readies for IFRS 9 with Z-Risk Engine roll-out
Singapore-based DBS is deploying Aguais and Associates’ (AAA) Z-Risk Engine (ZRE) to generate future credit losses on the bank’s wholesale credit portfolio, as it complies with imminent IFRS 9 requirements. According to AAA, the new financial regulations, effective from 1 January 2018, call for banks and other lenders to deliver a regular, predictive point-in-time (PIT) […]
Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 6 October 2017
Blockchain funding, Pubcoin blockchain rewards programme, network and technology sharing and platform test launching. Our latest blockchain and Bitcoin round-up features Anryze, Leanpub, MicroMoney, Karma and Zilliqa.
MuniFin shows Acumen for Profile Software’s treasury platform
Helsinki-based credit institution Municipality Finance (Kuntarahoitus) has gone live on Profile Software’s Acumen treasury solution to manage and automate its operations. Acumen will be used to manage deal capture, pricing, middle office, reporting, collateral management, back office and risk management processes. Profile says Acumen can integrate with “numerous” systems and pricing platforms to import real […]
Central banking and fintech: a brave new world?
This is a moment to celebrate 20 years of independence during which the Bank of England has been a stabilising force for the UK economy, inspiring others in the world of central banking.
CFPB finalises small-dollar lending rule
After five years and more than a million comments on its proposed rulemaking, the CFPB has finalised its payday lending rules with the ability-to-repay test intact for many loan types.
Singapore and Thailand mull digital payments alliance
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Bank of Thailand are in discussions about connecting their national digital payment systems as officials step up efforts to curb the use of cash, according to Bloomberg. The link would bring together Southeast Asia’s first national digital payment platforms, Singapore’s PayNow and Thailand’s PromptPay, says Naphongthawat Phothikit, […]
Singapore sets Phase 2 to stun for blockchain inter-bank payments
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) say that the consortium which they are leading has developed software prototypes for improved payments on blockchain. The prototypes included three different models for decentralised inter-bank payments and settlements with liquidity savings mechanisms. The project, conducted together with 11 financial institutions […]
UK government continues quest to ruin reputation of encryption
The UK’s Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, is a woman on a mission, and that mission is to mutilate the reputation of platforms like WhatsApp in the pursuit of the destruction of end-to-end encryption, reports Telecoms.com (Banking Technology’s sister publication). It isn’t new. Rudd must have been wronged by an online troll at some point and […]
Saxo Bank Securities in Japan warms to Torstone’s Inferno for regulatory reporting
Japan-based Saxo Bank Securities has selected Torstone Technology’s Inferno to replace its legal ledger and comply with regulatory reporting requirements. It will initially use Inferno to improve its post-trade reporting processes and is looking to add additional features in future unspecified phases. Torstone says Inferno is a modular solution, giving organisations the “opportunity to incrementally […]
UK’s New Payment System Operator appoints board
Following the recent appointment of CEO Paul Horlock, the UK’s new payment system operator has named its first five board members.
E-book: Principles of data wrangling
Through the last decades of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first, data was largely a medium for bottom-line accounting: making sure that the books were balanced, the rules were followed, and the right numbers could be rolled up for executive decision-making. Attitudes toward data have changed radically in the past decade, as new people, […]
OCBC Bank, HSBC and MUFG in KYC blockchain breakthrough
OCBC Bank, HSBC and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), together with the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), has become the “first consortium” in South East Asia to complete a proof of concept for a know your customer (KYC) blockchain. The parties say the development “raises the possibility” of using blockchain to make KYC “more efficient […]
Hong Kong’s SFC unveils regtech sandbox
Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has launched its SFC Regulatory Sandbox to provide a place for firms to test out their ideas. Like other regulators, the SFC says: “For the sake of market integrity and better investor protection, the reliability of the delivery of such financial services as well as the firms’ internal […]
Hong Kong regulator’s no phoney for banking plans
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has unveiled a number of initiatives as it looks to improve the region’s use of payments, APIs and innovation. In a speech delivered during the Annual Banking Conference of the Hong Kong Institute of Bankers, Norman Chan, chief executive of the HKMA, outlined its grand ambitions. Chan says: “The […]
CFPB Financial Well-Being Report Underscores Industry Opportunity
More than 40 percent of U.S. adults struggle to make ends meet, according to new data from the CFPB. While not great news on its own, the findings could help financial services providers design products directed at improving financial well-being.
UK regulator unleashes new hub for sweet asset management
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is setting up an asset management authorisation hub to support start-ups entering the lively market. In a speech at the “FT Investment Management Summit Europe 2017”, Megan Butler, executive director of supervision – investment, wholesale and specialist, FCA, says the hub will help start-ups as they move between pre-authorisation […]
The four things that will make or break bank risk management
What will make or break bank risk management? Victoria Chatterton, strategic director of RiskMinds, gives the lowdown.
SunTec Xelerates its open banking ambitions
SunTec has unveiled its out-of-the-box open banking solution, offering preset configurations and definitions, through its Xelerate billing system. With the rise of open banking, SunTec wants to join the throng looking to prosper in a very competitive and crowded market. The firm says banks can use the layer to get business value from their APIs […]
What’s hot and what’s not in US fintech
Finovate (Banking Technology‘s sister company) teamed up with the Fintech Cocktail Club earlier this month to play another game of Fintech Tinder (otherwise known as hot or not), writes Julie Muhn. Here are the rules – we shouted out a list of 20 fintech trends and our cocktail-fuelled audience shouted their opinion on whether the […]
Fintech alliance round-up: 25 September 2017
Move closer, move your fintech body real close, until we feel like we’re really making innovation. Our latest super-friendly fintech alliance round-up features Switzerland and Hong Kong; Japan and Abu Dhabi Global Market; and the UAE loving itself. The State Secretariat for International Financial Matters (SIF) under the Swiss Federal Department of Finance and the […]
Deutsche Börse selects SmartStream RDU for regtech hub
Deutsche Börse Group has signed for the SmartStream Reference Data Utility (RDU), to use its managed service and tools for Deutsche Börse’s upcoming Regulatory Reporting Hub.
Fintech funding round-up: 22 September 2017
There was a round-up yesterday because fintech funding won’t go away. More action featuring Tuition.io, Apiax and Etch. Tuition.io, a US-based employer-funded student loan repayment assistance platform, has announced a $7 million Series B funding round led by Wildcat Venture Partners with participation from existing investors Mohr Davidow Ventures and MassMutual Ventures, the corporate venture […]
