12:42 PM
RISK MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY
Northern Trust Launches Event Analyst
Northern Trust unveiled Event Analyst, an online tool allowing institutional clients to monitor the impact of marketplace events on their portfolios. Users can set volatility parameters tied to securities, currencies and market fluctuations. The system automatically e-mails clients via email when these parameters have been transgressed. For each security, the system also tracks client exposures and historical performance, and also provides benchmark reporting.
SIA Supports Credit Ratings for Debt Capital Charges
The Securities Industry Association (SIA) reconfirmed its support for the use of credit ratings by nationally recognized agencies as the basis for determining regulatory capital charges on different grades of debt. In a comment letter responding to a Securities and Exchange (SEC) commission concept release, the SIA also points out that the use of publicly available, independent ratings to determine capital adequacy is part of the New Basel Capital Accord (Basel II), which is expected to be in use by 2007 across the globe.
Fortis Chooses Sungard's Credient
Belgium-based Fortis Bank picked SunGard Trading and Risk Systems' Credient software to manage global limits and exposures at its merchant banking division. The division's global credit information will be consolidated by Credient to provide an aggregated real-time view of credit limits and exposures. About 100,000 deals per month will pass through the system from the bank's global trading operation for pre-deal limit checks, exposure measurement, limit updates, violation management and credit risk reporting.
New AML Tool for Small to Mid-Sized Firms
Sum2 released Patriot Act Compliance Officer (Paco), a browser-based application geared to helping small and mid-sized firms comply with the anti-money laundering requirements of the USA Patriot Act. Sum 2 says the product is aimed at brokers, hedge funds, commodity trading advisors and registered investment advisors. Paco addresses sections 352, 325 and 314 of the act, which require firms to conduct an audit of their AML program, provide training to employees, implement customer identification procedures and file suspicious activity reports with government agencies and produce a compliance policies and procedures manual.