[Feat. Sian Lewin, Co-Founder and Head of Client Delivery and Research, RegTech Associates] — There’s a reason why Sian Lewin is known as the “The Reg Doctor” …
Read More
EXPLORE
Blog
Aligning quarterly results with long-term ethics
— There’s a reason why Sian Lewin is known as the “The Reg Doctor” ...
Read More
In Part 1 (DiFi or Die Trying: A Quick and Dirty Overview of Digital Finance), we discussed the digital financial ecosystem that grew from the ashes of the financial wildfire…
Emerging from the ashes of the financial wildfire that spread across the world in 2008, the seeds of a new digital financial ecosystem germinated from an email sent by Satoshi…
The rise of digital currency (aka cryptocurrency) has caused regulators to grapple with how to fit it under existing money transmission laws. Today, FinTechs and issuers of digital currency also…
In 2018, there were 12,131 FinTech startups worldwide. In a little over two years (as of February 2021), that number has more than doubled to 26,045 startups. Every bank executive…
[Feat. Val Dahiya, Partner, Perkins Coie] — As the former Branch Chief of the Division of Trading and Markets at the SEC, Val Dahiya knows a thing or two about…
Regulatory compliance mapping is key to helping financial firms manage risk. No matter how your firm defines its taxonomy, Ascent helps you organize and surface exactly what you need, when…
[Feat. Heather Gentile, Head of RegTech Offerings, IBM] — There are two compliance issues that are on Heather Gentile’s mind — repeatability and…
Finding the right RegTech partner can be difficult. So we sat down with an industry expert to get his take on how he evaluates vendors. — As an expert in…
Ascent’s solution ensures global financial firms can comply better and more cost-effectively in light of increasing regulatory burden. — Chicago IL (March 24, 2021) — Ascent announced today that its…
Can you trace your regulatory obligations back to their source? Here we explain how Ascent helps you do exactly that. Ascent offers targeted regulatory knowledge — in other words, the…
SARs have been in the media a lot recently, dragging these reports into the limelight. Here we discuss how financial firms are expected to respond. Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) are undoubtedly…
For years, the basic underlying approach to compliance has been to avoid a one-size-fits-all approach, tailoring controls and resources to your company’s own, unique risk profile. In 2020, a few…
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter Cliff Notes to stay at the forefront of technology and compliance. Modern challenges require modern tools. Interested in seeing how Ascent can help you keep…
To those in the anti-money laundering practice, Nina Simone’s memorable singing that it’s a “new dawn” and “a new day” may be best suited to the recently-passed Anti-Money Laundering Act…
In Part 1 of this writeup, we discussed the approach that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has taken in recent enforcement actions related to the Heightened…
2020 was a year that was remarkable for one very obvious reason. However, with the exception of one multi-billion dollar fine handed out by the Securities and Exchange Commission and…
There seems to be a sharp correlation between the scientific and banking industries’ efforts to abate the harm caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and criminals trying to exploit those efforts…
Chicago IL (January 8, 2021) – Ascent, an AI-driven solution that helps financial services institutions automate regulatory compliance, today announced that it was named to Built In Chicago’s lists of…
Updated January 2021: As much of the world continues to remain in lockdown due to COVID-19, some organizations have released dates for in-person events in 2021, which may change depending…
Back in 2016 when the concept of the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union (“EU”) seemed like a fantastical proposition, the prospect of the referendum’s success let alone its…
Despite the pandemic, Reuters reports that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has had a banner year, with more than 700 cases and enforcement actions. As of November, that…
There has been no shortage of media chatter in the very unusual 2020 calendar year. For those concerned with organizational compliance, the release and re-release of regulatory guidance and legislation…
We recently sat down with Rick Bonhof, a managing consultant who leads the Amsterdam regulatory change and compliance practice within the business consulting arm of Synechron—a leading digital transformation consulting…
Struggling to understand what your organization needs to comply with? Wasting too much time and resources scraping through regulations and building your obligation register? You’re not alone. In this webinar,…
Ascent has been named to the prestigious RegTech 100 list for the third year running. The RegTech 100 list is comprised of the world’s most innovative technology firms helping financial…
Firms Struggle with Regulatory Change For regulated businesses, keeping up with the torrent of regulatory change is a constant struggle. In an environment where rule updates have increased by 500…
Today, Ascent and Munich Re announce a groundbreaking partnership to protect Ascent customers against fines and regulatory risk. Ascent’s AI-powered RegTech solution, already the industry leader, is first to provide…
Today there are more risk drivers that span across more areas of business, making it harder to monitor, manage, and mitigate risk than ever before. Yet much of the financial…
Compliance and Risk professionals have a tough job. Not only are they responsible for maintaining compliance according to their organizations’ existing regulatory framework, but—more importantly—they are responsible for determining what…
Regulatory mapping may mean different things to different organizations, but new RegTech tools can help you more accurately and efficiently meet all your mapping challenges while freeing you from manual,…
Election years bring the potential for regulatory change. Here are a few developments in financial regulation worth tracking, plus surefire preparation tips no matter which party holds office. — Election…
The challenge of knowing your obligations Accurately and efficiently determining your firm’s obligations is incredibly difficult, especially in the last decade as regulation has exploded in volume and complexity. This…
In this interview we sit down with Cheryl Pantano, a vice president and compliance manager who specializes in wealth management at RMB Capital Management, an SEC-registered investment advisory firm. In…
“Brian and his team have leveraged the power of AI, combined with their deep expertise in regulatory compliance to bring exponential improvements and efficiencies to compliance management. I am looking…
“The potential of this technology for the Bank and the financial services industry more broadly is exciting. By digitising parts of the regulatory change process, and the automation of continuously…
A recent article in the New York Law Journal delineated the distinct challenges lawyers face when confronted with FINRA Enforcement proceedings. While on the surface, FINRA enforcement actions may seem…
Ascent helps financial services firms follow the laws, rules, and regulations more easily, both reducing overall compliance costs and helping you avoid monetary, reputational, and punitive penalties. — Lower compliance…
When it comes to automating any aspect of compliance, how the technology itself is built has serious implications for your business. Here we explain the building blocks of Ascent’s RegulationAI™,…
The average financial firm has six lines of business to monitor, with each having their own set of goals, restrictions, and regulatory requirements. To keep up with the rising tide…
Watch The Webinar About the Webinar Watch our recent webinar, produced in partnership with Capco, to hear Peter Dugas, executive director at Capco, and Brian Clark, founder and CEO at…
SUBSCRIBE: Sign up for our weekly email updates to receive more content like this. Modern challenges require modern tools. Interested in seeing how Ascent can help you identify…
(6 min read) As the global health pandemic has swept across the country (and the world), business after business has locked up its office space and moved employees to working…
An automation solution that’s not adequately aligned with your business needs or not properly developed can, sometimes, do more harm than good. Technology is often touted as a panacea for…
Every day in the world of regulatory compliance, humans create knowledge out of data. Risk and Compliance teams scan the regulatory horizon, gathering information relevant to their industry. Compliance analysts…
Compliance workers, financial advisors, risk managers, lawyers, regulatory consultants, and others who deal regularly with compliance all share a similar predicament: They bring a lot to the table in terms…
Ascent teamed up with The RegTech Association for a joint Ascent Open House and #RegTechOpen4Business event! In this video, Ascent Founder & CEO Brian Clark presents on “In the Midst…
Wondering how your financial peers are leveraging technology solutions — and whether or not they’re finding any success? For this fireside chat as part of our Virtual Open House, Jeff…
Step 1: Identify Your Essentials Separate your Must-Haves from your Nice-to-Haves so that, when forced to make cuts, you don’t undermine the fundamental and functional parts of your business. Step…
We live in an age of big data — a fact that, for many companies, is as much of a boon as it is a challenge. For this fireside chat…
How, when working with data sets that are too large to be manually checked, can we have confidence in the data we’re producing? As part of our Virtual Open House,…
As part of our Virtual Open House, we talked to Craig Novack in our fireside chat “Digital Transformation in Financial Services: How to Make it Work for You,” to discuss…
As part of our Virtual Open House, Carrie Pinkham (VP People), Sarah Samuels Taylor (Chief of Staff), and Chris Doyle (CTO) discuss “The Shortest Commute Ever: How to Set Up…
As part of our Virtual Open House, Maria Phillips, Implementation, discusses “The Evolution of Regulation” across market cycles — including our recent long bull market as well as the looming…
To kick off our Open House, we had Ascent Founder & CEO Brian Clark discuss “Thinking Machines: Why Ethical AI Matters in Tumultuous Times.” Check out the full talk above…
In the midst of these unprecedented times, one thing seems certain: one of the longest bull markets on record is now over. We are in the midst of unprecedented times,…
“We’re excited to advance Ascent’s mission to reduce the cost of compliance and protect the rule of law.” —Brian Clark, Founder and CEO, Ascent Ascent, an AI-driven solution that helps…
“We’re honored to be included among the many top companies across the FinTech industry to be selected for this year’s FinTech Breakthrough Awards.” —Brian Clark, Founder and CEO, Ascent Ascent,…
The Compliance Conundrum We live in an uncertain world. This is something Compliance and Risk teams know all too well. We often hear from our customers about the anxiety and…
— As a young industry, RegTech often gives rise to a host of questions — everything from “what is it?” to “how does it work?” to “how will it affect…
Regulatory technology — or, RegTech — is in the midst of a full-blown revolution, overhauling how financial service firms handle regulatory compliance. Asset managers are automating laborious processes like disclosure…
(7 min read) Regulatory complexity has exploded in the dozen years since the Global Financial Crisis. Massive new regulations, from Dodd-Frank to EMIR to MiFID II, have been brought down…
(5 min read) For any given trade, asset managers risk higher non-compliance fines for the regulations they know about, and also risk not knowing about all of the regulations that…
(7 min read) If data is money, it’s often left sitting out in the open. Ascent founder and CEO Brian Clark has a hypothetical question he often likes to ask…
Case Study A Global Top 50 Bank sought to identify its obligations under the Genderal Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) within one of its business units. Our Customer at a Glance...
Read More
(6 min read) If open banking lives up to its promise, it could revolutionize modern banking and simultaneously usher in waves of new regulation. Digital disruption is burning through almost…
“It is absolutely mission critical that Australian financial institutions pay close attention to their obligations under ASIC and APRA, and Ascent’s AI-driven approach can play a key role in protecting…
“We are pleased to be recognized by Built In Chicago and included among such a prestigious group of local companies.” —Brian Clark, Founder & CEO, Ascent Ascent, an AI-driven solution…
Case Study A Global Top 50 Bank identified the need to more proactively and appropriately respond to regulatory change. Their objective was seen as especially crucial in light of today’s...
Read More
(7 min read) “RegTech is no longer just for early adopters. We’re starting to see the actual, tangible benefit these technologies can provide.” -Brian Clark, CEO, Ascent 2020 is set…
(5 min read) With the right vetting process, it is absolutely possible for you to have confidence in the technological tools you choose to adopt You’ve just been shown a…
(4 min read) The RegTech industry has seen explosive growth in the past few years, and it’s not expected to slow down anytime soon. As the capabilities of technology catch…
Imagine an alien species flew down through our atmosphere and landed on your front porch. They explain that they have a perfect understanding of our language but absolutely no knowledge...
Read More
“This is a fantastic honor and we’re especially excited to be making a repeat appearance on this list.” —Jeff Heine, Chief Revenue Officer, Ascent Ascent, an AI-driven solution that helps…
“We’re excited to advance Ascent’s mission to reduce the cost of compliance and protect the rule of law.” —Brian Clark, Founder and CEO, Ascent Ascent, an AI-driven solution that helps…
Three new U.K. Regulators are now supported in Ascent’s compliance management platform: the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), and London Clearing House (LCH), specifically LCH SA &…
“We are honored by [the Council’s] commitment to help Ascent grow and advance its mission of becoming the world’s leading RegTech provider of compliance automation solutions.” —Brian Clark, Founder &…
As developers, this is the power we possess: to set the stage of the future. If we’re careless or oblivious about this power we’ll be continually tripping over our feet;…
“The entire industry takes its cues from the regulators. Therefore, we know with certainty that digitalization is not a trend, but a permanent paradigm shift that every firm will need…
[It’s] such a refreshing feeling to have people who believed in my ability to support such an essential role in the company. I strive to perfect the art of Product…
Ascent announced today that its platform now includes the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR). EMIR affects businesses in the EU and is directed at over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives markets, central counterparties…
In order for computers to be useful in our rich and meaningful world, we need to bridge the gap somehow. As programmers, we need a way to keep our feet…
Public confusion about the different roles that Broker-Dealers and Investment Advisors play prompted the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to issue an Interpretive Release outlining The Standard of Conduct for…
Wealth management, like every sector of the financial industry, has come in for its share of regulatory attention in recent years. Whereas the challenge of leveraging “big data” to find…
As advances in technology give rise to new ways of approaching age-old problems, a new term has begun to surface, one that will no doubt dominate the global dialogue around…
At Ascent, we strive to approach each and every challenge with this mindset that promotes first of all empathy, then understanding, then innovation, and finally a “best-fit” solution. By Subha…
(6 min read) Deciding whether or not to adopt a new platform can be stressful. Too often, businesses make the transition but are unable to successfully implement the tool to…
(2 min read) In 2018, the Banking Executive Accountability Regime (BEAR) amended the treasury laws in Australia to make senior executives of authorized deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) accountable for bank activities. It…
(5 min read) The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) published its 2019 Examination Priorities in late 2018. Threats from cybersecurity continue to alarm and frustrate businesses…
When it comes to risk, most of us would rather be fire marshals than firefighters; that is, battling a raging inferno is far less preferable to taking smart, precautionary measures...
Read More
Thanks to NLP, computers are helping us solve the biggest challenges in regulatory compliance through their ability to scan, group, structure, and analyze massive amounts of data quickly and efficiently....
Read More
Those who are passionate about using technology to solve serious problems for both businesses and consumers alike will find here an environment of continual growth, expanding of boundaries, and optimism…
Ascent for Regulatory Change Management Ascent offers targeted regulatory knowledge — in other words, the obligations that are relevant for your firm, broken down in granular detail so you know…
(7 min read) As a leader of a critical business function, you’re always curious to find out how your peer firms are faring in the current environment. That’s not just…
“The relationship between human intelligence and artificial intelligence will necessarily be one of symbiosis. The challenge and potential of exploring this co-evolutionary future is the biggest story of the next…
"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...
Read More
(8 min read) It doesn’t matter if you hear it from a doctor, a teacher, or a financial regulator, the word “exam” is rarely something to look forward to. Whatever…
(2 min read) Ascent RegTech announced today that its cloud-based platform now supports the regulators required by federally-regulated banks and other financial firms, bundled for simpler purchasing and implementation. Ascent’s…
These are the realities of personal liability and compliance in the financial sector: >> 75 percent of CCOs are concerned about their own personal liability or that of their CEOs….
Ascent RegTech announced today the expansion of its executive team with the hiring of Arbela Takhsh as Chief Operating Officer. During her over 20 years of experience leading business operations…
For compliance executives, steering clear of inadvertent involvement in money laundering should be a top priority. The challenge, of course, is that money laundering typically happens in the financial shadows…
In 2017, 32 year-old Alex Honnold made history as the first and only person to free solo Yosemite’s El Capitan. His ascent up the 3,000 foot granite monolith without rope,…
By Chris Doyle, CTO At Ascent, we’ve spent a lot of time thinking about our technical hiring process and how it reflects our tech team values. We view our hiring process…
Contributors: Brian Clark and Paul Butler Managing regulatory risk may be business as usual, but the stakes continue to rise. Few things ramp up pressure on compliance officers more than industry…
Understandably, CCOs worry about being held personally responsible for compliance failures. That is, in fact, exactly what legislators and regulators intended by creating rules subjecting CCOs to personal liability for…
Market manipulation schemes can subject financial firms to enormous penalties and, in some cases, tear down the enterprise altogether. How can executives protect against the outsized harm of market manipulation?…
The role of the compliance officer is rapidly evolving — are you? We teamed up with financial services consulting firm Catalyst to explore this topic. — Commercial partner Blythe Barber, having…
The rise of AI is to knowledge work what assembly lines were to manufacturing work. The usage of this technology across industries is radically reshaping how work is accomplished, turning…
The 24th Annual ADM Investor Services Conference in Chicago earlier this month hosted a top-tier group of introducing brokers and FCMs. Our team at Ascent walked away with three key…
Read Update: 2021 SEC Priorities – Cryptocurrecy Regulation Major cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ether represent a class of financial instrument that is here to stay. Here we discuss the…
Regulatory compliance programs cost financial firms billions of dollars annually. Much of this cost is a result of the exhaustive amount of time required…
By Spencer Allee, VP Data Science At Ascent we have a set of core company values – Integrity, Cooperation, Persistence, Innovation, and Customer Obsession. These values work across teams and…
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) enforces strict requirements around Chief Data Officers (CDOs), EU citizen data management, and data permissions—including protocols for dealing with data breaches. — GDPR, the…
Friction between the compliance department and the rest of the business often stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of the overall function of compliance. Here we explore how leaders can reshape…
PRESS RELEASE Ascent announced today that it has formalized an ongoing collaboration with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) with the purpose of componentizing the FCA Handbook. These efforts will help…
ING and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) have successfully completed a RegTech pilot to simplify processing of information and implementation of regulation using the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID…
Diversity is good for people, and for businesses. It’s not only the socially conscious thing to encourage, it’s also our fiduciary duty. By Brian Clark, Founder and CEO Ascent recently…