“In an age where the pendulum of regulatory change swings with increasing velocity, this collaboration will support business growth and consumer surplus while upholding the rule of law, and we are thrilled to lead the way.” —Brian Clark, Founder and CEO, Ascent
Ascent was one of eight firms selected by the Global Financial Innovation Network (GFIN) to move forward in the testing plan phase of a cross-border pilot. GFIN is a group of 35 international organizations, which serves as a network of regulators to knowledge-share and collaborate on bringing RegTech innovations to bear.
In response to GFIN members showing widespread support for an environment that allows firms to gain real-time insight into how new products or services might operate across jurisdictions, the forum invited FinTech and RegTech providers around the world to apply for a cross-border testing pilot.
Ascent’s Regulation AI rapidly identifies and maps a financial firm’s specific regulatory obligations and ongoing rule changes, generating the knowledge that is traditionally done manually by regulatory analysts and risk/compliance teams. Within the goals of the GFIN pilot, Ascent will use this same technology to analyze the similarities and differences of a firm’s obligations across jurisdictions. Because the outputs are specific to each firm, customers are able to easily access and understand the obligations that apply to their business.
“We are honored to be selected by GFIN for this project and recognize the immense potential in collaborating directly with regulators in order to solve a significant problem faced by financial service firms everywhere,” said Brian Clark, Ascent CEO. “Together we can make it easier for these firms to understand their regulatory obligations in different jurisdictions. The value of this extends to the entire market: firms can operate more efficiently and reduce costs while consumers are better protected. In an age where the pendulum of regulatory change swings with increasing velocity, this collaboration will support business growth and consumer surplus while upholding the rule of law, and we are thrilled to lead the way.”
As one of the eight selected firms, Ascent will move forward in developing testing plans with the following GFIN members: Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC), Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF Québec), Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), and Ontario Securities Commission (OSC)
In December 2018, Ascent announced a formal collaboration with the FCA to componentize the FCA Handbook, a project which is ongoing. Ascent is also a member of multiple international RegTech associations — including London-based organizations RegTech Associates and RegTech Analyst, as well as RegTech Association based in Australia — which gather financial firms, providers, and regulators to work together in bringing innovative RegTech solutions to market.
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Ascent helps financial services firms identify their regulatory obligations and keep them updated as rules change. Our targeted regulatory intelligence helps you avoid fines and reduce risk, while lowering your overall cost to comply. Learn more.
