In other news, regulator OCC has a FinTech office, Northern Trust updates a risk offering, and Saifr & Pinpoint collaborate.
Banks Use Broadridge DLR Platform
UBS and an unnamed Asian bank have “executed the first cross-border intraday repo transaction on Broadridge’s blockchain-enabled Distributed Ledger Repo (DLR) platform,” according to operations, systems, and services provider Broadridge Financial Solutions.
The intraday trade “marks the launch of the next phase in the rollout of Broadridge’s DLR platform … this is a major step forward to providing a more efficient means of intraday liquidity management,” according to Broadridge.
“Intraday repo is a valuable tool to manage our liquidity usage and provides flexibility in our funding capabilities with reduced operational risk,” says Beatriz Martin, group treasurer for UBS Group, in a prepared statement. “This accomplishment builds on the foundation we have established as an early adopter of the distributed ledger platform,” Martin adds.
“The global expansion of the platform across both sell-side and buy-side firms enables a network effect of increased benefits and additional transaction types. Broadridge is a leader in bringing the benefits of distributed ledger capabilities to transform the global repo market, capturing $1 trillion dollars in monthly volume,” according to Broadridge.
“This platform provides a utility where market participants can agree, execute, and settle repo transactions, providing flexible settlement cycles based on counterparts’ needs. The DLT Repo platform significantly increases settlement velocity and collateral mobility, thus making intraday possible. The platform also reduces the operating cost and risk of all repo activity, including well as overnight and term repos,” officials say.
U.S. Regulator OCC Creates FinTech Office
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has launched the Office of Financial Technology and appointed Prashant Bhardwaj to manage the office as deputy comptroller and chief financial technology officer, effective April 10, 2023, officials say.
“In October 2022, the OCC announced that it would expand upon its Office of Innovation and establish an Office of Financial Technology in early 2023 to bolster the agency’s expertise and ability to adapt to the rapid pace of technological changes in the banking industry,” according to the OCC.
Bhardwaj will oversee the “analysis, evaluation, and discussion of relevant trends in financial technology, emerging and potential risks, and the potential implications for OCC supervision,” according to the OCC.
“The Office will enhance the OCC’s expertise on matters regarding digital assets, fintech partnerships, and other changing technologies and business models within and that affect OCC-supervised banks,” OCC officials add.
Northern Trust Updates Market Risk Solution
Northern Trust reports that it has “enhanced its suite of ex-ante (forward-looking) risk analytics services through the release of its new Market Risk Monitor solution,” officials say.
The Market Risk Monitor service offers institutional investor clients such as pension funds “an extensive library of key risk indicators including stress tests, sensitivity shocks and value-at-risk measures, all available via RADAR, Northern Trust’s digital dashboard for investment analytics,” according to Northern Trust.
The indicators are for fund clients that need to monitor “the risk targets and limits of their external fund managers,” and for reporting “on their adherence to regulations and accounting standards,” officials say.
Northern Trust developed the Market Risk Monitor via a partnership with Confluence Technologies and its RiskAPI [application programming interface] offering. RiskAPI was then combined with a data management and processing layer, officials say.
“By integrating risk analytics into RADAR under a single ‘pane of glass’, we provide a simplified … way for them to exercise oversight using our analytical capabilities and global consultative expertise,” says Jeffrey Greaney, product lead for accounting, analytics and derivatives at Northern Trust, in a prepared statement.
“Our cloud-based RiskAPI solution fits with Northern Trust’s strategy of offering best-of-breed analytics components,” says Damian Handzy, managing director, Confluence Analytics, in a statement.
The analytical solutions that Northern Trust offers “include investment compliance monitoring, performance measurement, risk, ESG and private markets analysis – helping clients around the world gain greater insights into their investments for more informed decision-making,” officials add.
Saifr & Pinpoint Integrate Their A.I. Wares
Saifr, a regulatory technology provider supported by Fidelity Labs, has launched a strategic relationship with Pinpoint Global Communications that will let Pinpoint clients use Saifr’s artificial intelligence (A.I.) modules in their workflows, officials say.
The collaboration is intended to help clients “create compliant marketing communications more efficiently,” officials say.
“Saifr’s A.I. models will scrutinize content and flag potential regulatory risks before the materials are sent to compliance teams. Using A.I., clients can review written documents, audios, and videos, to help ensure compliance,” officials say.
“We worked closely with the Pinpoint team to integrate our AI modules into their robust workflow API, creating a more efficient compliance review process,” says Vall Herard, co-founder and CEO of Saifr, in a statement.
The integration with Saifr helps Pinpoint “access the A.I. tools they need to help create compliant content more efficiently,” says Bob Sullivan, president and CEO of Pinpoint, in a statement. “This gives Pinpoint a competitive advantage.”
Pinpoint offers on-demand, online training, and compliance solutions for financial services and health insurance companies.
Saifr applies A.I. to content creation, approval and filing processes “in order to make t
hem easier, faster, less expensive and more accurate,” according to Saifr.
Fidelity Labs is the internal software incubator and digital studio of Fidelity Investments, and was founded in 2005. “The Fidelity Labs organization has a portfolio of new businesses and is constantly prototyping concepts for Fidelity’s next new ventures,” officials say.
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