In other news, FINOS releases cloud controls, Northern Trust raises $700K for charity, and Derivative Path fills key posts.
MSIM to White Label BNY’s LiquidityDirect
Custodian BNY Mellon reports that Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) is the first white-label client of BNY’s LiquidityDirect, a liquidity management solution that combines technology, connectivity, and client service, officials say.
Financial services firms can offer short-term investments by using LiquidityDirect’s technology and services “through a single sign-on for their clients,” officials say.
The collaboration brings together BNY Mellon’s platform and MSIM’s global client base “for delivering efficient cash management solutions to clients,” officials say.
“The strategic collaboration between BNY Mellon and Morgan Stanley Investment Management is designed to deliver a highly differentiated combination of technology, seamless connectivity, and dedicated client service to treasury groups globally,” says Fred McMullen, co-head of global liquidity at MSIM, in a prepared statement. “This will allow us to increase the depth of our platform technology solutions and widen the reach of our offering to our client base.”
“LiquidityDirect supports almost $15 trillion in annual transaction flow for more than 6,000 of the world’s largest institutional investors,” officials say.
“In launching our White Labeling offering, we are broadening access to the LiquidityDirect platform for financial institutions, enabling them to create an end-to-end, holistic user experience for their clients,” says George Maganas, head of global liquidity services at BNY Mellon in a statement.
MSIM Global Liquidity Solutions has more than $353 billion in assets under management (AUM) and offers cash management solutions and other resources to clients, officials say.
“As part of these capabilities, the team partners with treasury groups to help automate their cash management function, in addition to providing an efficient way to invest in money market funds through MSIM’s money market investment portal,” according to MSIM. “Beginning in 2016, Morgan Stanley has partnered with leading technology providers and custodians to help address client’s portal needs.”
FINOS Open Sources Common Cloud Controls
The Fintech Open Source Foundation (FINOS), an open source technology proponent for financial services is open-sourcing FINOS Common Cloud Controls (FINOS CCC), a set of open standards for consistent controls for compliant cloud deployments in the financial services sector, officials say.
FINOS CCC “is now open-sourced through FINOS under the Community Specification License. Built upon the approach developed by FINOS Platinum member Citi and following the formation phase which started in July, FINOS CCC is officially open for participation and contribution at github.com/finos/common-cloud-controls, officials say. FINOS CCC addresses cybersecurity, compliance, and cloud concentration risks in financial services.
The open standard launch follows “industry-wide support” that includes more than 100 participants from 20-plus firms during the formation phase, officials say.
“FINOS Common Cloud Controls creates a unified set of cybersecurity, resiliency, and compliance controls for common services across the major cloud service providers (CSPs). In developing a unified taxonomy of common services and associated threats, the project also sets out to alleviate the systemic risk of cloud concentration within the financial services industry,” officials say. “The launch of FINOS CCC was announced during a panel at Money 20/20, featuring speakers from FINOS, Google Cloud, Goldman Sachs, and BMO.”
The three-month formation phase included FINOS members, cloud service providers, technology vendors, industry associations, and regulatory bodies.
“The financial services industry pace of cloud adoption has been drastically accelerating for some time now, yet there has been no truly open standardization in the risk mitigation approach when it comes to cybersecurity concerns, cloud vendor lock-in, and response to regulatory inquiries, until now,” says Gabriele Columbro, executive director of FINOS and general manager of Linux Foundation Europe.
“I am incredibly excited this project has already attracted some of the most relevant names in the industry, under openly governed workstreams that bring together financial institutions, cloud service providers, and technology vendors to address systemic issues with cloud security and concentration. This goes to show these issues are very much top of mind in the industry’s C-Suite, and regulators alike, as we saw the White House put out an RFI on harmonizing cybersecurity controls just weeks after FINOS CCC’s launch,” Columbro says.
“FINOS Common Cloud Controls will be prominently showcased at FINOS’s annual event, the Open Source in Finance Forum (OSFF) in New York on November 1, 2023. The event features leaders from many of the world’s largest financial organizations, regulatory bodies, technology providers, and more,” officials say.
“The importance of establishing open standards for cloud deployment in financial services cannot be understated,” says Phil Venables, chief information security officer at Google Cloud. “The FINOS CCC project is an essential component of this, and Google Cloud is proud to be a part of it as we continue to drive a more compliant public cloud ecosystem.”
FINOS is an independent nonprofit organization and part of the Linux Foundation.
Northern Trust Raises $700K via Second Charity Trading Day
Custodian Northern Trust reports that it has held its second Charity Trading Day and will donate $700,000 to the Global Red Cross and Red Crescent Network, Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC), War Child, and World Central Kitchen, officials say.
“In the coming year, Northern Trust employees and clients will also donate thousands of volunteering hours in support of a number of the charities’ projects across the globe. The global effort, led by Northern Trust Asset Servicing, aligns with the company’s long-term community investment strategy to support those who have been marginalized with more opportunities to achieve long-term financial success,” according to the announcement.
“Our first Charity Trading Day in 2022 benefited global housing non-profit Habitat for Humanity International, with our employees donating many volunteering hours as well,” says Pete Cherecwich, president of Northern Trust Asset Servicing, in a prepared statement. “This year, we are delighted to make an even broader impact in our communities by supporting charities that collectively align with all four pillars of Northern Trust’s philanthropic focus: accessible healthcare, affordable housing, educational excellence, and food security.”
The Charity Trading Day “involved hundreds of Asset Servicing employees, from trading and operations, through to client servicing and compliance and followed the sun across capital markets trading desks starting in Sydney and on to Singapore, London, and Chicago,” officials say.
“The exceptional support of our clients and trading partners has been invaluable in helping us spread awareness for these deserving causes,” said Guy Gibson, global head of Northern Trust Capital Markets, Banking & Treasury Services. “We are also grateful to our employees who volunteered during the month of Achieving Greater Together in further support of their missions.”
Northern Trust Capital Markets provides brokerage, foreign exchange, securities finance, and transition management services. It is a division of Northern Trust Asset Servicing, which offers asset servicing, fund administration, and middle office solutions to institutional asset managers and asset owners around the globe, officials say.
Derivative Path Appoints Chief of Product & Chief Innovation Officer
Kristin Kelly
Derivative Path, a provider of capital markets technology and derivatives services, has named fintech product specialist, Kristin Kelly as its chief product officer (CPO) to run the company’s product development strategy.
The company has also appointed its cofounder Frank Purnell to be its inaugural chief innovation officer, effective immediately, officials say.
Kelly “brings two decades of experience leading product development and strategy at high-growth trading and investment technology companies, most recently as head of product at Allvue and previously as regional head of product management at Fidessa Corporation (acquired by ION Group in 2018),” officials say.
“In her new position as CPO at Derivative Path, Kristin will steer the company’s product team, guiding the organization’s expansive product portfolio and roadmap. Her primary focus will be on aligning the design and product teams with Derivative Path’s quickly expanding business, ensuring seamless scaling to meet the company’s rapid growth,” officials say.
Purnell “will play a central role in guiding Derivative Path’s technology stack toward its cutting-edge NextGen platform,” officials say.
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