Fintech Weekly | Issue 8

Shield, an Israeli financial compliance service platform, received US$20 million in Series B financing, and UBS participated in the investment

Recently, Israeli financial technology startup Shield announced that it has received US$20 million in Series B financing. The round was led by Macquarie Capital, with participation from UBS Next, Mindset Ventures and OurCrowd. Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Tel Aviv, Shield uses artificial intelligence technology to automate the entire communication data management cycle, proactively detects anomalies in communication, and helps users address operational, data, risk, and compliance challenges.

 

Information link:

https://jewishbusinessnews.com/2022/12/01/shield-raises-20-million-for-workplace-intelligence/

Comments: Shield just raised $15 million in Series A funding earlier this year. Currently, Shield has a total of 75 employees in Tel Aviv, New York, London, and Lisbon. In the future, it plans to use this financing to continue to expand into new markets and set up a second research institution in Lisbon.

 

British digital bank Atom Bank raises 30 million pounds, plans to list in 2024

On November 25, 2022, Atom Bank, the UK's first mobile app-based banking service provider, announced that it had received £30 million in financing, with participation from BBVA, Toscafund and Infinity Investment Partners. Together with the £75 million financing in February this year, the Durham-based British fintech company has raised more than £100 million this year. In the future, Atom Bank will use this financing to further promote the development of its loan business.

 

Information link:

https://www.atombank.co.uk/newsroom/Atom-raises-%C2%A330m-for-growth/

Comments: Thanks to the previously launched "four-day working system", Atom Bank's employee retention rate, employee absenteeism rate and new job application rate have all improved significantly. However, affected by the current market environment, the listing plan of Atom Bank will be postponed to 2024.

 

Ardonagh to buy Australian insurer Envest for £270m

The Ardonagh Group has reached an agreement to acquire Australian insurer Envest for A$482m (£270m). Based in Brisbane, Queensland, Envest provides investment and distribution solutions across Australia. Ardonagh's Australian subsidiary will acquire Envest through a combination of equity and debt. Upon completion of the transaction, Ardonagh Australia will operate locally under the name Envest, led by its current managing director, Greg Mullins.

 

Information link:

https://www.ardonagh.com/media/announcements/2022/ardonagh-group-announces-acquisition-of-australian-insurance-firm-envest/

Comment: Envest will operate under Ardonagh Global Partners, led by CEO Des O'Connor.

 

One80 Acquires Equipment Insurance Solutions Provider instaCOVER

One80 Intermediaries, a US-based specialist insurance brokerage, has acquired instaCOVER, an independent insurance agency and technology platform. instaCOVER was established in 2005 and is committed to providing professional insurance for commercial equipment, healthcare, rental equipment and other market directions. instaCOVER offers customizable insurance plans including financed equipment coverage, vehicle protection, rental waivers, and non-financed/own equipment coverage. In addition, it offers specialized medical equipment and digital radiography insurance, digital radiography warranty and digital radiography insurance services.

 

Information link:

https://www.monitordaily.com/news-posts/one80-intermediaries-acquires-instacover-to-further-expand/

Comments: In addition to these specialized coverages, instaCOVER also offers a web-based platform to help simplify the process related to obtaining insurance quotes and binding policies. One80 is a group insurance company offering services in property and casualty, life insurance, and travel/accident and health insurance.

Willis Towers Watson and IMT collaborate on SaaS insurance solutions

Willis Towers Watson, a global consulting, brokerage and solutions firm, partnered with property and casualty insurer IMT Insurance to implement a SaaS solution. IMT Insurance underwrites personal and commercial insurance in six states in the United States, with direct underwriting premiums of nearly $300 million. The company has licensed Radar Live SaaS, Willis Towers Watson's priced delivery software. According to Willis Towers Watson, Radar Live SaaS offers the breakthrough capabilities of Radar Live, including its machine learning predictive capabilities, rate deployment speed and compute flexibility, and frees companies from complex software and hardware management issues.

 

Information link:

https://fintech.global/2022/11/23/wtw-and-imt-team-up-on-saas-insurance-solution/

Comment: IMT chose Willis Towers Watson's solution because it did not want to be constrained by "out-of-the-box" technology, according to Sean Kennedy, the company's president and CEO.

 

FM Global opens experiential risk management facility in Asia Pacific

FM Global, one of the world's largest commercial and industrial property insurers, has opened the company's first client-focused experiential risk management facility in the Asia-Pacific region at Singapore Science Park. Designed to meet the complex and diverse needs of the Asia-Pacific region, FM Global's centers aim to help clients and prospects in the region protect their assets today while improving their long-term resilience. The center is also home to the company's Asian operations.

 

Information link:

https://www.fmglobal.com/

Comment: FM Global has a history of 50 years in the Asia-Pacific region, of which nearly 40 years are headquartered in Singapore, FM Global, the regional focus is the pharmaceutical, healthcare and technology manufacturing industries, and supports global customers to expand to Singapore and the Asia-Pacific region .

 

Parametric insurtech FloodFlash announces US market entry

FloodFlash, a parametric flood insurance company, announced its entry into the US market, initially launching commercial property insurance products in Florida, Virginia, Texas, Louisiana and California. They said they would build a local team and strengthen distribution relationships with national brokerages.

 

Information link:

https://floodflash.co/

Comment: Bringing affordable flood parametric insurance products to millions of businesses across the U.S. in the next few years.

 

Cytora and Tensorflight collaborate on AI to simplify property insurance risk pricing process

Cytora, a digital risk processing platform, and Tensorflight, a data insight service provider for property insurance, have cooperated to provide simplified in-depth insights into property insurance risks for the commercial insurance market. Through proprietary AI and computer vision technology, Tensorflight can eliminate the inaccuracy of real estate infrastructure data, greatly reducing the cost and time of offline real estate inspections. Several of the largest commercial property and casualty insurers are already using the solution.

 

Information link:

https://cytora.com/

Comment: Insurance companies can now automatically embed Tensorflight's data and analysis insights into Cytora's risk digitization platform to optimize data utilization, improve insights, and speed up decision-making.

France and the Central Bank of Luxembourg jointly launched the Central Bank Wholesale Digital Currency Program

On November 29, 2022, France and Luxembourg settled €100 million ($104 million) worth of bonds using an experimental central bank digital currency (CBDC). Nathalie Aufauvre, director of financial stability and operations at the Bank of France, said: "The Venus Initiative demonstrates how digital assets can be issued, distributed and settled within the eurozone in a single day and confirms that a well-designed CBDC can play a key role in the development of a secure tokenized financial asset space in Europe."

 

Information Links: 

https://cbdcinsider.com/2022/11/30/france-and-luxembourg-partner-on-venus-initiative-to-use-cbdc-in-settling-bond/#:~:text=The%20Central%20Bank%20of%20France%20and%20the%20central,a%20series%20of%20trials%20in%20tokenized%20financial%20markets.

 

China Construction Bank Releases 2022 RMB Internationalization Report

On November 23, China Construction Bank released the 2022 RMB Internationalization Report – New Heights and New Opportunities. This is the seventh consecutive year that CCB has released a special report on RMB internationalization. The report, conducted by CCB and The Asian Banker, conducted a survey of 2,546 domestic and foreign enterprises and financial institutions, and evaluated and reflected the situation and changes in the global cross-border financial activities of RMB in the past year through questionnaires and interviews.

 

Information Links:

https://k.sina.com.cn/article_2096538335_7cf6a2df020016xqr.html

Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry launches Green Economy Regulatory Initiative

Recently, the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry (Ministry of Trade and Industry) announced the launch of the Green Economy Regulatory Initiative (GERI). This initiative is an effort by the Singapore government to accelerate innovation in the green economy. It is hoped that on the basis of the existing sandbox program, enterprises will be encouraged to seize new opportunities for green development and develop more green products and services. Enterprises can submit proposals through a one-stop platform. There are currently eight areas that can be tested through GERI, including carbon services and transactions, circular economy, electric vehicles, sustainable aviation and shipping, sustainable tourism, energy (including solar energy) , energy storage systems, smart grid solutions), hydrogen energy, carbon dioxide to prepare polymers.

 

Information link:

https://www.mti.gov.sg/PEP/GERI#:~:text=The%20Green%20Economy%20Regulatory%20Initiative%20%28GERI%29%20is%20a,effort%20to%20accelerate%20innovation%20in %20the%20green%20economy.

 

ESMA launches consultation on normative use of ESG terms in fund names

A fund's name is a powerful marketing tool. In order not to mislead investors, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) believes that terms related to environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) and sustainability in fund names should be substantively supported by evidence of sustainability characteristics or objectives , these characteristics or objectives should be fairly and consistently reflected in the fund's investment objectives and policies.

 

Information link:

https://www.esma.europa.eu/press-news/esma-news/esma-work-esg-disclosures-new-union-strategic-supervisory-priority

 

Hong Kong Monetary Authority: "Greenwashing" in the green bond market is not uncommon

On November 29, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority released a report analyzing 1,888 corporate green bonds issued by 643 listed companies around the world during the period 2013-21, and about one-third of the issuers had environmental issues after issuing green bonds for the first time. There has been no improvement in performance, pointing to the fact that “greenwashing” is not uncommon in the global green bond market.

 

Information link:

https://www.hkma.gov.hk/eng/data-publications-and-research/data-and-statistics/economic-financial-data-for-hong-kong/

 

Yum China's Mid-Term Emission Reduction Target Approved by Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi)

On November 21, Yum China Holdings Co., Ltd. announced that the medium-term greenhouse gas emission reduction target submitted by the company has been approved by the "Scientific Carbon Targets Initiative" (SBTi), and Yum China has become the first catering company in China to achieve this milestone. Yum China proposes to reduce the absolute greenhouse gas emissions of Scope 1 and 2 by 63% by 2035, and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions per ton of purchased goods in Scope 3 by 66.3% by 2035, using 2020 as the base year.

 

Information link:

https://new.qq.com/rain/a/20221121A0640T00

The European Parliament will propose NFT-related legislation based on industry policy recommendations

Recently, the European Parliament held a meeting with NFT and metaverse industry participants to discuss future policy recommendations for the Web3 industry. Industry participants said that regulation should focus on use cases rather than technology, that NFTs are not an asset class, that different uses of blockchain must be regulated on a case-by-case basis, and that innovation must not be stifled along the way. As for the metaverse, EU institutions are still in the early stages of exploration.

 

Information Links:

https://jizhid.com/number/blockchain/192260.html

 

Singapore and Shenzhen signed eight memorandums of understanding to strengthen digital economy cooperation

On November 25, 2022, the New China (Shenzhen) Smart City Project Cooperation Joint Implementation Committee held its third meeting. Singapore and Shenzhen signed eight memorandums of understanding covering cooperation in areas such as word trade, innovation and entrepreneurship, and cross-border remote mediation and arbitration. In addition, the two sides launched 14 new cooperation projects, doubling the number of last year, covering areas such as scientific and technological research and development, cross-border e-commerce and trade data, promotion of green economy and sustainable development.

 

Information Links:

http://sg.mofcom.gov.cn/article/dtxx/202211/20221103370414.shtml

 

Follow Web 3.0, 2022 Singapore Blockchain Innovation Challenge Open Application

Recently, the Singapore Blockchain Innovation Initiative (SBIP) announced the launch of the "2022 Singapore Blockchain Innovation Challenge" hackathon. SBIP is an initiative funded by Singapore's National Research Foundation (NRF) and supported by Singapore's Infocomm and Media Development Authority (IMDA), Enterprise Singapore, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and GovTech to further strengthen Singapore's blockchain ecosystem.

 

Information Links:

https://sbip.sg/

 

Israel's Ministry of Finance proposes new guidelines for the regulation of digital assets

On November 28, 2022, Israel's Ministry of Finance issued a series of recommendations for the regulation of digital assets, calling for the creation of a new regulatory infrastructure that would give the Bank of Israel the authority to regulate digital assets with "significant stability or monetary impact." The regulatory proposal also includes a proposal to allow the payment of taxes on cryptocurrencies held abroad through Israeli banks.

 

Information Links:

https://www.bitpush.news/articles/3369074

"New Bancassurance" gradually becomes a new driving force for wealth management Ping An said it will continue to expand the new bancassurance team

The bancassurance channel has largely shaped the domestic life insurance market structure. Since 2021, leading banks and insurance companies have begun to explore new banking and insurance cooperation channels. "The bancassurance channel faces a golden opportunity for reform." Fang Zhinan, special assistant to the president of Ping An Bank and president of the insurance and finance business department, said in an interview that on the one hand, the insurance channel has encountered a bottleneck and needs to seek a breakthrough; On the other hand, banks as a whole also have their own transformation needs, and the most important interest rate spread is challenged, joint-stock banks have begun to seek a transformation direction that adapts to their own characteristics.

 

Information Links:

https://finance.sina.com.cn/roll/2022-12-01/doc-imqmmthc6709786.shtml

 

Yicai Fund: Yicai General Manager Jiang Baide: Wealth management in the era of irregular growth

The world economy is shrouded in gloom, and a number of institutions have issued warnings of the risk of recession. Based on our investment experience in the era of irregular growth, we can still grasp the opportunity to grow in such situations. Jiang Baide said. In 2009, Jiang Baide came to China. Over the past 13 years, he has witnessed rapid changes in China's wealth management market. “

 

Information Links:

https://www.hbrchina.org/2022-11-21/9295.html

 

UBS Wealth Management: Asia's economic growth is expected to reach an inflection point in the second quarter of next year

According to the latest "2023 Outlook: Out of the Fog" report released by the Office of the Investment Director of UBS Wealth Management, although Asian growth may slow at the beginning of 2023, the US federal funds rate is expected to peak in the first quarter of 2023 as inflationary pressures gradually recede, and Asian economic growth is expected to usher in an inflection point in the second quarter of next year. The agency expects Asia's economy to grow by 4.4 percent next year.

 

Information Links:

https://www.163.com/dy/article/HNEUL9T30514R9P4.html

 

Hywin Wealth has taken multiple measures to build a comprehensive service platform

Hywin Wealth's latest FY2022 annual report is an intuitive embodiment, and Hywin Wealth will continue to deploy the high-end health industry through the two-wheel drive of "wealth management" and "health management", and create a comprehensive service system based on the whole life cycle of customers.

 

Information Links:

https://www.sohu.com/a/607471566_121271273

Animoca Brands Plans $2 Billion Metaverse Fund

Yat Siu, co-founder of venture capital and software firm Animoca Brands, recently told Nikkei that the firm is planning to launch a $2 billion fund to finance metaverse companies. The firm made a staggering 66 investments in the first half of 2022, a record for the cryptocurrency space.

 

Information link:

https://mpost.io/animoca-brands-releases-a-2-billion-metaverse-fund-for-2023/

 

FTSE Russell Launches Global Digital Asset Index

On November 29, 2022, FTSE Russell, the world's leading index provider, announced the launch of a global digital asset index. It is reported that this index series was jointly constructed with experts from Digital Asset Research (DAR), covering eight indices from large to micro assets, and is the second FTSE Russell index series based on FTSE DAR reference price data.

 

Information link:

https://www.ftserussell.com/

 

Meta fined $276 million in Europe over data scraping leak

Ireland's Data Protection Commission, Europe's main privacy watchdog, fined Facebook parent Platforms Inc. 265 million euros ($276 million) on Monday for failing to better protect more than 500 million users, the Wall Street Journal reported. phone numbers and other information from so-called data scrapers.

 

Information link:

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/28/irish-regulator-fines-facebook-265-million-euros-over-privacy-breach.html

 

TikTok recruits tech startups to boost its e-commerce business

TikTok has begun seeking help from tech start-ups to improve its struggling e-commerce business, according to reports in recent days. The fast-growing social media platform is stepping up efforts to diversify its revenue amid a slowdown in digital advertising growth. Social commerce—the ability for users to buy goods without leaving social media apps—has been a huge success in China. In the 12 months to May, sales on TikTok's sister app Douyin rose 300% year-on-year, with users buying more than 10 billion products.

 

Information link:

https://fanbytes.co.uk/fintech-influencers-tiktok/

 

Indonesian VC firm launches startup accelerator program for tech layoffs

Recently, East Ventures, a venture capital firm focusing on the Indonesian market, announced the launch of the fourth phase of the PASTI BISA accelerator program to provide support for talents affected by the layoffs in the technology industry. It is reported that the code name of this accelerator program is IDPB MTPM, which translates to "keep moving forward and never give up".

 

Information link:

https://east.vc/

 

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