Banking news roundup

June 23, 2023 2:48 PM

Aite-Novarica, RBR rebrand as 'Datos Insights'; Singapore fines DBS, Citi for breaches in Wirecard scandal; the top-ranked employers for working fathers on Wall Street and more in this week's banking news roundup.

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Aite-Novarica, RBR rebrand as ‘Datos Insights’

The financial services technology and research company formed from mergers between Aite Group, Novarica and RBR has announced that it will rebrand as "Datos Insights." Aite Group merged with Novarica in 2021 to form Aite-Novarica Group, which joined forces with RBR last year. The new Boston- and London-based firm plans to continue providing clients in the financial services, insurance and retail technology industries with insights, data and advisory services while expanding its coverage in banking automation, cards and payments. —Charles Gorrivan

PJT hires ex-JP Morgan banker (weekly banking roundup)

Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

PJT hires ex-JPMorgan infrastructure banker Anand Narayan

Anand Narayan, previously JPMorgan Chase's most senior banker covering the infrastructure sector, has been hired by PJT Partners as a partner focused on global infrastructure deals. Bloomberg News reported in March that Narayan was leaving the firm after 17 years. The London-based banker previously worked at ABN Amro Bank NV and Lehman Brothers Holdings, according to his LinkedIn profile. At JPMorgan, Narayan helped bolster the firm's relationship with some of the world's largest infrastructure investors, helping them source and finance potential transactions. The infrastructure sector has been a rare bright spot for dealmaking as investors continue to deploy capital tempted by long-term, predictable returns. – Dinesh Nair, Bloomberg

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Social media is a small-business pain point, Amex survey suggests

More than half of small businesses that rely on social media to generate business lack skills to effectively use these tools, according to an American Express survey. Of the small businesses surveyed, 88% said they are worried about summer revenues and almost half said attracting consumers topped their list of concerns. Majorities of Gen Z and millennial customers said they discover companies on social media — a resource 60% of small businesses said they were unsure how to effectively use. That data comes as Amex prepares to launch its second annual educational program designed to enhance social media literacy among small businesses. — Charles Gorrvian

Rothschild expects 50% profit decline amid M&A slowdown

Rothschild anticipates a 50% decline in profit ahead of going private later this year, citing a challenging environment for its units focusing on deals. The bank, based in Paris, sees its net income for the first half of 2023 at around €125 million ($137 million), and at around €280 million for the full year. In 2022, Rothschild's profit was €249 million in the first half, and €606 million for the year. The firm said that it still sees "strong performance" for its wealth and asset management business. Rothschild is set to leave the stock market after its main shareholder filed a tender offer to take it private. The deal, involving several of France's wealthiest dynasties, values the bank at around €3.7 billion. The firm expects its shareholders' equity to be at €3.6 billion by June 30. Rothschild will publish its earnings for the first half of the year on August 3. – Alexandre Rajbhandari, Bloomberg News

These are the top-ranked employers for working fathers on Wall Street

Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are among Wall Street firms that offer the most support for working fathers, a new report found. Intuit also ranked highly for providing fathers and secondary caregivers with 16 weeks of paid leave, flexible scheduling, subsidized child care and backup dependent care, according to the report from research firm JUST Capital. Each of the four companies offers equal paid leave time for both parents. At the average Russell 1000 company, secondary caregivers typically get 7.6 weeks of paid leave. Comparatively, primary caregivers receive 10.5 weeks. Only 9% of the largest companies in the U.S. offer parents equal amounts of paid leave. "The average secondary caregiver receives three weeks fewer than primary caregivers, perpetuating the norm that child rearing is a primarily female responsibility," according to the report. — Marnie Muñoz, Bloomberg News

Singapore fines DBS, Citi for breaches in Wirecard scandal

Singapore's financial regulator imposed penalties amounting to a total of S$3.8 million ($2.8 million) on DBS, Citigroup, Oversea-Chinese Banking and Swiss Life for breaches related to the Wirecard scandal. The four institutions were found to have inadequate money laundering and terrorism financing controls in place when they dealt with parties linked to Wirecard. The penalties amount to S$400,000 on Citibank, S$600,000 on OCBC, S$200,000 on Swiss Life and S$2.6 million imposed on DBS. As it gains status as a key financial hub, Singapore has been moving to curb illicit flows; in May, Parliament passed a bill paving the way for banks to share information on potentially risky clients. The penalized firms have addressed the deficiencies identified by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), which include boosting their processes and training to improve staff's vigilance in detecting and escalating risk concerns. Wirecard filed for bankruptcy in 2020 after acknowledging that 1.9 billion euros ($2 billion) it had listed as assets probably didn't exist. The firm's units that operated in Singapore had been asked to cease their payment activities in 2020. This week, two former Wirecard employees were handed prison terms, the first criminal convictions related to the fraud at the firm. — Selina Xu, Bloomberg News

Illuminate raises $235 million from big backers for VC fund

U.K. venture capital firm Illuminate Financial raised $235 million for its third fund from investors, including Bank of New York Mellon and Euroclear. The fund will invest in startups that offer technology services to financial institutions. Illuminate strategic investors, including JPMorgan Chase, Barclays and Jeffries, also put money in the new fund. Illuminate closed the round even as fundraising by fintech companies has slumped and some investors slashed the valuations for their holdings of privately held startups like Revolut Ltd. Global financial institutions are projected to spend $57 billion maintaining outdated payments systems alone in 2028, up from $36.7 billion in 2022. Fintech companies raised $15 billion in the first three months of 2023, down about 50% from a year earlier. Mark Beeston, founder of Illuminate, said the tougher fundraising environment has led to more attractive valuations. "It takes a while for founders to adjust their own expectations of value, but that has been starting to properly come through in 2023," he said. – Anna Irrera, Bloomberg News