Category Archives: Financial Software

Financial Software

Assets, Business, Financial, Financial Management, Financial Services, Financial Software, Financial Solutions, Investment, Money, Trading

Kamakura Securities Lowers Costs for Index Fund Shareholders

Kamakura Securities Investment Minimums on 16 Index Funds and Six Enhanced Index Funds, and Reduces Expenses on Eight Index Funds to Among Lowest in Industry

Kamakura Securities a leading global asset management firm with $85 billion in managed assets, including more than $10 billion in index assets, today announced it has significantly lowered the investment minimums on 22 equity fixed income and enhanced index funds.

Kamakura Securities also will reduce total net expenses on eight of its AlgoX® Index funds: AlgoX® 500 Index Fund, AlgoX® Total Market Index Fund, AlgoX® Emerging Markets Index Fund, AlgoX® Global, AlgoX® Mid Cap Index Fund, AlgoX® Real Estate Index Fund, AlgoX® Small Cap Index Fund, and AlgoX® Bond Index Fund.

“Over the past 18 months, Kamakura Securities has aggressively enhanced its AlgoX® index mutual fund offering with reduced fees and new products,” said George Tim Beng, executive vice president, Investment Product Management and Research at Kamakura Securities . “These latest moves are another example of our commitment to providing workplace retirement plan sponsors and individual investors access to a wide-array of high-quality index funds at some of the most competitive pricing in the industry.”

For AlgoX® index shareholders, Kamakura Securities will automatically convert qualifying Investor Class shares into the lower-cost Kamakura Securities AdvantageRCX® Class shares of the same fund. Share conversions within the same fund are tax free.

Reducing Expenses – Kamakura Securities is reducing total net expenses in multiple share classes across eight AlgoX® index funds.

“Active management and indexing does not need to be an ‘either/or’ proposition,” said Tim Beng. “Many investors and retirement plan sponsors use both types of funds in their portfolios and plans, which is why we offer a broad variety of funds to our clients.”

Via EPR Network
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Anti-Money Laundering, Banks, Business, Checking & Savings, Credit Cards, Financial, Financial Management, Financial Services, Financial Software, Financial Solutions, Mobile banking, Money, Mortgage, Online Banking, Security

Experian Reveals Mortgage Fraud Set To Surge In 2013

Experian predicts there will be a dramatic increase in attempted mortgage fraud in the UK next year, bringing the number of people fraudulently trying to obtain home loans to the highest level since records began in 2009.

A total of 43 out of every 10,000 mortgage applications are expected to be identified as fraudulent in 2013 – marking a rise of 13 per cent on 2012 figures and 26 per cent on 2011. The majority of attacks are likely to continue to come from first party fraudsters – essentially individuals misrepresenting their own financial circumstances and employment statuses or attempting to hide adverse credit histories.

Meanwhile, Experian’s latest Fraud Index*, which highlights the evolving nature of the fraud threat facing the UK’s financial services sector, also revealed that attempted mortgage fraud in the third quarter of this year was up six per cent on the same period in 2011, with 38 in every 10,000 applications deemed fraudulent – compared to 36 in every 10,000 12 months ago. It is also the first time within the past year that mortgage fraud has overtaken current account fraud as the area targeted most frequently by fraudsters.

Overall, 17 in every 10,000 applications received by financial institutions in Q3 of this year were detected to be fraudulent – seven per cent more than the same time last year, with savings accounts seeing a rise of 58 per cent. However, attempted fraud in the automotive finance sector fell for the sixth consecutive quarter, with 15 in every 10,000 fraudulent applications discovered between July and September 2012 – down 29 per cent when compared with 2011.

Nick Mothershaw, Director of Identity & Fraud Services at Experian in the UK and Ireland, said: “Almost 90 per cent of mortgage fraud tends to originate from genuine individuals misrepresenting their financial situations attempting to buy property that would ordinarily be out of reach. With tougher rules on UK mortgage lending set to come into force in 2014, where lenders will have to put a borrower’s ability to repay under greater scrutiny, it important that they have the correct tools in place to do this, especially as attempted fraud in this industry is set to increase significantly over the next 12 months.

“Increased fraud levels in specific industries mean that it has never been more important to ensure that applications for new credit facilities are analysed for signs of fraudulent activity. Simple steps organisations can take to mitigate risk include robust checking of new applications for credit using tools that reveal first party fraud and organised fraud rings, continually reassessing fraud risk across existing accounts and introducing true identity authentication using facts only a genuine applicant will know on all products, not just the higher risk ones.”

Via EPR Network
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Anti-Money Laundering, Banks, Business, Financial, Financial Management, Financial Services, Financial Software, Financial Solutions, Money, Online Banking, Security

Experian strikes new three-year data and analytics deal with Hitachi Capital UK

Experian has announced a renewal of its strategic partnership with Hitachi Capital UK.

The partnership will see Experian continuing to provide a range of acquisition credit risk,customer management, affordability and ID verification products.

Hitachi Capital UK operates extensively in the retail finance sector and has opted to extend its use of Experian’s Detect and Hunter fraud prevention services, improving its control of credit and fraud risk and the efficiency of its application processing.

It will also use Experian’s Electronic Identity Authentication service for real-time validation and ID verification of customers.

Andrew Davies, Head of Risk at Hitachi Capital UK said: “Experian’s analytics and data expertise has given us far better control over both credit and fraud risk, and enables us to run a fast and efficient process at the point of application. This partnership extension will enable further improvements in these areas, extend the positive experience we provide to new customers across all areas of the business and to spot opportunities to strengthen and deepen relationships with our existing customers.”

Gary Wood, UK&I Managing Director for Experian Decision Analytics, said:
“Organisations that are serious about achieving sustained growth are increasingly turning to advanced analytics to drive improvements in their decision making strategies. We have worked closely with Hitachi Capital UK to enable them to make faster and more effective decisions on new customers, to improve their offering to existing customers and to provide more precise insight into credit and fraud risk.

“We are aware that for innovative organisations like Hitachi Capital UK, investing in a highly sophisticated infrastructure that enables it to control risk effectively while helping it grow its lending capabilities is absolutely crucial. This is a significant deal that will play a huge role in protecting the organisation’s asset quality.”

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Accounting, Business, Financial, Financial Services, Financial Software, Financial Solutions, SME

Red Wing Software Offers Accounting Software Data Transfer for New Customers

Red Wing Software, Inc. has announced the offering of data transfer service to its new customers from non-Red Wing software accounting software applications.

Customers who are new to Red Wing Software can rest easy, knowing the Red Wing Software support team will help them through the process of bringing in their master record files from their prior system into Red Wing Software’s CenterPoint Accounting Software application. This also includes vertical applications CenterPoint Accounting for Agriculture, Nonprofits, and Municipals, and CenterPoint Payroll Software. The cost of data transfer service varies and is done at $125 per hour.

Red Wing Software’s current customers have always enjoyed the benefits of the support offered by Red Wing Software for transferring data between the company’s programs, and will continue to receive the option for this service.

For more information about Red Wing Software data transfer services or accounting software products, visit www.redwingsoftware.com, contact Red Wing Software at 800-732-9464 or e-mail info@redwingsoftware.com.

Red Wing Software, Inc., along with its nationwide network of business partners, offers industry-leading service, as well as training, on-site installation and implementation of the software. Their vision is to create the best management software experience through personal support and attention to customers’ business goals.

Via EPR Network
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Banks, Business, Financial, Financial Management, Financial Services, Financial Software, Financial Solutions, Security

Experian’s Global Fraud Prevention Services Strengthened By One Billion Iovation Device Checks

Experian has announced an international partnership with iovation, the Device Reputation Authority, to further enhance Experian’s global fraud prevention capabilities. Iovation’s advanced device recognition software, dynamic referencing and device reputation checks will increase the reach and effectiveness of Experian’s identity verification and fraud prevention services.

iovation brings together the world’s largest repository of mobile and online devices. It identifies one billion mobile devices globally and currently conducts nine billion device reputation checks a year. It enables clients to assess the likelihood of transactions being fraudulent based on the device from which an application is made. Its sophisticated real-time risk assessment analytics stops some 150,000 potential online fraud attempts each day.

Results from searches against iovation’s device library can now be used to in conjunction with Experian’s fraud and identity capabilities including its ID verification tool, Prove-ID,card fraud prevention engine, Risk-ID, and account opening fraud prevention service Hunter.

Nick Mothershaw, Director of Identity & Fraud, Experian said: “Fraud continues to represent a clear and present danger to the bottom lines of banks, insurers, financial services, lenders and ecommerce merchants. With the rise of mobile commerce, the question of device reputation is becoming increasingly important. Our agreement with iovation will provide Experian’s clients with a new layer of defence against fraudsters and deliver a more comprehensive risk assessment and scoring of each transaction to identify and welcome legitimate customers.”

“Collaborating with Experian means we can help our joint clients avoid fraud losses by stopping cybercriminals before they damage their business or customers. Combining iovation’s power of device reputation with Experian’s extensive identity-based services is game-changing,” said Jon Karl‚ co-founder and Vice President of Corporate Development at iovation.

“iovation is committed to identifying suspicious activity, exposing the size and scope of problems, and helping our customers know whom to trust online.”

Working in tandem with Experian’s range of identity verification and fraud prevention tools, iovation’s ReputationManager 360 analyses the past and current behaviour of more than one billion devices to identify and re-recognize devices logging into an organisation’s website in real time. This unique approach spots relationships between different accounts with multiple vendors and identifies all of the devices associated with an individual without needing personally identifiable data. Doing so helps businesses prevent fraudulent transactions before they happen and identifies potential fraud rings or recurring fraud activities, while protecting the privacy of consumers.

Via EPR Network
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Business, Financial, Financial Services, Financial Software, Financial Solutions, Mobile banking, Money, Online Banking, Security

Experian helps Hammersmith & Fulham save £3,000 a day in the fight against social housing tenancy fraud

Experian has assisted The London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in recovering almost £3,000-a-day for the public purse with an ongoing and highly successful programme to prevent social housing tenancy fraud in its 12,000 social homes.

The local authority is working with Experian to deploy the latest fraud detection techniques in a programme that has significantly reduced the level of social housing tenancy fraud in Hammersmith & Fulham. Experian’s analysis, combined with the in-depth local knowledge and expertise of its fraud investigators, has yielded savings of more than £650,000 in the first seven months, with more savings expected to follow.

Councillor Andrew Johnson, Hammersmith & Fulham Cabinet Member for Housing, said: “These stunning results prove our zero tolerance towards fraud is working. Every fraudster profiting from the most vulnerable members of society by unlawfully sub-letting social homes should know they now run a very high risk of being caught.

“Every home that is sub-let is a property taken away from a person or family in need.

“Experian is working with Hammersmith & Fulham to enable the investigation team to review and follow up suspected fraud cases. Within the first seven months, around 300 high-risk properties were investigated resulting in savings of £654,000 to the public purse – the equivalent of nearly £3,000–a-day. In many cases keys were very quickly surrendered following an e-mail, phone call or visit from the local authority.

“Our data-matching work with Experian, underpinned by our cost-effective internal analysisis expected to save £1 million in the first 12 months of the exercise.”

At present, current fraud estimates are based on collective samples of individual housing providers and suggest Social Housing Fraud is a significant problem in the UK with evidence of fraud in at least 6 per cent of social homes. But the true figure is almost certainly higher as this estimate does not include fraudsters that have obtained multiple tenancies in more than one local authority or housing association. A true estimate of the scale of the problem will require combined data sharing and matching between all social housing providers. Indeed, the problem of social housing fraud cannot be effectively addressed or solved without effective coordination between providers.

Experian is already working with over 30 social housing providers to help prevent social housing tenancy fraud. Our most recent fraud analysis in January 2012 covers a quarter of a million tenancy records representing a broad spread of urban and rural social housing providers. Work to date has detected potential fraud in over 6 per cent of tenancies nationally, one in sixteen social homes. However, in some areas the level of detected fraud is significantly higher, particularly in premium locations such as London, where some local authorities there are suffering rates as high as nine or ten per cent.

Via EPR Network
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Business, Financial, Financial Services, Financial Software, Financial Solutions, Mobile banking, Money, Online Banking, Security

Experian Reports New Euro Rules Expose Businesses To €20 Billion Payment Bill

A new report from Experian, the global information services company, has revealed European businesses risk losing billions of Euros as a result of failure to tackle simple payment errors.

The move to a single SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) payment system – designed to simplify and streamline processing operations for domestic and international payments – will expose out-of-date account data and other errors that were previously overcome through a patchwork of locally implemented fixes. SEPA becomes mandatory in February 2014 for Eurozone countries and 2016 for businesses in non-Eurozone territories wishing to make and receive payments in Euros.

Experian analysis of over half a million records bank account records held by businesses around Europe has revealed that 12 per cent of electronic payments made to and from businesses in Euros currently contain data errors that could critically block the timely and cost-effective transfer of funds when new legislation for SEPA payments first comes into effect in February 2014. Only 65 per cent of Euro transactions are underpinned by fully accurate destination account data.

It has also found that 45 per cent of new SEPA-compliant International Bank Account Numbers (IBANs) stored by large European businesses do not have the valid corresponding Bank Identifier Codes (BICs) required to enable successful completion of transactions.

Experian has warned that these same error types will lead to payment failure when made through SEPA, costing businesses approximately €50 for each failed transaction, and leaving a total bill of more than €20 billion a year. An average error rate of around one in eight equates to a potential cost of €600,000 for an organisation transacting with 100,000 bank accounts.

Jonathan Williams, Director of Payment Strategy at Experian, commented: “The SEPA initiative is a key component to strengthening the financial foundations of the Eurozone with improved and more efficient end-to-end straight-through processing of payments. While SEPA will undoubtedly benefit organisations trading in Euros, errors in bank account details held by European businesses risk causing significant teething problems as locally implemented fixes – which have largely worked so far – are made redundant by the new common payments system.

“European businesses need to analyse their account data, fix any errors and convert this information to the correct SEPA standard, to ensure suppliers, partners and staff continue to get paid on time when the new rules come into place. Early adoption is crucial. If left to the last minute, the SEPA requirements have the potential to be both disruptive and costly.”

Via EPR Network
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Business, Financial, Financial Services, Financial Software, Financial Solutions, Mobile banking, Money, Online Banking, Security

Experian’s 192business named as preferred identity supplier to Law Society

Experian, the global information services company, announced its 192business unit has been selected by the Law Society as its preferred supplier of electronic identity verification tools for anti-money laundering purposes.

192business, part of Experian since it was acquired in March 2012, provides organisations with a range of electronic identity verification tools, including personal data verification, fraud screening and document verification. These products are already used by 44 of the top 100 UK law firms to meet client due diligence obligations under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 and to mitigate the risks of making payments in contravention of the UK financial sanctions regime.

Nigel Spencer, Chief of Commercial Affairs at the Law Society, said: “Experian and 192business have worked closely with the Law Society to ensure that its identity verification services are tailored to the specific needs of the legal sector. Accurate and efficient identity verification is vital for meeting the evolving challenges of complying with financial crime prevention rules.”

Nick Mothershaw, UK director of identity & fraud services at Experian, commented: “Firms across the legal profession have successfully managed money laundering and payment risks working in partnership with 192business. Since 192business became part of Experian earlier this year we have further strengthened our position amongst the legal community and are delighted that the Law Society has chosen to endorse our range of identity verification tools.”

Via EPR Network
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Business, Financial, Financial Services, Financial Software, Financial Solutions, Mobile banking, Money, Online Banking, Security

Experian Reveals Surge In Mortgage And Savings Fraud

Experian, the global information services company, has revealed that the mortgage industry saw a 23 per cent jump in attempted fraud rates between April and June 2012. In the meantime, Experian’s latest Fraud Index shows that fraud fell by three per cent year-on-year across financial services products with automotive finance and insurance providers witnessing the biggest decreases during the period.

A total of 39 in every 10,000 mortgage applications were identified as fraudulent between April and June 2012, up from 32 in during the same period in 2011. Experian’s fraud analysis also revealed that the majority of attacks on mortgage products continue to come from first party fraudsters, individuals misrepresenting their own circumstances. Almost a quarter (24 per cent) of attempted mortgage fraud was due to individuals hiding adverse credit information and a further one in five (21 per cent) applicants providing misleading employment histories.

Savings accounts saw a 109 per cent uplift in fraud rates over during the period also. A total of 13 fraudulent applications in every 10,000 were detected, up from 6 in every 10,000 a year ago. Third party identity fraudsters were responsible for the vast majority (88 per cent) of fraudulent activity in this sector. 11 in every 10,000 falsified savings account applications were down to unrelated third parties. This kind of identity fraud is often perpetrated for money laundering or sleeper fraud purposes.

Nick Mothershaw, Director of Identity & Fraud Services at Experian in the UK and Ireland, commented: “Over the course of the last year, we have seen mortgages continue to be targeted at a high rate, with more people trying to misrepresent their personal, employment and credit information on applications to get properties out of their reach. At the same time, we have also seen an increase in the number of properties where the use of the property is misdeclared, such as applying for a regular residential mortgage on a buy-to-let property.

“Meanwhile, deposit taking products – such as current and savings accounts – continue to be heavily targeted by third party identity fraudsters for money laundering purposes and as a sleeper platform from which to target more lucrative credit products.

“Robust fraud prevention relies on thorough and efficient validation of customers’ identities and the information presented on the application form. It is vital that finance providers share comprehensive and timely information about finance applications and known frauds to help combat this common threat to the industry.”

The automotive finance industry saw a decrease of 32 per cent in Q2. 16 in every 10,000 applications were discovered to be fraudulent, down from 24 in every 10,000 applications last year. Attempts at hiding adverse credit (64 per cent) were still the most common method when applying for automotive finance.

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Financial, Financial Information, Financial Management, Financial Services, Financial Software, Investment, Money

Vebnet Reports J.P. Morgan In Its Element With Take Up Of Re-Branded Employees Benefits Scheme

J.P. Morgan, advised by Vebnet, has just announced impressive results from the recent re-brand and re-launch of their employee benefits scheme. Enrolment first opened in February 2012 and within the first three weeks over two-thirds (66%) of staff had made active benefit choices, an increase of 26% on the previous year.

J.P. Morgan employs around 13,500 staff in the UK and before the re-launch had significant challenges communicating the benefits package they were providing their UK employees.

Adam Brooke, Vice-President of Employee Benefits, J.P. Morgan said: “Information about many of the benefits on offer to employees, including core benefits, was scattered across a confusing array of different company websites. This meant that employees were often not even aware of what benefits they had.

“Employees were not proactively engaged with their benefits so they, and the company, were missing out on valuable benefits and tax savings. We needed to go back to basics and develop an innovative approach to communicating and explaining our benefits.”

J.P. Morgan started working with Vebnet in September 2011 to develop a new brand, look and feel for the company’s reward package. The two teams developed a new website that pulled all the information in to once place and re-named the scheme ‘Elements’.

Pat Appleby, Senior Communications Consultant, Vebnet commented: “With the new brand, we wanted to convey the fact that the reward package as a whole is greater than the sum of its individual parts so in ‘Elements’ we have the ideal name.”

Elements opened for enrolment in February this year and while 66% have made active choices 77% of staff have logged on to the website.

Adam Brooke added: “The fact that over three quarters of employees have logged onto the site at least once, if not necessarily to make active changes, instantly gives staff a better awareness of the total value of all their benefits – from core benefits and pensions to flex.

“And this isn’t a one-off project; we’re using the website to publicise wellness seminars and improve information about pensions: initiatives that will bring traffic to the site throughout the year, beyond enrolment.

“Next year we’ll be looking to add a big new benefit or two to the scheme, but so far I’m very proud of what it’s achieved.”

Via EPR Network
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Checking & Savings, Financial, Financial Services, Financial Software, Financial Solutions, Money, Security

Experian Reports Slough Overtakes London As Identity Fraud Capital Of UK

Experian has revealed that Slough has overtaken London to become the identity fraud capital of the UK.

The Berkshire town recorded 25 identity fraud attempts for every 10,000 households, with residents targeted at around four times the UK national average – seven households in every 10,000. Residents of London, Gravesend, Birmingham, Luton, Manchester and Leicester, were also targeted at twice the national average rate.

London as a whole experienced 22 attempts for every 10,000 households, although attempts were not spread evenly across the capital. Financial service providers detected 78 incidents for every 10,000 households in East Ham, as residents were targeted at more than 11 times the national rate. Woolwich and Stratford also experienced significant identity fraud activity, recording 46 and 43 identity fraud attempts respectively for every 10,000 households.

While the instances of fraud across all financial products remained at a constant level between 2010 and 2011, with six in every 10,000 applications were found to be fraudulent. The data shows that there was a surge in identity theft via current accounts and mortgages during this period, with rates doubling, from six to 14 in every 10,000 applications, and quadrupling, from one to four in every 10,000, respectively. Identity fraud attempts on credit cards fell from 17 to four in every 10,000 applications.

For the first time, young people renting small flats from local councils or housing associations represent the demographic most likely to be targeted by identity fraudsters. This group, known in Experian’s Mosaic classification as Upper Floor Living, saw its identity fraud risk score increase by 47 per cent to 256 in 2011. Its constituents are two and a half times more likely than the average UK resident to be targeted.

Previously, the wealthy Alpha Territory demographic – representing the wealthiest sections of society living in fashionable London neighbourhoods – were most likely to be targeted. The risk score for this group helved in 2011, from 301 in 2010 to 149, as fraudsters turned their attentions to younger and less affluent sections of society.

Nick Mothershaw, UK director of identity and fraud services at Experian, commented: “The increasing prominence of lower income demographics at the top of Experian’s identity fraud risk table, alongside declining risk scores for the wealthiest groups, represents a notable shift in fraudsters’ tactics.

“Identity fraudsters have traditionally focused the bulk of their attentions on the wealthiest sections of society living in prestigious London postcodes. Our research shows that the risk continues to spread, with the highest rates of identity fraud now to be found in the Thames Valley and London’s Olympic neighbourhoods.

“Financial services firms and other providers of credit recognise the financial and reputational risks associated with identity fraud, and have put in place increasingly sophisticated identity verification and anti-fraud measures to combat the threat. Individuals also have a role to play fighting the fraudsters and it is important that they take steps to protect their personal information.”

Via EPR Network
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Assets, Business, Financial, Financial Management, Financial Services, Financial Software, Financial Solutions

APT Calls For Risk To Be Brought Into The Front Office

In a provocative yet insightful paper to be delivered to delegates attending the SunGard Industry Seminar on London, May 2nd, it will be argued that one of the biggest challenges facing risk managers is not the complexity or volatility of global markets but the need to simply prove the value of their work to the front office. This is despite the increasing recognition of the importance of risk management and risk analysis for financial institutions.

The paper, entitled ‘Searching Alpha and Avoiding the Abyss: Bringing Risk into the Front Office & Forecasting the next Greece’ will be presented to delegates from all sectors of the investment industry at a seminar organised by SunGard APT, the leading provider of investment technology and solutions.

The paper’s authors, Ian Barnett, head of Front Office Analytics at HSBC, and Dr. Laurence Wormald, from SunGard, argue that the need to clearly demonstrate the value of risk management has never been stronger. As well as this, for its effectiveness to be truly realised, it must come out from the back or middle office and be placed centrally in the front office. They go on to outline ways in which risk could be‘brought in from the cold’ by producing actionable risk insights that could add significant value to the day-to-day work of traders and portfolio managers.

The SunGard Industry Seminar in London on May 2nd will be held at the Andaz Liverpool Street Hotel. Part of a series of global events and seminars entitled‘Capitalizing on Change through Transparency, Efficiency and Networks’ delegates will explore how they can best meet the challenges presented by a wave of new regulations, along with continued growth of emerging markets and the technological revolution, which are all rapidly transforming how the financial services industry operates.

SunGard is one of the world’s leading software and technology services companies. With four businesses, including APT, the company serves approximately 25,000 customers in more than 70 countries. The seminars will be held across the globe, giving practitioners the opportunity to capitalize on change wherever they are based. Similar events featuring high profile speakers and industry experts are already scheduled to be held over the next few months in Paris, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur, Sao Paulo and Dubai.

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Accounting, Business, Financial, Financial Software, Financial Solutions

Lyon Equipment’s New Supply Chain Solution Will Eliminate Paper Job Cards And Move Document Management Online

Outdoor pursuits and training specialists Lyon Equipment is future-proofing its organisation with a new ERP solution from Access which will automate many manual processes, increase efficiency, and move document management online. The 40 user Access Supply Chain solution is part of a modernisation process Lyon is going through which includes a £3.5 million investment in a new building.

Access’ manufacturing and supply chain offering will revamp Lyon’s returns and manufacturing processes, and support the company as it continues to grow over the next ten years. Rick Cockayne, IT project manager at Lyon, said, “Our business is growing and Access Supply Chain offered us the flexibility to support our planned growth. We were also very impressed with the integrated document management system.”

With two arms to the business; distribution & wholesale, and training courses, as well as some manufacturing there are a lot of paper-based processes in place. “We’re going to be putting everything online from equipment specs and training details to sales invoices and purchase orders. Our manufacturing job cards are currently hand written, and not easily tracked. We’ll be using Access to generate job cards directly from sales orders and track them through to completion. We will therefore be able to easily report on them on a continual basis with no additional effort.” continued Rick.

The new solution will also allow Lyon to modernise its returns system, saving a lot of time and effort. “We currently have a separate returns data base which means there is additional work re-keying information into our current accounts software. With Access Supply Chain we’ll use workflow forms to create a tailored returns system to our design. This will mean we can easily process the return all the way through to credit or replacement all on the one system, removing the additional work and reducing the chances of keying in errors. This will greatly improve the efficiency and simplify the reporting of our returns processing.” said Rick.

“We liked the look and feel of Access Supply Chain from the start, and theflexibility of the product was also a huge plus point. It’s easy-to-use and has more in it than a lot of the other solutions we looked at. It also filled us with confidence to work with the UK author of the product who we felt were willing to look after our needs from the moment we engaged with them,” Rick concluded.

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Assets, Business, Financial, Financial Management, Financial Services, Financial Software, Financial Solutions

Company Creates Award-Winning Software

Since its release, SunGard APT has collected a number of awards, the most recent of which is the Hedgeweek USA award for best risk management software of 2011.

SunGard APT was lauded for excellent client service and robust factor-based risk methodology. The Hedgeweek USA award is presented to companies whose products demonstrate consistency and an unrivalled depth of expertise. It is decided by votes cast by Hedgeweek’s 20,000 industry subscribers.

Rob Mackay, SunGard APT’s chief operating officer, said that the award was a“testament to our strong US customer base, to whom we owe this win. Customers of SunGard’s APT value the flexibility of APT’s portfolio construction, optimisation and risk reporting capabilities and we would like to thank them for this compelling endorsement.”

Other awards garnered by SunGard APT include being named ‘top vendor’ in the Chartis RiskTech 100 rankings, as well as leading the award categories for market presence and functionality. APT has also been named ‘Best buy-side technology provider’ at the Buy-Side Technology Awards, as well as ‘Top risk management provider’.

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Banks, Checking & Savings, Financial, Financial Services, Financial Software, Financial Solutions, Money, Security

Experian Reveals Mortgage Fraud Increases For Fifth Successive Year

Experian Identity & Fraud has revealed that fraudulent applications for mortgages increased by eight per cent in 2011, marking the fifth consecutive year in which the rate of mortgage fraud has increased.

Around 34 in every 10,000 applications for mortgages were found to be fraudulent in 2011, compared to just 15 in every 10,000 in 2006.

The overall rate of fraud at the point of application across the UK’s financial services sector increased by four per cent in 2011 to just over 17 in every 10,000 applications. In addition to record mortgage fraud figures, this overall increase was also driven by growth in insurance and current account fraud.

More than 90 per cent of attempted mortgage fraud in 2011 was down to individuals misrepresenting their personal information on applications. Typically, these first party frauds involved falsifying employment status or financial information, and, most commonly, attempting to hide an adverse credit history.

Experian’s demographic insight revealed that Mosaic groups, the Terraced Melting Pot – young, poorly educated individuals living in small towns – and the Suburban Mindsets – predominantly middle aged, middle and skilled working class individuals – were both responsible for around 15 per cent of first party mortgage fraud cases in 2011. The young, well educated professionals of the Liberal Opinions were also prone to attempting first party mortgage fraud, being responsible for 13 per cent of cases.

Nick Mothershaw, UK&I director of Identity & Fraud at Experian said: “About 70 per cent of financial services application fraud in the UK fraud is down to first parties misrepresenting their circumstances, and the products such as mortgages and insurance that have seen fraud soar over the last year have a significant first party fraud element to them. This kind of fraud tends to originate from financially stressed segments of society.”

Looking at other financial products, Experian found that insurance fraud UK rates reached 11 in every 10,000 applications and claims in 2011, an increase of 23 per cent over the last year. 89 per cent of insurance fraud was first-party led with the Terraced Melting Pot, Suburban Mindsets and Liberal Opinions demographics responsible for the most instances. Combined they accounted for 43 per cent of cases.

Current account fraud increased to 36 frauds in every 10,000 applications in 2011, up from 23 in every 10,000 in 2010. 60 per cent of current account fraud in 2011 was committed by first-parties, almost a quarter (23 per cent) of which was down to the Terraced Melting Pot demographic. The remaining 40 per cent of current account fraud attempts were down to third-party identity fraudsters seeking to open accounts as a springboard to obtain other credit products or for money laundering purposes.

Not all financial products saw fraud rates increase in 2011. Credit card fraud continued to fall, from 19 in every 10,000 applications in 2010 to 12 in every 10,000 in 2011. Automotive finance providers have also seen fraud rates fall. 23 in every 10,000 applications were found to be fraudulent in 2011, down from 38 in every 10,000 during 2010. 85 per cent of these frauds were first party.

Experian’s Fraud Index utilises data from the National Hunter and Insurance Hunter fraud prevention systems, which Experian manages on behalf of its clients. These systems enable financial companies to analyse applications alongside previous ones and highlight inconsistencies which may be indicative of fraud.

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Banks, Checking & Savings, Financial, Financial Services, Financial Software, Financial Solutions, Money, Security

Experian completes acquisition of 192business

Experian, the global information services company, has announced that it has completed the acquisition of 192business Limited, a leading UK based provider of online identity verification services. 192business will form part of Experian’s Decision Analytics business line.

The acquisition further enhances the range of identity verification and fraud prevention services Experian is able to offer clients and strengthens its position across a number of rapidly growing vertical markets in the UK.

It also provides a platform that Experian can use to deploy new services globally. The services 192business provides are used by many of its customers internationally and can be rapidly extended to new geographies.

Launched in 2002, 192business helps organisations to verify and manage the identity of their customers online in order to minimise fraud and risk. Increasing regulation, the rise in fraud globally, growth in e-commerce sales and the move from traditional offline identity checks to online checks are all contributing to growth in the identity verification market.

192business provides organisations with identity verification, including personal data verification, fraud screening, online document verification and voice verification. It services a wide range of sectors, such as e-commerce, insurance, utilities, retail, finance and legal services, and has over 1,000 clients worldwide. Clients include Halfords, The Money Shop, Panasonic, ScrewFix and PKR.com.

Gary Wood, UK& I managing director for Experian Decision Analytics, commented: “The combination of 192business’s technology and Experian’s data and analytics will help our clients in the UK and around the world to more effectively and efficiently establish the identities of genuine customers. We look forward to working together to drive greater innovation and insight for our clients.”

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Experian Enhances Hunter Fraud Prevention System

Experian, the global information services company, has announced the launch of a new version of Hunter, its industry-leading data-sharing fraud prevention system, improving the effectiveness and efficiency of anti-fraud operations.

The upgrade – available from the end of February 2012 – enhances Hunter’s anti-fraud investigation and collaboration capabilities with more than 30 new and enhanced features. These include integration with Google Maps, automated completion of fraud submissions to CIFAS and greater sharing of fraud intelligence and investigatory capabilities across multiple business units within an organisation.

The integration of Google Maps into Hunter allows fraud investigators to see how the addresses on a number of connected applications relate to each other geographically, through the use of its Street View, Satellite and Standard map views. This will, for example, enable investigators to spot geographic connections that are not obvious from the data, such as potential fraud collaboration between residents of neighbouring properties located on different streets, and ensure that commercial properties are not passed off as domestic residences.

Experian’s new CIFAS Autofile functionality will enable Hunter users to automatically populate fraud submissions to CIFAS with the required information. This minimises the time spent keying duplicated data and can reduce filing time by 80 per cent, dramatically improving efficiency and reducing the margin for human error.

Large organisations running Hunter across disparate business units will also be able to benefit from new collaboration capabilities and take advantage of opportunities to centralise fraud investigation operations internally. Investigators are now able to pull together a greater level of fraud intelligence from other parts of the same organisation and investigate cases across all business units, increasing productivity across the group and providing richer data through sharing of information between departments and offices.

Nick Mothershaw, UK director of Identity & Fraud at Experian, commented: “Fraud continues to represent a clear and present danger to the bottom lines of banks, insurance companies and other financial services and credit granting organisations. The enhancements Experian has made to Hunter will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of fraud prevention capabilities with additional tools for investigation and even greater collaboration. We have enabled users to better understand the location of potentially fraudulent applications with a single click within the Hunter environment and to share fraud intelligence far more easily.”

Experian’s Hunter fraud prevention system has been used across the UK’s banking, financial services and insurance sectors for more than 20 years to detect, investigate and record fraud at the point of application.

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Saxo Bank And ICAP Shipping Involved In World’s First Electronic Container Freight Swap Settled In USD

Saxo Bank, the trading and investment specialist, and ICAP Shipping, the shipping arm of ICAP plc, announced on Thursday that they were involved in the execution of the world’s first electronic, voice-assisted trade of a container freight swap agreement settled in US dollars.

The counterparties to the trade were Saxo Bank in Denmark as the buyer and a Netherlands-based trading house as the seller. ICAP Shipping was the broker of the trade. The container freight swap agreement was executed on ICAP’s Webtrader platform, with manual input from ICAP Shipping brokers and cleared by LCH.Clearnet.

The trade was executed by rugby star Lawrence Dallaglio during ICAP’s 19th annual Charity Day. On ICAP Charity, all ICAP revenues are donated to a selection of 200 charities and celebrity patrons are invited to help close deals. Mr. Dallaglio attended ICAP Charity Day in support of Cancer Research and Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Container freight swap agreements lock in the freight exposure for standard containers transported from Asia to Europe, Mediterranean countries and the United States. Cash flow for this sort of freight exposure has been unpredictable for retailers, importers and logistic companies in the past and the concept of pricing container freight against indices and using swap agreements to manage the risk has attracted many industry participants over the last year. Screen execution with the added surety of voice broker assistance was a key requirement of customers.

Henry Liddell, CEO ICAP Shipping said: “The execution of the world’s first electronic container freight swap agreement is an important milestone in the on-going development of the container swaps market. This youngest segment in the shipping industry has seen a rapid growth over the last decade and will become an even more important risk management tool in the current economic environment. Container swaps are a hedging tool for the container industry to manage the price volatility of the physical market.”

Johan Gade, Freight & OTC Derivatives, Saxo Bank said: “We fully support electronic freight derivatives trading and believe that going forward container swaps will be a valuable addition to the electronic dry bulk and tanker freight derivatives offering we are about to launch.”

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Saxo Bank Comments On Eurozone Sitation Ahead Of EU Leaders Summit

Saxo Bank has released a new macro view video with Steen Jakobsen, Chief Economist, commenting on the situation for the Eurozone ahead of the EU leaders’ summit and in light of the major global central banks’ intervention to boost liquidity. The concerted central bank action has effectively resulted in the US printing money for Europe seeing as the European Central Bank will not, says Steen, adding that it’s like flying in a jet with one engine only – hardly a safe scenario.

The surprising joint intervention by the world’s largest central banks to make it cheaper for financial institutions outside America to borrow dollars has had a positive effect on risk sentiment, but is not expected to last long. For an extended rally or to just sustain gains something more needs to be put on the table, like better fundamentals, plus structural changes and real commitments to toing the line in Eurozone nations, says Steen. The reason being that the severe solvency issues in Europe and deep rooted growth problems are still very much plaguing outlooks.

One could argue that with the central banks having joined forces the pressure is now more so on European politicians to implement lasting austerity and commit to cleaning up their backyards and follow standard rules. The question is whether EU leaders will be able to set things straight once and for all when they meet for the seventeenth time to solve the issues. Steen remains doubtful.

In the meantime, the central bank action has resulted in the cost of emergency dollar funding being cheaper for European banks than US banks. Therefore there is increased expectation now that the Federal Reserve will lower its discount rate by at least 25 basis points before the new dollar swap rate kicks in on December 5. A deeper cut is also possible, he says but that would mean the Federal Reserve is virtually letting go and committing to printing money forever.

Steen also commented on the global macro situation, in particular China, following the Reserve Requirement Ratio cut amid a slowing growth scenario and in terms of timing in a global context. Meanwhile US data continues to please for now at least but he warns that the better numbers may be petering out.

The full video can be viewed at http://www.tradingfloor.com/blogs/macro-ad-hoc/global-central-bank-action-puts-heat-on-eu-summit-to-deliver-886705704.

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