Burford Capital (“Burford”), a leading global finance firm focused on law, announced the results of its 2017 Litigation Finance Survey of lawyers and financial professionals at law firms and companies in the US, UK and Australia. The independent research builds on prior surveys commissioned by Burford to study third-party funding of commercial litigation and arbitration.

Burford’s 2017 Litigation Finance Survey shows that litigation finance continues to achieve dramatic growth and now is an accepted reality of the legal landscape:

• Use of litigation finance in the US grew by 28% from last year, to 36%, and has grown 414% since 2013.
• Among respondents in the US, UK and Australia, a majority of users (59%) say their use of litigation finance has increased in the last two years.
• A strong majority (72%) of all respondents agree that litigation finance is a growing and increasingly important area of the business of law—and, notably, 40% of US companies report having foregone claims due to the cost of litigation.
• Pointing to continued growth on the horizon, among all respondents whose organizations have not yet used litigation finance, a majority of law firm respondents (57%) and nearly half of in-house respondents (49%) are likely to consider its use in the next two years.
• Some early concerns about litigation finance have evaporated. For example, in the US, the number of in-house respondents with concerns about litigation finance leading to unnecessary litigation fell to 10% from 81% five years ago. Among all respondents, ethical concerns rank dead last among obstacles to use, at 9%.
• Only 7% of all respondents are unfamiliar with litigation finance, and only 4% of law firm respondents.

Christopher Bogart, Burford’s CEO, commented: “Burford’s latest research affirms our own experience: More and more often, clients and law firms are turning to litigation finance as a solution to some of the intractable challenges and pressures of managing legal cost and risk, and that strong demand is driving dramatic growth.”

Burford’s 2017 Litigation Finance Survey was conducted by ALM Intelligence, the research arm of ALM Media, publisher of The American Lawyer, from May 17 to June 16, 2017. The full report is available online.

About Burford Capital

Burford Capital is a leading global finance and investment management firm focused on law. Its businesses include litigation finance and risk management, asset recovery, and a wide range of legal finance and advisory activities. Burford is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange, and it works with law firms and clients around the world from its principal offices in New York, London and Chicago. For more information about Burford: www.burfordcapital.com

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The creators of the Smartlands platform for the tokenization of agricultural assets, based on the blockchain solution and the Agriculture 3.0 concept, announce the ICO of the project.

Smartlands platform founders came out with innovative technology for the agricultural market. The goal of the platform is to create a new class of low-risk tokens, secured by real, highly profitable assets in the agricultural sector.

To date, asset-backed tokens (ABT) are used in various industries (real estate, finance, etc.), but the agricultural market, especially horticulture, has a significant investment potential, as it provides opportunities in the market with high margins and low risks. By definition ABTs are backed by assets which minimizes risks, but ABTs issued within Smartlands will also provide expected returns identical to investment in equity.

The land and the trees are long-term assets, and their price is subject to minor fluctuations in the short term. At the same time, Smartlands makes the most of high-tech and IT solutions, achieving maximum efficiency and transparency.

"Our platform creates common and understandable rules for safe, honest, transparent and accountable investment attraction. In fact, we want to bring benefits of an IPO, currently available only to large businesses, to medium and small businesses," - says Dmitriy Ruzhickiy, Head of strategy and business development.

As proof of concept, the Platform will launch the first project, which will be implemented on the real assets of the project team. It will be an industrial walnut garden of five thousand trees on 50 hectares area. The project was audited by Deloitte and the USPA.

Smartlands creates an ecosystem of agrotechnological companies, the partners of the Platform, which in the future can be supplemented by the business accelerator.

Development of Smartlands blockchain platform started in late 2016. The goal of the project is to open agricultural markets to the crypto-investors and contribute to the sustainable development of the agro-industrial complex throughout the world. The work is led by an international group of experts in the fields of finance, agriculture, and blockchain. The pilot project of the platform is the walnut garden.

For more information and full technical and market review please visit: http://smartlands.io

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RIMES Technologies, the leading provider of managed data services and RegTech solutions for the buy-side, has  launched an innovative new solution: RIMES RegFocus^® BMR Control. The cloud-based service will help asset managers, banks and insurance companies comply with the EU’s landmark Benchmarks Regulation (BMR) coming into force on 1^st January 2018 without the high cost and operational disruption associated with in-house upgrades to compliance systems and processes.

Under BMR, which aims to introduce a common framework and consistent approach to benchmark regulation across the EU, Benchmark Users are defined as supervised entities that use indices as benchmarks, and issue financial instruments or contracts that references an index. Under the Regulation, these firms are required to understand which of the indices they use constitute a benchmark, and whether they can use these benchmarks in the EU. Additionally, they must have a substitute benchmark ready in case any benchmarks they currently use are withdrawn as a result of the Regulation.

RegFocus BMR Control provides Benchmark Users with a simple-to-use cloud service to meet their new compliance obligations under BMR. Through an advanced, feature-rich inventory management system, Benchmark Users can gain an immediate understanding of the universe of indices and benchmarks used at their firm, and benefit from immediate alerts to any areas in which they are at risk of non-compliance. Most importantly, RegFocus BMR helps benchmark users address the essential question: am I a Benchmark Administrator, a Contributor or a User, and for which benchmarks? The new service also includes comprehensive data enrichment capabilities, enabling firms to augment the key attributes of one or a set of benchmarks.

RegFocus BMR Control provides further levels of control through its advanced and highly-intuitive user interface. Firms using the service can rest assured that every benchmark they use is properly registered and administered under BMR. Additionally, RegFocus BMR Control draws on RIMES’ library of millions of benchmarks to provide users with instant access to substitute benchmarks.

Bruno Piers de Raveschoot, COO of RIMES Regulatory Division, commented: “BMR represents a significant step-up on the compliance obligations for the buy-side, and many will struggle to achieve compliance in time if they go down the traditional, in-house route. RegFocus BMR Control offers a compelling alternative: immediate compliance control at the low cost-points associated with the cloud. Our technology integrates seamlessly with the systems of Benchmark Users to provide a real value add: a system that delivers a comprehensive benchmarks inventory, proactively alerts firms about non-compliance, and enriches benchmarks data. I’ve heard from some clients that without such technology it is literally impossible to comply with the BMR.”

#ends#

About RIMES

RIMES is a buy-side specialist that truly understands the data management and compliance challenges faced by its clients. It serves over 300 investment managers, pension funds, hedge funds, wealth managers, private banks, custodian banks and insurance companies in 40 countries including 60 of the 100 largest global asset managers and 9 of the 10 largest custodians by TAUM.

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Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE), a leading operator of global exchanges and clearing houses and provider of data and listings services, and Go West, a consortium of leading global trading firms collaborating to create efficient access to global financial markets, will offer ultra-low latency wireless connectivity between markets in Chicago and Tokyo. When the Go West service is launched in the fourth quarter of 2017, ICE’s Secure Financial Transaction Infrastructure (SFTI^®) wireless networks will offer the most extensive ultra-low latency network connectivity solutions among the New York, Chicago, Toronto and Tokyo metro areas.

“We’re excited to add Go West’s key Chicago to Tokyo route to our growing range of connectivity options,” said Jonathan Reeve, Global Head of Connectivity and Consolidated Feeds at ICE Data Services. “As the demand for data capacity, speed and security increases, Go West extends our network’s geographical reach and offers a new alternative for customers that require ultra-low latency connectivity between North American and Asian markets.”

The Go West network was created by a consortium of several of the world’s leading trading firms to generate efficient access to global financial markets by offering the lowest latency route between Chicago and Tokyo. The network utilizes a system of wireless towers, fiber-optic lines and submarine cables to connect Chicago and Tokyo. The agreement with Go West will add one new wireless network to ICE’s ultra-low latency connectivity services, including the SFTI Wireless New Jersey metro network, powered by Anova, and the Atrium wireless network, which ICE acquired in May 2017, offering one of the lowest latency networks between the New Jersey, Chicago and Toronto metro areas.

SFTI Wireless is part of ICE Data Services’ connectivity service, which offers highly secure, low latency networks, global colocation, and the SFTI Direct Market Access network of over 150 venues and 600 market data and news feeds. ICE Data Services also provides access to 450 normalized real-time market data feeds through the ICE Consolidated Feed.

For more information about SFTI Wireless, please visit: https://www.theice.com/market-data/connectivity/sfti-wireless.

About Intercontinental Exchange

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) is a Fortune 500 company that operates a leading network of global futures, equity and equity options exchanges, as well as global clearing and data services across financial and commodity markets. The New York Stock Exchange is the world leader in capital raising, listings and equities trading.

Trademarks of ICE and/or its affiliates include Intercontinental Exchange, ICE, ICE block design, NYSE and New York Stock Exchange. Information regarding additional trademarks and intellectual property rights of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. and/or its affiliates is located at www.intercontinentalexchange.com/terms-of-use.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 -- Statements in this press release regarding ICE’s business that are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements” that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of additional risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see ICE’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, including, but not limited to, the risk factors in ICE’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, as filed with the SEC on February 7, 2017.

About Go West Network

For more information about the Go West Network, visit www.gowestnetwork.com.

SOURCE: Intercontinental Exchange

ICE- CORP

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GTreasury announced the opening of their West End, London office at 1 Neal Street. This move gives GTreasury both an expanded presence in Europe for the servicing of its new and existing treasury management customers and a foundation for greater support, service and future growth.

The London based GTreasury team will include new additions such as Terry Beadle, as Global Head of Corporate Development, and Christopher Seaman, as EMEA Managing Director.

Mr. Beadle was the global leader of Bloomberg’s treasury management team for three years and is a former managing director of Wall Street Systems. Mr. Seaman was with Bloomberg since 2007, and was most recently in charge of global sales of its corporate treasury management solutions.

“GTreasury is experiencing strong growth and continues to be an influential global leader in the liquidity management and payments arena. Adding a London office and strong management enhances our support for EMEA customers, increases our access to global talent and local partners, and will help us drive business opportunities worldwide,” said Orazio Pater founder of GTreasury.

About GTreasury

Originated in 1986, GTreasury is the global leader of treasury management solutions for organizations spanning the world. GTreasury’s solution illuminates a treasury’s liquidity by centralizing all incoming and outgoing banking activities, along with tracking all financial instrument activities. This gives GTreasury practitioners real-time insight and access into their global liquidity. GTreasury is the only company that offers both an installed and a SaaS solution. Our modular platform and infrastructure allow any size treasury operation the ability to customize a solution that is best suited to their needs. For more information please contact Marketing@GTreasury.com or visit www.GTreasury.com.

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• 50% waiver on processing fee for Home Loans above Rs. 25 lakh
• Lowest interest rate of 8.35% on loan value above Rs. 75 lakh

1. Stable Returns

2. Check your returns

3. No Approvals

Unlike high-risk investments that have to go through one or multiple rounds of approvals, fixed deposit don’t need anybody to sign off.

MetLife announced it has signed a 3-year sponsorship agreement with MDRT (Million Dollar Round Table) that will provide participation and support for the ongoing education, exchange of marketing and sales practice and skills development for MetLife Asia’s financial services professionals and MDRT members in the Asia Pacific region.

MetLife Asia markets its products and services in its 11 markets in Asia through a multichannel distribution strategy including career agency, bancassurance, brokerage, other third-party distribution and direct marketing. With over 20 million customers in the Asia region, it is the fourth-largest pan-Asian life insurer (based on gross written premium or “GWP”) and ranks among the top five foreign life insurer in many of the Asian markets in which it operates.

Commenting on the announcement, Bharat Kannan, SVP, Chief Distribution Officer, MetLife Asia said, “We have over 45,000 career agents in Asia and they, together with our other sales professionals play an important role in supporting our customers in their choices. Partnering with MDRT is an excellent way to provide our sales professionals with the tools and ongoing learning and development opportunities, and underscores our commitment in upholding the highest standards on behaviour, ethics and customer service in our industry.”

MDRT’s global footprint was established in the early years of its existence and today its membership growth is strongest in Asia where there are more than 50,000 members. The organization’s global reach enables it to add value and provide unparalleled resources to key stakeholders.

“MDRT is excited for this unique opportunity with MetLife Asia. We value the support of companies that are dedicated to the development and growth of their professionals and strengthening the financial services profession overall,” said MDRT President James D. Pittman, CLU, CFP. “MetLife Asia’s sponsorship enables us to deepen our engagement with MDRT members while also creating opportunities for MDRT to motivate, inspire, and teach prospective members about the boundless opportunities that they can create for themselves and their clients. Our relationship also reinforces MDRT’s mission to provide financial services professionals with the resources they need to succeed while maintaining the highest standards of client service and ethical conduct.”

About MDRT

Founded in 1927, Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT), The Premier Association of Financial Professionals®, is a global, independent association of more than 62,000 of the world's leading life insurance and financial services professionals from more than 500 companies in 69 nations and territories. MDRT members demonstrate exceptional professional knowledge, strict ethical conduct and outstanding client service. MDRT membership is recognized internationally as the standard of excellence in the life insurance and financial services business. For more information, please visit mdrt.org.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET), through its subsidiaries and affiliates (“MetLife”), is one of the world’s leading financial services companies, providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management to help its individual and institutional customers navigate their changing world. Founded in 1868, MetLife has operations in more than 40 countries and holds leading market positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, visit www.metlife.com.

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Andersen Global is proud to announce the appointment of Andrea De Vecchi and Paolo Mondia as Co-Managing Partners for the European Region. Andrea and Paolo are the Managing Partners for Andersen Tax & Legal in Italy and Andersen Tax in Lugano, respectively. They will be working together closely to manage the European practice and the growth of both the region and the organization as a whole.

“I have the utmost confidence in Andrea and Paolo and both bring different perspectives and frames of reference to this position,” shared Global Chairman and Andersen Tax LLC CEO, Mark Vorsatz. “They have played a significant role in our discussions around our organizational structure and have been catalysts for the enormous progress made in this short period of time. Their long history of leadership and cooperation, coupled with their excellent experience in the field make them ideal candidates for this new role.”

Andrea specializes in mergers and acquisitions, corporate group structuring and transaction support in Italy and abroad. He has specific experience in different sectors, including mass retailing, publishing, new economy, hospitality, pharmaceuticals, restaurants, mining, energy and real estate, and is especially active in judicial consultancy, company assessment, supervisory and auditing activities. Since 1993, Andrea has been working with the professional services firm established by his grandfather in 1925, which later became Noda Studio, and is now Andersen Tax & Legal in Italy.

Paolo provides tax and corporate consultancy services and advises individuals and companies in tax and corporate matters at both a national and international level. He has been running his own firm for more than 25 years, starting at Neofidaria SA as a market leader in the field of trust, and later establishing his own firm, MDR Advisory Group, now known as Andersen Tax in Lugano.

Andersen Global is an international association of member firms comprised of tax and legal professionals around the world. Established in 2014 by U.S. member firm Andersen Tax LLC, Andersen Global now has more than 2,000 professionals worldwide and a presence in 70 locations through its member firms and collaborating firms.

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• Optimizing value of 201 File for purposes of decision making;
• Facilitating benefits administration vis-à-vis separate approaches for different employee group;
• Providing accurate references for employee development and movements based on required and actual competency levels; and
• Streamlining processes and reduce paper routing in personnel administration.

• LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/adrenalin-esystems-ltd
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/adrenalinHRMS  
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/adrenalinHRMS  
• Google+: https://plus.google.com/+AdrenalineSystemsLimited  

Aite Group’s latest report, Digital Authentication: New Opportunities to Enhance the Customer Journey, explores merchant and financial institution initiatives to create an intuitive user experience. FIs and merchants are spending a considerable amount of time and resources in their quest to make it as easy as possible for consumers to access and spend their money. Meanwhile, an increasing proportion of banking and retail transactions are quickly moving into the online and mobile channels, and criminals are following with rapidly evolving and innovative attacks.

A variety of technologies, such as biometrics, are now available that can bring both greater security and a superior user experience. However, the resulting cacophony of vendor messages can be confusing for FI and merchant executives as they work to understand the value of various technologies and determine the appropriate way to orchestrate an effective solution.

“An intuitive and easy digital user experience is table stakes for both banks and e-commerce merchants, but this is increasingly difficult to maintain as cyberattacks grow more frequent and sophisticated,” says Aite Group research director Julie Conroy. “Businesses that leverage technology to enable security in a responsive, frictionless manner will increasingly gain a competitive edge,” she says.

This report outlines the various digital channel fraud detection and authentication solutions, discusses their pros and cons, and provides a vendor mapping. It concludes with a discussion of the ways in which FIs and merchants can more nimbly evolve their protective strategies.

To request a press copy of this report or to speak with Julie Conroy about this topic, please contact us at pr@aitegroup.com.

About Aite Group:

Aite Group is a global research and advisory firm delivering comprehensive, actionable advice on business, technology, and regulatory issues and their impact on the financial services industry. With expertise in banking, payments, insurance, wealth management, and the capital markets, we guide financial institutions, technology providers, and consulting firms worldwide. We partner with our clients, revealing their blind spots and delivering insights to make their businesses smarter and stronger. Visit us on the web and connect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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Viridian Group FinanceCo PLC and Viridian Power and Energy Holdings DAC (together, the “Issuers”), subsidiaries of Viridian Group Investments Limited (“Viridian”), a portfolio company of I Squared Capital, have priced their offering of £540 million (equivalent) in aggregate principal amount of senior secured notes. This issuance comprises a Euro tranche of €350 million of 4.00 percent senior secured notes due 2025 and a Sterling tranche of £225 million of 4.75 percent senior secured notes due 2024 (together, the “Notes”).

Viridian intends to use the proceeds of the Notes, together with amounts received in relation to the settlement of certain forward foreign exchange contracts and cash on balance sheet, to refinance its existing Euro denominated notes, to pay costs and to pay a £60 million distribution to its shareholders.

The Notes (144A/Reg S) have received a rating of B1 (positive outlook) from Moody’s and an expected BB-(Exp) from Fitch.

“With this refinancing, Viridian is even better positioned to execute its corporate strategy,” said Ian Thom, CEO of Viridian. “The pricing achieved reaffirms the significant improvement in credit quality from growth initiatives, including the commissioning of 168 megawatts of wind capacity in March and April 2017, together with the ongoing construction of a further 75 megawatts of wind capacity. In addition, Viridian continues to hold leading positions across Ireland in a diversified portfolio of assets, including 747 megawatts of thermal generation capacity capable of providing 11 percent of peak demand, over 1.2 gigawatts of power purchase agreements, as well as supplying over 700,000 customers with gas and electricity.”

The offering was led by I Squared Capital in close partnership with the Viridian executive leadership team.

Deutsche Bank, Barclays, and Credit Suisse acted as Joint Global Coordinators and Bookrunners. Lloyds Bank and The Royal Bank of Scotland (trading as NatWest Markets) acted as Bookrunners.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP acted on behalf of Viridian while Latham & Watkins LLP acted on behalf of the Global Coordinators and Bookrunners.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About Viridian

Viridian is a leading integrated Irish energy business with substantial businesses in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

About I Squared Capital

I Squared Capital is an independent global infrastructure investment manager focusing on energy, utilities, telecommunications and transport in the Americas, Europe, and select high growth economies. The Firm has offices in New York, Houston, London, New Delhi, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

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Fitch Solutions announced a number of powerful enhancements to its Counterparty Risk Solutions, each designed to help risk professionals make faster and more insightful decisions. The Counterparty Risk Solution now includes a curated news monitoring service, Country Risk Data from BMI Research, and Bank Rankings – all delivered through the Fitch Connect platform.

Fitch Connect News: This innovative offering uses machine learning and text mining technologies to gauge news sentiment on user-defined portfolio of banks, curated from thousands of global sources. This unique service applies a ‘negativity algorithm’ against entity and portfolio content, learning to deliver increasingly relevant content based on user behavior and delivered within his or her credit risk workflow.

Country Risk Data: This qualitative view of BMI Research’s macroeconomic data, forecasts and risk indices features macroeconomic and political risk analysis for 163 countries globally, and covering 99.9% of global GDP. BMI’s macroeconomic and political risk content is combined with Fitch’s proprietary content and relevant financial data.

Bank Rankings: Leveraging its extensive Fundamental Financial Data, Fitch Solutions has developed a Bank Ranking methodology to offer insight into banks’ positioning on a global and country basis. Bank Rankings provide a clear indication of a bank’s relative standing compared to peers, both current and historic. Bank Rankings are available based on Total Assets, Risk Weighted Assets, Tier 1 Capital and Operating Profit.

Brian Filanowski, Global Head of Product, Fitch Solutions, commented: “By listening to our users, we continue to offer differentiated solutions targeted at helping relieve some of the pain-points in their workflow. The release of the curated news monitoring service is a great example of a differentiated solution. Our innovative offering saves our users time sifting through various news websites and allows them to spend more time on managing their exposures and mitigating risks.”

Fitch Solutions is a leading provider of solutions for counterparty credit risk professionals. Fitch’s Fundamental Financial Data has the largest coverage of bank fundamentals in the market, economic data on sovereigns, including 3-year forecast data, as well as financials on insurers and corporates. The Counterparty Risk Solution also includes access to credit ratings and research from Fitch Ratings, as well as Financial Implied Ratings and other analytics that provide insights into local market dynamics and what is behind the numbers. The suite of products and services that comprise the Counterparty Risk Solution is available through a number of delivery channels, including desktop and enterprise applications.

“Over the last ten years, the financial services sector has been undergoing a transformation that involved the introduction of many new systems and processes to comply with financial regulation,” said Mr. Filanowski. “Our goal is to help counterparty risk managers by integrating relevant content from various sources into one tailored solution that helps drive fast and insightful decisions.”

About Us:

Fitch Solutions is a world-leading provider of credit intelligence and the primary distributor of Fitch Ratings content. Today, 90% of the world’s leading banks and financial institutions, as well as multinational companies, government agencies, and consulting firms based in more than 118 countries depend on Fitch content to inform their business decisions.

BMI Research is a leading provider of macroeconomic and industry research, and analytics. For over 30 years, BMI has produced quality analysis and forecasts on macroeconomics, political risk, capital markets, and 22 industry sectors.

Together, Fitch Solutions and BMI Research comprise the information services business of Fitch Group, a leading provider of essential financial information and services to the global financial markets. Fitch Group is majority-owned by Hearst.

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