LPA announces US expansion with the appointment of North America’s leader

By Edlyn Cardoza

LPA, the capital markets technology and advisory firm, recently announced ambitious international expansion plans into the United States, supported by a key executive hire.

Serge Malka joins as LPA US Managing Director, marking a milestone moment of growth for the firm. Serge will be responsible for accelerating LPA’s American software and consulting operation with the opening of a new office in New York. Serge will build on LPA’s growth trajectory and international client base by leveraging extensive industry connections.

LPA expanded rapidly following its investment by New York and London based Motive Partners in 2018; a leading specialist private equity firm focused on financial technology. With twelve international locations, including Frankfurt, London, Zürich, Paris, Luxemburg, and Singapore, employing over 400 technology and capital market experts around its flagship technology Capmatix and serving more than 200 banks and asset management companies, the opening of the LPA New York office as its North American hub marks an important milestone in product development, international expansion and strategic hiring. 

LPA’s Capmatix software, already in use with leading European-based global financial institutions, will be a strong fit for the North American market with a high digitisation value proposition, aiming to grow the top line efficiently and improve bottom-line the Risk profile. The success of Capmatix relies on its very flexible framework encompassing document generation, workflow and data ingestion capabilities enabled by financial and risk analytics and all enhanced by AI. With concrete applications in the sales & trading space for derivatives and structured products, asset management regulatory reporting, and loan syndication, LPA believes a strong fit with the North American financial sector should be explored. Sharing the same capital markets’ expertise DNA, LPA’s advisory financial experts assist in new topics such as ESG or crypto assets, but also traditional risk & compliance such as trade surveillance, LIBOR transition, and, more broadly, financial risk management. 

Serge will drive LPA’s continued strategy for business development and growth in the US, creating and building a team by leveraging the region’s diverse and experienced talent pool. He has over 25 years of international experience in the capital markets industry at significant firms and start-up companies across the US and Europe, focusing on building and expanding businesses and digital transformation in the capital markets space. Serge joins LPA from Cognizant Consulting, where he was the Capital Markets and Risk Practice Leader, responsible for many organisational, regulatory and technology projects, touching on both regulatory transformation and compliance and digital transformation and human experience in the capital markets space.

Commenting on his appointment and the launching of LPA’s US presence, Serge Malka said: “I am very excited to be heading LPA’s North American presence, this is a major milestone for a Capital Markets firm intently focused on supporting the evolution of the sector, continually expanding LPA’s strong international presence. Establishing successful new teams in very different market segments and environments has been one of the most rewarding achievements of my career. The rapid digital transformation occurring across Capital Markets has significantly increased the need for digitally enabled financial technology with a stronger than ever business requirement. That is what attracted me to LPA, and I look forward to connecting with our growing client base to grow value for them at a critical time.” 

Blythe Masters, Founding Partner at Motive Partners, commented: “The capital markets space continues to digitise at an extraordinary pace, through emerging players, asset classes and technologies, meaning it is absolutely the right time to capitalise on LPA’s progress in Europe by expanding into the North American market. LPA is positioned at the forefront of capital markets digitisation, and with Motive’s support, we look forward to seeing the benefits LPA can bring to the US financial services participants.”

Peter Schurau, CEO of LPA, commented: “Technology is no longer a financial tool. It’s an industry in itself. Financial markets worldwide are now operating on an interconnected, global scale having been bolstered by an unparalleled rise in trading volumes. In the digital age, it’s no longer enough to just transform workflows into this new medium, you have to transform the way finance works, and LPA enables such change. Thanks to our adaptive modular systems we offer unmatched services across; banking, asset management & insurance with a focus on industry, coverage of front-to-back value chain and flexibility for clients. With more than $10tn of market value opportunities in the next 10 years alone and an aggressive growth path in the five years ahead, LPA is keen to operate across an organically ambitious route. Significant acquisitions and a wider, global reach can ensure that by 2026 LPA cements itself as the glue that holds traded markets together.”