Proxymity ID disclosure solution launches ahead of SRD II deadline

By Robin Amlot

Proxymity, the digital investor communications platform, has launched its shareholder disclosure solution, Proxymity ID, in all EU Markets ahead of the implementation date of the EU’s Revised Shareholder Rights’ Directive (SRD II). Proxymity ID is the first new product to launch from the London-based FinTech since its investment raise of $20.5 million from a consortium of leading financial institutions earlier this year.

SRD II takes effect on 3 September 2020, reflecting the need for transparency between public companies and their shareholders. The new regulation introduces stricter rules to ensure that issuers wishing to know the identity of their shareholders receive a timely response to disclosure requests. Intermediaries (CSDs, custodians, brokers, etc.) must now respond to these requests in a machine readable format by the next business day, with non-compliance leading to potential fines or even jail time.

“We’re confident that Proxymity ID will make it easier and more cost effective for custodians and intermediaries to manage the new burdens imposed by SRD II,” said Dean Little, CEO and CoFounder of Proxymity. “With Proxymity’s enhanced technology and digital onboarding experience, intermediaries can sign up and start using Proxymity ID within 24 hours and immediately comply with the SRD II legislation, without having to develop their own solution. We expect this to be an incredible value add as financial institutions navigate this new legislation.”

A key feature of the product is that Proxymity ID automatically verifies that disclosure requests come from an authorised source, which prevents unsolicited and unapproved requests from being processed, avoiding risk and wasted effort.

The new disclosure solution complements Proxymity’s core proxy voting solution, Proxymity PV, which was launched last year in Europe and Australia.

Proxymity is an enterprise-ready solution that provides real-time transparency, allowing instant amendment of instructions and confirmation that votes have been recorded at shareholder meetings. Eliminating manual input and interpretation of data, Proxymity helps remove potential data corruption and reduces risk for all participants. The RegTech was founded by Dean Little and Jonathan Smalley through Citi’s D10XSM program.