In other news, FXall & Saphyre collaborate, Mizuho International embraces SymphonyAI & BNPP AM creates a division.
NYDFS Redoubles Crypto Fraud Detection Efforts
The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has improved its cryptocurrency fraud detection of New York State-regulated entities via “new insider trading and market manipulation risk monitoring tools,” according to Adrienne A. Harris, superintendent for the NY DFS.
The new monitoring tools will help NY DFS detect potential exposure to listed virtual currency wallet addresses, officials say.
“These tools will help us combat financial crime and fraud, hold regulated entities accountable, and further strengthen our national leadership in virtual currency supervision,” says Harris in a prepared statement.
“DFS has been in close contact with New York State-regulated virtual currency entities in light of recent events in the virtual currency market space,” according to the department.
This latest effort “builds upon recently issued guidance regarding the use of blockchain analytics,” officials say. The department has also issued the “first-in-the-nation criteria for USD-backed stablecoins” and is moving to better protect customers caught in a virtual currency insolvency or similar proceeding. The department has also issued a guidance focused on “preventing market manipulation and other wrongful activity.”
“DFS continues to use all of its regulatory tools to keep pace with the industry, make data-driven policy decisions, and respond proactively to the virtual currency market,” officials add.
FXall & Saphyre Collaborate to Digitize Onboarding
Foreign exchange aggregator FXall and vendor Saphyre have announced an alliance to digitize account onboarding for FXall’s buy-side and sell-side clients that uses Saphyre’s digitization system based on artificial intelligence (A.I.) technology, officials say.
“The Saphyre technology is validated and live for a subset of clients of FXall, with plans for rollout to all FXall clients in 2023, as additional enhancements are made,” according to the announcement. FXall is a London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) company and Saphyre’s offerings help liquidity providers to systematically approve accounts.
“Asset owners, investment management firms, custodians and banks have been leveraging Saphyre’s technology since the summer of 2020 to digitize the workflow of opening accounts and maintaining them, making the process faster and more scalable,” according to the announcement.
“Asset owner and buy-side users will have a one-stop shop for sharing all their FX account data and documents with their respective liquidity providers and FXall,” officials say. “Similarly, sell sides will receive the same benefit and be able to provide statuses to the accounts’ KYC, tax, credit risk, legal, and ops setup activities. Real-time ready-to-trade statuses will be provided per FX account and provider.”
Jill Sigelbaum, head of strategic development and partnerships, FX, LSEG, says that FXall will the first FX trading platform to offer Saphyre’s digitized solution to buy-side and bank clients. “Embedding Saphyre’s technology into our account setup and approval process will greatly improve the overall onboarding experience and offer our user community time and cost efficiencies,” Sigelbaum says.
“FX front-office teams on the buy side and sell side benefit because liquidity providers can seamlessly execute and settle trades against new or updated funds without trade errors, regarding account setup or reference data changes,” says Gabino Roche, CEO and founder of Saphyre, in a prepared statement.
“Saphyre serves as a permissioned distributed technology of reference data. This means Saphyre’s clients have a one-stop shop to synchronize data between asset owners, investment managers, custodians, sell sides, executing and post-trade processing platforms,” Roche says.
Mizuho International Picks A.I.-Based Solution for AML
Mizuho International, the London-based securities and investment banking arm of Mizuho Financial Group, reports that it will be using a solution from SymphonyAI that uses artificial intelligence (A.I.) to detect financial criminal activity.
The offering, SymphonyAI Sensa, will help Mizuho International staff within its European capital markets division to conduct anti-money laundering (AML) surveillance of transactions, officials say.
The firm has a an AML transaction monitoring strategy that needs a “more refined rule detection and advanced A.I. solution to find real AML risk and reduce false positives and analyst review times by holistic scoring,” according to the announcement.
“We needed a solution that helps analysts, through user interfaces, to deliver all the information needed to expedite investigations,” says Dinesh Joshi Mizuho EMEA’s chief compliance officer, in a prepared statement. “SensaAML will make a significant difference in our long-held fight against money laundering.”
SymphonyAI Sensa offers “comprehensive scenario rules, combined with advanced machine learning models, including changes in behavior, risk similarities, anomaly detection, and hotspot identification,” according to SymphonyAI officials.
Mizuho International offers sales and trading in debt and equity securities, the underwriting of new issues, and M&A advisory services, officials say. Mizuho International has a branch in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
BNPP AM Creates Systematic Portfolio Management Division
Robinson Rouchié
BNP Paribas Asset Management (BNPP AM) reports that it has combined its Quantitative Portfolio Management and ETF teams into the Systematic and Quantitative Investment (SQI) portfolio management team and appointed Robinson Rouchié as chief investment officer for the new division.
Rouchié “has worked within the BNP Paribas Group for more than a decade, including roles within investment banking, wealth management and Exane, BNPP’s cash equities subsidiary,” according to BNPP AM officials.
The new division is intended to complement the firm’s fundamental portfolio management capabilities in equities, fixed income, and multi-asset trading, officials say.
SQI will become “a distinct center of excellence for systematic portfolio management. Within an environment of regulatory change, this initiative reflects BNPP AM’s growth ambition, focused on supporting clients with innovative portfolio solutions integrating both financial and extra financial criteria,” according to the firm.
Rouchié will report to Rob Gambi, global head of investments, and moves up from his post as chief of staff to Gambi as soon as his successor is appointed, officials say. Rouchié will remain a member of BNPP AM’s Investment Committee and will continue to be based in Paris.
In addition, BNPP AM officials have announced:
- Guy Davies, deputy head of investments at BNPP AM, “will assume leadership of BNPP AM’s multi assets and solutions teams (excluding quant and ETF) in March, in addition to his existing role as [chief investment officer] for Fundamental Active Equities,” officials say. Davies replaces Denis Panel, “who will be leaving BNPP AM in March to take up a leadership role elsewhere within the industry;” and
- Olivier de Larouzière “will become responsible for the investment teams within emerging markets affiliates … in acknowledgement of the predominance of fixed income strategies within BNPP AM’s emerging markets affiliates.” This new post will be in addition to his current role as chief investment officer of global fixed income.
Davies and de Larouzière will report to Gambi, officials add.
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