In our FinTech news this week, Opus marries its Alacra platform to artificial intelligence while the SEC embraces Inline XBRL and Traiana finds harmony with Barclays and UBS.
Opus Signs Distribution Deal with OutsideIQ
Opus, a regulatory software as a service (SaaS) vendor, announced that its Alacra, know your customer (KYC), reference data management and onboarding platform, will have access to automated due diligence reports for compliance via a distribution partnership with OutsideIQ, an artificial intelligence software provider.
The agreement will make OutsideIQ’s DDIQ available on Alacra, effective immediately, say vendor officials. DDIQ can be used for AML, fraud investigations, third-party vendor screening, anti-bribery and anti-corruption compliance.
“DDIQ uses artificial intelligence to simulate the cognitive processes of a human researcher to generate risk profiles on individuals and companies that are otherwise time consuming and costly to discover manually,” according to a statement from Opus.
“The new partnership will allow the DDIQ due diligence reports to be available through Alacra-On-Demand,” according to Opus. “Later this year, DDIQ risk assessment reports will also be available through Alacra Compliance Enterprise (ACE) [a client onboarding solution].”
“Alacra customers consistently ask us to identify new sources of information to help evaluate and reduce risk,” says Steve Goldstein, vice chairman of Opus, in a statement. DDIQ “can be used as part of a firm’s workflow and for ad-hoc checks by banks, law and private equity firms, corporates, VCs, i.e. practically any organization that needs a fast and thorough risk assessment,” he adds.
SEC Blesses Voluntary Filing via Inline XBRL
The SEC will allow companies to voluntarily file structured financial statement data in a format known as Inline XBRL, officials say.
The SEC’s rules require “operating companies to structure financial statement data in their filings, including annual and quarterly reports, using eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL), which is a machine-readable format,” SEC officials say. “Companies currently are required to provide this XBRL structured data as an exhibit to these filings. Since these requirements were first adopted, technology has evolved and now enables filers to integrate XBRL structured data within their HTML filings through a format known as Inline XBRL.”
The commission issued an order under the Securities Exchange Act to allow companies to file structured financial statement data required in their annual and quarterly reports that is integrated within their HTML filings through March 2020.
The Inline XBRL format has the potential to provide a number of benefits to companies and users of the information, according to the SEC. The format could decrease filing preparation costs, improve the quality of structured data, and, by improving data quality, increase the use of XBRL data by investors and other market participants.
“The experience and feedback received from the use of this option could facilitate the development of Inline XBRL preparation and analysis tools, provide investors and companies with opportunities to evaluate its usefulness, and help inform any future commission rulemaking in this area,” the SEC adds. “The EDGAR system has been upgraded to facilitate the use of Inline XBRL. An updated EDGAR Filer Manual provides the technical requirements needed for filers to begin using Inline XBRL.”
Traiana Adds Barclays and UBS to Harmony CCP Connect
Traiana, a pre-trade risk and post-trade processing solutions vendor, has gone live with Barclays and UBS on its Harmony CCP Connect for Equities platform, officials say.
These new banks will add to the “netting benefits already seen by the market through automated central clearing of OTC equity trades,” officials say. “The addition of two new banks will lead to further cumulative benefits for the market as a result of increased volumes through the platform.”
Equity broker/dealers such as Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Instinet and JPMorgan, are “already using Harmony CCP Connect to automate the matching and central clearing of their OTC equity contract for difference (CFD) trades at their preferred clearing houses,” Traiana says.
“By netting trading activity, executing brokers and prime brokers benefit from reduced ticket volumes and a corresponding reduction in settlement costs and risks,” says Laura Craft, director of product strategy for equity and fixed income at Traiana, in a statement.
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