The Weekly Wrap: all you need to know by Friday COB | May 13th

By Gaia Lamperti

The Weekly Wrap is published every Friday and recaps the week’s main stories and deals, as well as upcoming events and announcements. For Prime subscribers only.

The Big Story

During the Queen’s Speech conducted this week by the Prince of Wales, a number of new bills were announced for the new parliamentary session. Some of which pertain to the economy, financial crime, regulation, and financial growth. In particular, the government announced that it would bring in new legislation to strengthen the UK’s financial services industry.

Several financial technology representatives commented on the new measures. Among them, Charlotte Crosswell, Chair and Trustee of the OBIE, said: “The inclusion of Smart Data legislation in the Queen’s Speech brings us one step closer to expanding the benefits of open banking to other sectors of the economy, including energy, telecommunications, and pensions. It will put consumers and small businesses in control of their data and drive much-needed innovation and competition. The UK is a world leader in open banking, not by accident but by design.”

Approving the Financial Services and Markets Bill was also Dr Henry Balani, Global Head of Industry and Regulatory Affairs for Encompass Corporation, who commented: “As well as working to protect consumers and the country’s cash infrastructure, its aim is to establish a coherent, agile and internationally respected approach to financial services regulation for the UK, ensuring all key players adhere to the highest standards and are better equipped to tackle the evolving financial crime landscape.”

“This will be crucial to illustrating a more targeted approach to money laundering and fraud – which is on a sharp increase – whilst also enabling more meaningful growth of the entire financial sector, ultimately, maintaining and enhancing the UK’s position as a global financial services leader,” he added.

Anne Fairweather, Head of Government Affairs & Public Policy at Hargreaves Lansdown, also commented on how the new legislation will set new standards for the post-Brexit UK. “From better access to IPOs to harnessing the opportunities of innovative technologies to allow firms to use data to better guide clients, this is an opportunity to update our rules for the future.  We welcome the focus on tackling scams and believe that clients will be better protected with more personalised relevant guidance from firms they know and trust,” she said.

Deals of the week

• TIFIN closes $109 million in Series D at an $842 million valuation
• Dock raises $110 million, bringing total valuation to over $1.5 billion
• Aiven announced raising $210 million in a Series D funding round
• Gate.io leads $10 million Series A funding for Stanhope Financial Group
• Cachet raises €5.5 million to expand its marketplace for platform economy insurance
• BlackSoil NBFC raises ₹180cr debt via NCDs & other instruments

Be on the lookout for

As reported by Bloomberg, Thoma Bravo, the private equity firm led by Orlando Bravo, is approaching software specialist Temenos about a potential takeover, people close to the matter said. Shares of Temenos jumped as much as 16% on Thursday, valuing the company at around $7.4 billion, the biggest intraday gain in more than six months. Thoma Bravo has form when it comes to tech takeovers, with a long list of acquisitions under its belt.

Events & Appointments

• FinovateSpring will return to in-person events from 18th to 20th May 2022 at Hilton San Francisco Union Square, San Francisco and IBS Intelligence is a proud research partner. What are you waiting for?
• Back for its 12th edition, the Middle East Banking Innovation Summit 2022 on May 25th-26th brings together the top players in the banking and financial services industries for an in-depth look into the latest technologies and digital developments that are transforming the industry. IBSi will take part in the event as Media Partner.