The Monday Roundup: what we are watching this week | Oct 13th

By Puja Sharma

The Monday Roundup sets the scene for the week’s biggest news stories, industry deals, and upcoming events. For Prime subscribers only.

Trade and Working Capital Solutions strategy

HSBC Asset Management (HSBC AM) has launched its Trade and Working Capital Solutions (TWCS) strategy, developed in collaboration with HSBC’s Global Trade Solutions (GTS) business. The initiative aims to provide institutional investors with direct access to the expanding opportunities within global trade finance, leveraging HSBC’s unique market positioning and deal origination capabilities.

The TWCS strategy will invest in a diversified portfolio of short-term trade finance and working capital assets, encompassing receivables finance, payables finance, trade loans, documentary trade, and other instruments. Operating under a global mandate, the strategy will participate in facilities funding corporates and financial institutions engaged in both domestic and international trade flows.

Structured as an open-ended, evergreen vehicle, the TWCS strategy is designed to deliver attractive yields via a low-risk, diversified portfolio of real economy transactions. These assets exhibit low correlation with other credit classes and reduced sensitivity to market timing, positioning the strategy to provide more stable and resilient returns. HSBC AM’s Capital Solutions team, established in 2022 to offer clients access to bank-originated deal flow, will manage the strategy.

Tata Asset Management has partnered with Equal-Onemoney to launch Portfolio 360, a feature within the Tata Mutual Fund app designed to offer investors a comprehensive, data-driven view of their financial landscape. Unveiled at the Global FinTech Fest 2025, the solution represents a step forward in India’s journey towards integrated, customer-centric wealth management.

Portfolio 360 embodies Tata Asset Management’s commitment to simplifying financial decision-making through technology and transparency. Leveraging the Account Aggregator (AA) ecosystem, it provides users with a holistic view of their investments and assets across multiple financial institutions—empowering them to make informed, confident financial choices.

Built in collaboration with Equal-Onemoney, the feature integrates secure, consent-based data sharing with advanced analytics to deliver personalised portfolio insights. Through Portfolio 360, investors can seamlessly link financial accounts, visualise their consolidated net worth, and plan for milestones such as retirement and financial independence using tools like the FIRE Calculator, powered by Equal-Onemoney Analytics.

Stablecoin-powered Islamic digital bank

Fasset, the global financial super-app, has been granted provisional approval from Malaysia to offer banking services, marking a pivotal step towards becoming the world’s first stablecoin-powered Islamic digital bank. The licence positions Fasset at the forefront of a new category of Shariah-compliant digital banking, within a regulated sandbox for Islamic FinTech innovation.

With a growing global user base of more than 500,000, Fasset’s latest milestone completes its evolution into a full-service digital bank — designed to deliver secure, inclusive, and halal financial solutions for customers across Asia and Africa. The company’s vision is to serve as a gateway to financial inclusion in emerging markets, mirroring the transformative role NuBank has played in Latin America.

The timing is strategic. The global Islamic finance industry surpassed $5 trillion in assets in 2025, with forecasts suggesting it could double by 2030. Yet access to authentic, Shariah-compliant financial products remains limited across much of the pan-Islamic world  a gap Fasset aims to close through technology-driven, asset-backed innovation.

Wealth management startup Dezerv has raised $42 million (₹350 crore) in a Series C funding round led by Premji Invest, with participation from existing investors Accel, Matrix Partners India, and Elevation Capital. This latest round brings Dezerv’s total funding to $77 million (₹640 crore). The company plans to use the capital to scale its investment platform, deepen its research capabilities, and expand its product suite, particularly in alternative assets and fixed income.

Founded in 2021 by former IIFL Wealth executives Sandeep Jethwani, Nitin Rao, and Subramanya SV, Dezerv aims to simplify wealth creation for India’s affluent professionals.

The company emphasises a research-driven approach and personalised investment strategies. With this new funding, Dezerv intends to enhance its technology infrastructure and expand its team to support rapid growth. The firm is positioning itself as a comprehensive wealth partner for India’s growing base of high-income individuals seeking sophisticated financial solutions.

What is the Buzz

India’s FinTech sector has been urged to prioritise underserved communities and build inclusive financial systems, according to RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra.

At the Global FinTech Fest (GFF) 2025 in Mumbai, Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra emphasised the need for FinTech companies to focus on inclusive growth and consumer-centric innovation. He highlighted India’s robust digital infrastructure—such as UPI, Aadhaar, and DigiLocker—as key enablers of financial access for millions. Malhotra called on FinTechs to go beyond serving privileged users and instead design simple, accessible, and inclusive products for underserved populations.

He drew comparisons between India and the UK, noting both countries as global FinTech hubs with strong ecosystems in payments, RegTech, and open finance. Malhotra stressed that FinTech should be a transformative force that democratises finance and empowers all citizens, including vulnerable groups like senior citizens, people with limited digital literacy, and differently-abled individuals.

Encouraging companies to leverage assistive technologies, he urged them to build systems that expand financial services to the unaccessed and unreached. His remarks reflect the RBI’s ongoing commitment to balancing innovation with trust and accessibility, ensuring FinTech growth benefits every layer of society