This Week: Danske Bank/Netdania, Tradeweb/BlackRock, TMX, and more

Danske Bank updates FX data visualization with United Fintech’s Netdania

The largest Danish lender and foreign exchange market-maker, Danske Bank, announced that Danske FX, an application within District, the bank’s platform for small to medium-sized corporations and funds, has integrated data visualization and charting from United Fintech’s Netdania. 

Danske Bank, like others financial organizations, is undertaking a digital transformation. Jakob Nordentoft Beck Thomsen, global head of FX and transaction banking sales, says data, and how it’s presented, has been a key focus. 

“From a bank perspective, we are very much looking into presenting data in a more intuitive way,” Thomsen says. Danske FX caters to small and medium-sized companies looking to hedge either expected income or expenditure in a foreign currency, or to assess spot rates. The company recently replaced its old FX application, which did not include charting functionalities, with Danske FX. 

The process of revamping Danske FX played into the bank’s buy-versus-build agenda. While Danske built the trading application itself to ensure it integrated well into the District platform, partnering with Netdania for data visualization was deemed a better use of resources.

“We are a bank, but we are also probably one of the largest IT developers in Denmark when you look at the number of IT people we have. We are very much focusing, though, on what it is we are good at, and what we are not so good at,” he says. “We can allow other companies to do the things they can do better than us. Charting was not a core competency of ours, so it was better to outsource that.” 

As for the choice to go with Netdania, Thomsen says simplicity was key for this specific customer segment. Originally, data visualization did not seem necessary for small and medium-sized companies, but increasingly, it’s a frequent request made by the bank’s smaller clients, he notes.

“Netdania has provided a tool that is intuitive, easy to understand, and in a well-defined design, which fits our needs and our CVI.” Within the application, clients can see, for example, how their dollar has fared over the last few months, how it is faring now, or how it has performed historically over a given period. Thomsen says that conversations with customers demonstrated that charting is an important aspect in appreciating risk, no matter a firm’s size.

Danske Bank is exploring more ways to integrate partners into the District platform. The goal is that District will become more of a complete ecosystem for customers through integrating third-party vendors whose tech products could be distributed via the platform. 

Thomsen says that as the bank continues to digitalize, it has prioritised enhancing data, driving scale, and increasing self-directedness among clients. “One thing is to build it, right? Another is to maintain it. That’s often what we look at: what is the cost of running these things? Just as any other place at the moment, our resources are scarce. We need to ensure that we allocate them correctly.” 

TMX Group to acquire VettaFi

Canadian exchange and financial services group TMX Group will acquire around 78% of the remaining common units of VettaFi Holdings, a US-based indexing, digital distribution, and analytics company, for $848 million. To date, TMX has paid about $1.03 billion for ownership of VettaFi, including strategic investments made over the first half of 2023.

The acquisition of VettaFi offers global indices, ETF trends and analytics, an international ETF database, and digital distribution to TMX. John McKenzie and Jay Rajarathinam, CEO and COO of TMX Group, currently sit on the VettaFi Board of Directors.

Tradeweb expands integration with BlackRock’s Aladdin

Electronic marketplace operator Tradeweb has entered the next phase of its platform integration with BlackRock’s Aladdin order execution management system (OEMS). The integration aims to give Aladdin users trading US and European credit access to enhanced liquidity via Tradeweb AllTrade, Tradeweb’s anonymous liquidity network.

Aladdin users trading via AllTrade will now have access to new liquidity pools and market sectors, including Rematch, which gives access to unmatched risk from Tradeweb’s Dealer Sweep; Tradeweb Direct, the firm’s retail platform for live executable credit streams, and Tradeweb’s AllTrade network.

Tradeweb and BlackRock plan to expand on the partnership with additional phases and features such as direct access to Tradeweb’s RFQ and automated intelligent execution (AiEX) protocols.

Eurex taps FIA Tech for Foreign Security Futures data service

FIA Tech, a futures industry technology provider, has partnered with derivatives exchange Eurex. Eurex will use FIA Tech’s Foreign Security Futures (FSF) data service to evaluate FSF eligibilities and join the FIA Tech Databank Network. 

Foreign Security Futures, started by FIA Tech in 2021, helps firms and investors navigate regulations governing the trading of non-US index derivatives. 

The joint SEC/CFTC jurisdiction over non-US index futures classifies indices as “narrow based” or “broad based” and determines whether products can be traded by US clients. To maintain compliance, clearing firms, buy-side firms, and exchanges must continuously monitor the regulatory classification of index futures. Over the past few years, index futures have been reclassified often, sometimes requiring US clients to offload positions and cease trading certain products.

DTCC set to close acquisition of blockchain-based firm Securrency

The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation, a market infrastructure for the finance industry, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Securrency, a developer of institutional-grade, digital asset infrastructure. The acquisition, expected to close in the coming weeks, will position DTCC to advance digital technology and encourage acceptance and adoption of digital assets.

Securrency will become a fully owned subsidiary of DTCC and will operate under the name of DTCC Digital Assets. Nadine Chakar, CEO of Securrency, will join DTCC as managing director and global head of DTCC digital assets.

IBM, Dun & Bradstreet partner on enterprise AI solutions

Dun & Bradstreet, a business decisioning data and analytics provider, and IBM will use Dun & Bradstreet’s Data Cloud and IBM’s Watsonx to help organizations expand their use of generative AI. 

The goal of the partnership is to develop offerings that drive generative AI adoption within clients’ current workflows. Each offering will use Watsonx, IBM’s AI and data platform, and Dun & Bradstreet’s Data Cloud, which contains over half a billion private and public companies and identity resolution data (including the D-U-N-S Number).

Waverton taps Northern Trust for integrated trading solutions

Waverton Investment Management has selected Northern Trust’s integrated trading solutions outsourced trading desk. Waverton, based in the UK, is an independent investment manager providing services for private and professional clients with $11.6 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2022. 

Northern Trust’s technology supports equities, derivatives and fixed-income trading and is Waverton’s only trading services provider.

 “Outsourcing our trading to Northern Trust provides Waverton with access to global markets, high-quality liquidity and operational scale,” says Michael Allen, COO at Waverton. “In addition to both organizations’ strong service ethos and cultural fit, we are confident this combination delivers the service and operational resilience we require to support our growth aspirations.”

Murex expands model validation offering with S&P Global

Murex, a trading, risk management and processing solutions provider for capital markets, has expanded its connectivity with S&P Global Market Intelligence to cover model validation and allow sourcing of market data into its MX.3 platform.

Murex will use S&P Global Market Intelligence to monitor the validation of front-office pricing and risk models used within MX.3. It spans inputs, conceptual soundness, ongoing monitoring, outcome analysis and use, including initial validations, periodic re-validations and continuous monitoring for several asset classes.

Murex has also developed connectivity between MX.3 and S&P Global Market Intelligence derivatives data, including equity, FX, interest rates, credit, and inflation. 

Sucden Financial expands risk technology partnership with Nasdaq

Sucden Financial, a multi-asset execution, clearing, and liquidity provider, and Nasdaq have extended their risk technology partnership. 

Sucden Financial uses Nasdaq’s risk platform for proprietary and client trading portfolios. The platform includes a live view of risk, detailed analytics, and live derivative pricing. 

The agreement will integrate several additional safeguards and controls into the system while expanding the platform’s coverage across new exchanges in Europe, North America, and Asia.

Trading Technologies launches new business lines business after acquisitions

Trading Technologies International, a capital markets technology platform provider, has launched TT Compliance and TT Quantitative Trading Solutions to support growth into new asset classes. 

The solutions build on its past trade surveillance and algorithmic/quantitative trading solutions and recent acquisitions—Abel Noser Solutions, a transaction cost analysis provider, in August 2023 and RCM-X, an algorithmic execution strategies and quantitative trading products provider, in March 2022.

TT Compliance will use TT Score trade surveillance, originally built for exchange-traded derivatives, and Abel Noser’s Compliance+ solution largely used for US equities. TT is also working with KRM22, a risk management specialist, on a multi-asset class surveillance platform for Compliance+ and TT Score for Q2 2024.

Since the acquisition of RCM-X, the firm has grown its quantitative trading solutions, including last year’s introduction of TT Premium Order Types, a collection of algorithmic execution strategies based on RCM-X technology. TT QTS will include a broader multi-asset algorithmic trading offering, including not only TT Premium Order Types and TT Strategy Studio but also new quantitative solutions for fixed-income trading, beginning with US Treasuries.

TT’s forthcoming acquisition of Start, a broker-neutral trade optimization platform from Abel Noser, is expected to close early 2024 and will also be integrated into TT QTS.

TMF Group adopts Broadridge’s sentry loan administration platform

TMF Group, a compliance and administration service provider, selected Broadridge Financial Solutions’ Sentry PM, a cloud-based private debt and collateralised loan obligation (CLO) portfolio management solution, to enhance its private debt and CLO service capabilities.

TMF Group will launch a CLO administration service using Broadridge’s technology, scheduled for 2024. 

Broadridge’s Sentry solution tries to bring accuracy and transparency to the private lending process. Sentry is a web-based solution that captures and calculates the borrower’s KPIs, monitors the pipeline, aids in credit selection, and creates reusable covenant rules. Sentry also helps monitor compliance and reconcile and aggregate data.

BNY Mellon adds start-up Impak Analytics to its Ascent Program

Impak Analytics, a tech provider using artificial intelligence and human expertise for impact assessment, has joined BNY Mellon’s Ascent Program. Bank of New York Mellon will validate Impak Analytics’ impact data and analysis with opportunities in the financial services sector, beginning with the trade finance. 

Impak Analytics uses AI to compile and develop science-based taxonomies, tools, and libraries. These proprietary resources improve data precision, consistency, and reliability for downstream consumption and Impak’s own AI-model training. 

Confluence expands private fund reporting platform ahead of new SEC rule

Confluence Technologies, a regulatory and investor communications technology provider for the investment management industry, expanded its reporting platform ahead of the periodic and shareholder reporting requirements outlined in the SEC’s Private Fund Rule.

The Private Fund Rule will require investment advisors to release a quarterly fund statement within 45 days of each fiscal quarter’s closing. Firms will need to be ready for early Q2 2024, with dry runs expected at the end of 2024 reporting cycles.

Confluence’s private fund reporting platform generates annual, interim, and quarterly reports from diverse datasets. The platform includes data collection and enrichment across disparate private fund data. It also includes an AI reconciliation engine, Rex, that automates the reconciliation of diverse private fund reports.

Waystone launches Milestone Group’s oversight platform

Waystone Management implemented Milestone Group’s pControl net asset value oversight platform. Milestone Group offers oversight and backup NAV solutions for the investment management industry.

The platform acts as a comprehensive NAV oversight and validation tool within Waystone Management UK’s portfolio of clients, including approximately 160 funds with £85 billion in assets under management. It allows for monitoring of the NAV of the funds, helping to mitigate operational risk.

NIBC Bank selects Fenergo for KYC 

Netherlands-based commercial bank NIBC has selected Fenergo, a know-your-customer transaction monitoring, and client lifecycle management provider, to enhance KYC operations.

NIBC used Fenergo’s API to integrate into Salesforce to streamline client onboarding. The integration may reduce data silos by automating onboarding and compliance processes.