This Week: SmartStream, DTCC, Ion, State Street, and more

SmartStream launches SmartStream Air Version 4

SmartStream Technologies, a financial transaction solutions provider, has launched SmartStream Air Version 4, which provides continuous streaming of reconciliations using the AI and cloud-native technology. The new version will manage large volumes of data in a variety of non-standard formats and structures, and it will check for accuracy and completeness without the need to reload unmatched items.

SmartStream Air Version 4 supports both real-time and continuous reconciliations. It will allow customers to use a much wider range of processing, including payment reconciliations. In addition, the solution will be fully integrated with Kafka’s event-streaming platform for all unified distribution of real-time messaging.

SmartStream Air Version 4 can export all data to a data lake, allowing it to be used for any report-writing tools such as Power BI or Tableau. This means that clients can take the results from SmartStream Air and re-use it in conjunction with their own data lake strategy.

DTCC’s Data Repository Singapore now supports firms with trade reporting services

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation has announced that its global trade repository service, via its legal entity, DTCC Data Repository Singapore (DDRS), is ready to support in-scope Singapore firms with trade reporting services for the final phase of the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s derivatives trade reporting requirements, which are scheduled to take effect on October 1 of this year.

The final phase of MAS’s reporting regulations for over-the-counter derivatives contracts marks the last step in trade reporting rules, set out in the Securities & Futures Act. The forthcoming regulation brings finance companies, subsidiaries of banks in Singapore, insurers, and CMS license holders with specified derivatives contracts in an annual aggregate gross notional amount of more than S$5 billion, as well as significant derivatives holders—namely, persons with specified derivatives contracts in an annual aggregate gross notional amount of more than S$8 billion—into scope. As of October 2021, these firms will be required to report their equities, commodities, and foreign exchange derivatives contracts traded and/or booked in Singapore to MAS.

DDRS is the only trade repository service approved by MAS to operate in Singapore. Firms will be able submit their applicable derivatives contracts either directly to DDRS or by delegated submission through a counterparty that uses DDRS’s trade reporting services.

Ion markets extends partnership with UBS Bond Port

Ion Markets, a global provider of trading, analytics, and risk management solutions for capital markets, has extended the partnership between itself and UBS Bond Port, connecting the former’s LatentZero buy-side clients to the latter’s Bond Port trading platform. Bond Port is now accessible to all buy-side clients through the LatentZero OMS, providing more trading flexibility and anonymous access to the liquidity pool it offers.

State Street working with Putnam Investment for servicing of ETFs

State Street Corporation has begun working with Putnam Investments on the servicing of the investment management firm’s first actively managed, semi-transparent exchange-traded funds. Putnam leverages a proxy-based, actively managed ETF model.

Putnam Investments recently announced the debut of its first actively managed ETFs, which are based on four of the firm’s leading equity strategies. The new ETFs—Putnam Sustainable Leaders ETF, Putnam Sustainable Future ETF, Putnam Focused Large Cap Growth ETF, and Putnam Focused Large Cap Value ETF—are listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

ICE and risQ launch data service for social impact scores

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and risQ, a Boston-based startup focused on geospatial climate, economic, and demographic data, have launched a new data service designed to allow users to understand and score the potential social impact of an investment.

The social impact scores leverage dozens of variables from multiple public data sources and peer-reviewed statistical methods to help quantify multiple dimensions of socioeconomic vulnerability and need. These scores are designed to signal the potential social benefit of an investment within a specific area, with higher scores indicating that a financial investment in a specific community is expected to have a larger potential social impact than an investment in a community with a lower score. Once calculated, the scores are mapped to ICE’s US municipal bond reference data, providing an additional metric for customers to use to evaluate an investment or a portfolio.

The score inputs include data capturing affluence, poverty, education, employment, housing costs, racial diversity, and health challenges. Aggregating these data points and mapping them to individual bonds can make it easier to compare cohorts and the potential social impact of an investment opportunity.

Objectway acquires Die Software

Objectway, a global provider in digital wealth and asset management software, has acquired Die Software Peter Fitzon GmbH, a German provider of core banking solutions.

Die Software is a provider of core banking solutions in German-speaking Europe, with more than 35 years of market presence. Its complete, open, and modular platform fulfills the needs of prominent private banks, retail banks, and central banks in the DACH area and in Luxembourg.

With this acquisition, Objectway complements and strengthens its wealth and asset management offerings with a solid and comprehensive core banking platform. This creates an open, modular, end-to-end banking suite geared to support the digital transformation of private banks, retail banks, wealth and asset managers, further driving the future expansion in EMEA and globally.

Kroll launches KYC tool

Kroll, a provider of products related to governance, risk and transparency, has launched a new know-your-customer tool, Kroll Business Connect. The tool enhances Kroll’s global compliance offering and is designed to streamline onboarding and KYC workflow processes for compliance professionals. 

Kroll Business Connect offers a collaborative environment for users, where tasks, communications, and document sharing are consolidated into a single cloud-based platform, eliminating many of the manual and repetitive onboarding processes compliance professionals currently face.  

Kroll Business Connect builds on Kroll’s financial crime risk and compliance experience across the financial services industry and corporates globally, including offerings from Duff & Phelps, which re-branded as Kroll in March 2021.