Financial Technology Weekly | Issue 15

Web3 Security Solution Provider MetaTrust Labs Completes Nearly Ten Million Dollars in Seed Round Financing

Recently, Web3 security solution provider MetaTrust Labs (hereinafter referred to as MetaTrust) announced that it has completed a seed round of financing of nearly 10 million US dollars, and quickly emerged as a "dark horse" in the blockchain security track. Taihe Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor for this round of financing.

 

Information link:

https://www.crunchbase.com/funding_round/metatrust-labs-seed--62455b16

Comment: Combining the increasingly strong risk challenges and security needs of the Web3 industry, MetaTrust was founded by a world-renowned research team at Nanyang Technological University. Through long-term R&D investment and forward-looking product development, it realizes the best practices of DevSecOps in Web3 to automate security The tool chain and intelligent code audit service bring security and compliance to the development life cycle, comprehensively and three-dimensionally perform in-depth security scanning and dynamic protection, comprehensive, accurate, efficient and easy to use, and continuously provide security empowerment for developers and project teams can.

 

 

French private equity fund Eurazeo invests £355 million in BMS

French private equity fund Eurazeo has announced a £355 million investment in specialist insurance and reinsurance broker BMS Group, valued at £1.75 billion. Founded in 1980, BMS is mainly engaged in insurance wholesale, reinsurance and retail business, and provides capital market consulting services.

 

Information link:

https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2023/01/03/701510.htm

Comments: BMS is headquartered in London and has 28 branches in 14 countries around the world. BMS hopes to grow into an independent professional insurance broker through organic growth and targeted acquisitions.

 

 

Gold Kidney Health Plan raises $60 million

Health insurance company Gold Kidney Health Plan received $60 million in financing from private equity firm Chicago Pacific Founder. This round of financing will help Gold Kidney provide a new medical insurance product for kidney patients across the United States. Gold Kidney was initiated by more than 100 nephrologists who were dissatisfied with the current medical insurance system. And Gold Kidney helps nephrologists and attending physicians provide appropriate care when patients need it.

 

Information link:

https://thearizonadailynews.com/gold-kidney-health-plan-raises-60-million-from-chicago-pacific-pr-newswire/#:~:text=SCOTTSDALE%2C%20Ariz.%2C%20Dec.% 2027%2C%202022%20%2FPRNewswire%2F%20%E2%80%94%20Gold,services%20with%20offices%20in%20Chicago%20and%20San%20Francisco.

COMMENT: Gold Kidney was initiated by over 100 nephrologists who were frustrated with the limited Medicare plan options faced by the chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease patients in their charge. Gold Kidney empowers nephrologists and primary care physicians (PCPs) to deliver the right care to patients at the right time, in the right setting.

 

 

P&C insurtech Liberate raises $7 million

Liberate Innovation, a SaaS platform for property insurance, announced that it has received US$7 million in seed round financing, led by US venture capital firm Eclipse. Liberate's enterprise software platform can help property insurance companies quickly realize automated claims management and underwriting operations, enjoy the benefits of digital transformation, and achieve cost reduction and efficiency increase.

 

Information link:

https://www.insurtechinsights.com/liberate-kickstarts-launch-of-pc-platform-with-7m-raise/

Comments: This system not only integrates the core systems of insurance companies to automate complex business processes, but also helps claims and underwriting experts use low-code technology and built-in templates to accelerate the deployment of digital processes.

UK insurtech ARMD launches IoT smart van alert

British insurance technology ARMD has launched a new smart truck alarm and tracker. With the help of IoT technology, it can help insurance companies improve underwriting data, reduce claims fraud, and strengthen protection for craftsmen. ARMD's technology ecosystem also includes a free tool inventory app, an online tool app and a tool insurance product for craftsmen.

 

Information link:

https://www.armd.uk/insurance-for-tools

Comments: In the event of a break-in, the solution immediately notifies the policyholder while tracking the vehicle, providing critical data for both the underwriting and claims process.

 

 

DigitalOwl has entered into a partnership with the US reinsurer RGA

DigitalOwl, a start-up that provides solutions for analyzing and aggregating medical records, is working with the RGA "to enhance and simplify the underwriting process". DigitalOwl's Digital Underwriting Summary includes over 50 key impairment analyses, combining essential information for each impairment into a comprehensive summary. The partnership with RGA will make the KIA in each case "more valuable" to insurers and claims professionals, as key data points will now be "100% aligned with underwriting handbooks", such as RGA's Global Underwriting Handbook ".

 

Information link:

https://www.digitalowl.com/post/digitalowl-and-rga-form-collaborative-underwriting-technology-partnership

Comment: In addition, DigitalOwl will extend its structured data files to include these data points, providing a more efficient ingestion process for rules engines and clients for mortality and morbidity analysis of information blocks.

 

 

Digital insurtech CoverEase strikes alliance with Ethos

American digital insurance technology CoverEase has reached a partnership with insurance technology Ethos to simplify the life insurance purchase process for consumers. CoverEase customers can buy life insurance products with an insured amount of up to US$2 million without a medical examination or blood test, and the minimum monthly premium is only US$7. The CoverEase underwriting process uses artificial intelligence technology to process common indicators such as video interviews, physical examinations and blood tests. CoverEase was established in 2022 with the mission of bridging the gap between digital insurance consumption and traditional consumption methods.

 

Information link:

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/coverease-partners-with-ethos-to-make-life-insurance-easy-301702055.html#:~:text=Ethos%20allows%20CoverEase%20customers%20the %20ability%20to%20instantly, get%20coverage%20placed%20starting%20from%20%247%20a%20month.

Comments: Founded in 2016, Ethos is an Internet life insurance company headquartered in San Francisco, California, which mainly provides users with life insurance that can be purchased online. Through machine learning and big data, Ethos transfers the traditional offline life insurance approval process to online, and quickly analyzes various customer data. It only takes 10 minutes for users to complete the online application.

 

US specialist insurance broker One80 launches boat rental insurance

Hong Kong's FWD Group and Malaysia's Artem Ventures jointly established TIM Ventures with a total funding of US$10 million to invest in Malaysia's insurtech and Islamic fintech startups. The fund will not only provide capital to early-stage startups, but also the connections and expertise they need. So far, the foundation has invested in four startups: on-demand subscription Senang Insurance, Islamic digital succession planning platform Pewarisan, Malaysian fintech Du-It and zero-margin insurance agency Blueduck.

 

Information link:

https://www.one80intermediaries.com/

Comments: One80 is a group insurance company that offers property and casualty, life insurance, and travel/accident and health insurance.

Serving small and medium-sized enterprises, the Danish emerging bank kompasbank received 12 million euros in financing

Recently, the Danish emerging bank kompasbank announced that it has obtained 12 million euros in financing. As the "youngest" bank in Denmark, kompasbank obtained the banking license issued by the Danish Financial Services Authority in March 2021, and officially put into full operation in January 2022, focusing on small and medium-sized enterprises. Currently, it has covered Denmark, Germany and Spain In other countries and other markets, the accumulated financing has exceeded 40 million euros. In the future, kompasbank plans to use this financing to continue to expand the international market, strengthen customer relationships, and develop more innovative financial services.

 

Information link:

https://www.finextra.com/pressarticle/95409/danish-neobank-kompasbank-raises-12-million

 

 

The Central Bank of Thailand plans to issue 3 digital bank licenses next year

On January 12, 2023, Taris, the assistant governor of the Bank of Thailand, revealed at a press conference that the Thai government plans to issue three digital banking licenses in 2024, and applications will be opened in the first quarter of this year. He said that currently about 10 companies intend to apply for digital banking licenses. After the digital bank is put into operation, it will strengthen the competitiveness of Thailand's financial industry. New digital banks will also serve customers that traditional banks do not touch at lower fees, which will benefit all customers.

 

Information link:

https://4g.stockstar.com/detail/IG2023011600001135

 

Korea's Woori Bank will launch a Metaverse branch in the first half of 2023

Following financial institutions such as HSBC and Fidelity Bank, Woori Bank, one of the four major banks in South Korea, announced that it will launch a metaverse banking service for small businesses, which is supported by PC and mobile devices, and business operations Hours are from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. It is reported that the metaverse bank service is an upgraded version of "Woori Metabranch". Woori Bank will also launch a metaverse branch in the first half of 2023, and provide employees with training services based on 3D virtual avatars.

 

Information link:

https://ankocoin.com/board/woori-bank-one-of-the-four-major-banks-in-south-korea-will-launch-a-metaverse-branch-in-the-first-half- of-2023/#

 

Central Bank: Currency in circulation (M0) will include digital renminbi

On January 10, the central bank’s official website showed that from December 2022, “currency in circulation (M0)” includes digital renminbi in circulation. The balance of digital renminbi in circulation at the end of December was 13.61 billion yuan. After the revision, there will be no significant change in the growth rates of M1 and M2 at the end of each month in 2022. The digital renminbi (e-CNY) is a legal digital currency issued by the People's Bank of China. It is mainly positioned as a cash payment certificate (M0) and will coexist with the physical renminbi for a long time.

 

Information link:

http://finance.people.com.cn/n1/2023/0110/c1004-32603730.html

U.S. releases first blueprint for decarbonizing transportation

The U.S. government released the "American National Transportation Decarbonization Blueprint" on January 10, which is the first decarbonization blueprint for the U.S. transportation industry. The blueprint's overall goal is to decarbonize the U.S. transportation industry by 2050. The blueprint was jointly developed by the U.S. Departments of Energy, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and the Environmental Protection Agency. The blueprint identifies the push for zero-emission vehicles and zero-emission fuels as the most important means of decarbonizing transport. Currently, carbon emissions from land, sea, and air transportation account for about one-third of domestic U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

 

Information link:

https://finance.sina.com.cn/wm/2023-01-17/doc-imyanwtk5755348.shtml?r=0&tr=174

 

 

Moody's Publishes ESG Outlook 2023

On January 9, Moody's released the "2023 ESG Outlook", predicting that the macroeconomic, financial and geopolitical impacts caused by the pandemic and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine will continue to exacerbate ESG risks. Moody's identified four key ESG trends that will have an impact on corporate and sovereign credit quality, including: 1) corporate decarbonization commitments will face greater scrutiny; 2) social risks related to high living costs will have broad credit implications; 3) The credit cycle will put the governance of some entities to the test; 4) The complex ESG regulatory and political environment will exacerbate regulatory and reputational risks.

 

Information link:

https://esg.moodys.io/

 

 

KPMG China released the "2022 Sustainability Report Survey"

On January 12, KPMG China released the "2022 Sustainability Report Survey". According to the report, about three-quarters of the companies that released the report have conducted a materiality assessment and disclosed relevant issues, and this figure is 64% among China's N100. In addition, the report also investigates how companies report their impact on themselves, stakeholders and wider society. 39% of G250 companies report on these three impacts at the same time.

 

Information link:

https://kpmg.com/cn/zh/home/insights/2023/01/survey-of-sustainability-reporting-2022-china-insights.html

 

 

The National Energy Administration released the "Blue Book on the Development of New Power System (Draft for Comment)"

Recently, the General Affairs Department of the National Energy Administration issued a notice on publicly soliciting opinions on the "New Power System Development Blue Book (Draft for Comment)".

 

Information link:

http://www.nea.gov.cn/2023-01/06/c_1310688702.htm

The Dutch Financial Market Authority said it will strengthen network and data security supervision in 2023

On 9 January 2023, the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AMF) published its regulatory priorities and priorities for 2023, with cyber and data security being one of its regulatory priorities for 2023. The AMF said it would strengthen data use security and take concrete steps to ensure strong regulation. It will focus on the relevant processes developed for external IT service providers, the application of corporate governance and risk control systems and signal system evaluation parameters SFDR for investment management companies, and conduct security tests on financial data transmitted to AMF through the extranet to ensure data quality and security.

 

Information Links:

https://www.amf.com/

 

The Japanese government plans to impose a mobile game tax on tech giants such as Google and Apple

Nikkei Asia reported on January 16 that the Japanese government is preparing to strengthen the collection of consumption tax on overseas mobile games. Japan is expected to follow the European model and design its own game taxation system. The Japanese government plans to impose a consumption tax on platform companies such as Apple and Google. These companies offer consumers content produced by game creators through app stores.

 

Information Links:

https://finance.sina.com.cn/tech/roll/2023-01-17/doc-imyamzpu5761270.shtml

 

Professor of economics at Cornell University: If stablecoins crash, it may affect the US bond market

Eswar Prasad, a professor of economics at Cornell University, warned that if stablecoins crash, it could affect the U.S. bond market. He noted that if stablecoin issuers sell reserves of U.S. Treasuries, such a "run" could affect the U.S. bond market. If a run occurs while bond market sentiment remains "very fragile", there could be a "multiplier effect" as Treasuries come under significant selling pressure.

 

Information Links:

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/17/bitcoin-may-not-last-that-much-longer-academic-warns.html

Changjiang Xiangyang, director of Bosera Fund: focus on improving the three capabilities of "wealth management, financial technology and risk management"

2023 is the first year of building a socialist modern country in an all-round way. Bosera Fund will focus on improving the three capabilities of "wealth management, financial technology, and risk management". With the purpose of customer-oriented and innovation-driven, it will provide customers with more and better high-quality products, help the long-term and healthy development of China's capital market, and create more value for customers, partners, employees, shareholders and society.

Information link:

http://my-h5news.app.xinhuanet.com/news/article.html?articleId=63a968c0bb37b1c00bcbb5282ad05d81

China CITIC Bank issued the Development Report on Pension Wealth Management of Chinese Residents (2022)

Active response to the aging of the population is related to national development and people's well-being, and is an important measure for China to achieve high-quality economic development and maintain national security and social stability. Recently, under the academic guidance of the China Pension Finance 50 People Forum, CITIC Bank and Huaxia Fund jointly released the Development Report on China's Pension Wealth Management (2022). The Report closely follows the development pulse of pension wealth management market, investigates and analyzes the current situation and pain points of pension wealth management of residents from an objective perspective, and makes an objective evaluation of the financial industry's support for the development of pension wealth management of residents.

Information link:

http://jl.people.com.cn/n2/2023/0104/c349771-40253571.html

Shenzhen plans to build a modern wealth management ecosystem. It is estimated that the total scale of wealth management will exceed 30 trillion yuan in 2025

At the event site of the first "Shenzhen Venture Capital Day" in 2023, the Shenzhen Municipal Local Financial Supervision and Administration issued the Opinions on Accelerating the Construction of Shenzhen International Wealth Management Center (hereinafter referred to as the Opinions), which will focus on building a modern wealth management ecosystem with integrated elements, complete formats, and open integration. The scale, innovation, openness, and influence and competitiveness of the wealth management industry will reach the international leading level.

Information link:

https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_21670149

Noah Wealth and PricewaterhouseCoopers jointly released the annual series of white papers on the "China Wealth Group Sentiment Index (2022)"

Recently, Noah Wealth and PricewaterhouseCoopers Elliott Consulting jointly released the annual series of white papers "Chinese HNWI Wealth Management Sentiment Index (2022)" (hereinafter referred to as "the white paper") at the "Noah Global Black Diamond Summit" held in Singapore. This white paper aims to create a comprehensive index of "wealth management sentiment index" by observing the wealth management satisfaction, investment behavior and future expectations of China's wealth population at different time points in close proximity to reflect the confidence or anxiety of China's wealth population.

Information link:

https://finance.sina.com.cn/money/smjj/smdt/2023-01-13/doc-imxzzfmp8955260.shtml

The Seoul government officially launched Metaverse Seoul

On January 16, 2023, the Seoul Metropolitan Government officially opened its public metaverse platform Metaverse Seoul. Here users can play games, chat, fill out official forms, get help with taxes and other city services. It is reported that Seoul, South Korea is the first major city to establish a public metaverse platform, and has formulated a five-year roadmap to launch corresponding government, business, tourism and cultural products. Metaverse Seoul conducted Beta testing for some users last year and is now available for download through Google Play and Apple Store.

 

Information link:

https://hbr.org/podcast/2022/12/metaverse-seoul-how-one-city-used-citizen-input-to-pilot-a-government-run-metaverse

 

McDonald's will celebrate the Chinese New Year of the Rabbit in the Metaverse

According to foreign media reports, McDonald's announced that it will cooperate with Karen X Cheng to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year of the Rabbit in the metaverse. Through virtual reality, augmented reality and 3D animation, users can explore various activities in the McDonald's metaverse, such as Chinese chess such as Go and mahjong. Classic games, VR zoos, cooking competitions, and more, and each user will also get a customizable 3D avatar.

 

Information link:

https://corporate.mcdonalds.com/corpmcd/our-stories/article/lunar-newyear-videocreator-karenxcheng.html

 

Goldman Sachs fintech unit loses $1.2 billion in nine months

Recently, Goldman Sachs announced that its newly formed "platform solutions" division will have accumulated losses of US $ 1.2 billion in the first nine months of 2022. It is reported that the unit was established last year and includes fintech, credit card and transaction banking businesses. The fintech and consumer businesses are notoriously loss-making, but this is the first time Goldman has disclosed details of the cost of entering the space.

 

Information link:

http://www.wzsee.net/event/2023/0117/0117104150.html

 

 

Tesla files new insurance program in Texas

Tesla's insurer, Tesla Property & Casualty, filed its latest auto insurance program in Texas. Since October 2021, Tesla has been providing consumers with exclusive auto insurance products through Redpoint County Mutual Insurance Company. As of September 2022, there are more than 11,000 policyholders for this Tesla auto insurance product. This time, Tesla P&C stated that it will start underwriting new business from March 1, 2023, and provide services to policyholders who cannot renew their insurance in Redpoint County. In September, Redpoint reported an increase in auto insurance costs, and Tesla’s overall auto insurance price increased by 16%.

 

Information link:

https://www.sohu.com/a/493920297_121174097

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