AsiaNet 85824

LONDON, Sept. 28, 2020/PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

     Acin https://acin.com/, the data standards firm that is digitising

operational and non-financial risk, today announces it has secured $12 million

in Series A funding.

    The funding round was led by leading European SaaS investor Notion Capital

https://notion.vc/, which will work closely with Acin to drive rapid growth,

and supported by Fitch Ventures, the investment arm of the US-based Fitch

Group, a global leader in credit ratings and research. Other new and existing

investors include Cris Conde (former President & CEO of SunGard), Christopher

Carter (Chairman of Artorius Wealth Management and former Vice Chairman –

Institutional Securities at Morgan Stanley) and Carlos Gonzales-Cadenas (COO at

GoCardless and ex SkyScanner CPO). Additional, strategic investors will join

this round in a second closing.

    The funding will enable Acin to rapidly accelerate its proposition, by

continuing to enhance its cloud-based Terminal with additional inventories of

risks and controls, software extensions and integrated benchmarking. This will

provide financial institutions with a complete front-to-back-office solution to

assess and manage their operational and non-financial risks. With extensive

applications beyond financial services, Acin will expand its solution into

further sectors over time.

    Acin's award-winning system was created for, and in collaboration with, the

world's largest financial institutions. It revolutionises the way these

organisations manage their operational and non-financial risk and controls

through a standardised, industry-wide inventory, and a first-of-its-kind

Network that facilitates collaboration between members, currently 14 tier-one

banks.

    The system allows member organisations to fully digitise and quantify their

operational and non-financial risks for the first time ever and enables them to

manage these risks using ground-breaking data science, as well as comparing

with, and learning from, peers. The result is improved understanding and

management of their operational and non-financial risk position, which

ultimately makes their business safer and more efficient. This could have

significant balance sheet benefits by reducing the operational risk capital

that they are required to hold in the future.

    Paul Ford, CEO and Founder of Acin, commented: "The need to digitise

operational and non-financial risks is now more important than ever for the

financial services sector, with the Covid-19 crisis shedding fresh light on the

need for data to manage existing and emerging risks. We are seeing a collective

desire from the industry for a solution built on collaboration and sharing of

information and Acin's approach is transformative in its ability to deliver

this. This funding will enable us to accelerate our growth to meet the demand

and needs of our clients.

    "Notion is the perfect partner for Acin, as they share our belief in the

market opportunity and in the value of our solution. They have a wealth of

experience and connections, and we're extremely excited about working with them

to realise our potential."  Ford continued: "To have Fitch invest in Acin is a

testament to the importance of the opportunity we are addressing and a

commitment to seeing it through – we are delighted to have their backing."

    Stephen Chandler, Managing Partner at Notion, said: "Numerous

billion-dollar tech companies have been created in Market and Credit Risk but

Operational Risk remains under-served, with static data and antiquated

processes and systems. As such, Acin's ground-breaking platform is addressing

one of the largest 'white space' opportunities in the overall risk landscape

and their client list is a testament to the strength of their offering. We at

Notion are delighted to be supporting them on their journey to define and lead

this category."

    Shea Wallon, Managing Director, Fitch Ventures underlined their interest in

Operational Risk by remarking: "We have been tracking Acin and talking to the

team over the last 18 months – we have been impressed by both their client

engagement and the dedicated focus they bring to the questions they are

answering as they build their operating system. We are excited that Acin is the

first European investment for Fitch Ventures."

    Acin was advised by Zelig, an independent investment bank providing M&A and

fundraising advice to entrepreneurs, corporates and investors operating in the

FinTech sector globally. It was also supported by international law firm

Withers, through its specialist venture capital and technology team at Withers

tech, which advises founders, companies and investors across its offices in

Europe, the US and APAC.

    Notes to Editors

    Contact: elizabeth.james@theagencypartnership.com , +44 7534 178 225

    About Acin

    Acin is the leading risk and control data standards, benchmarking and

controls data analytics company. Acin enables firms to standardise

non-financial risks and controls, improve efficiency and reduce the cost of

their risk and control operating model.

    We are a SaaS-based, Enterprise platform transforming the way financial

services firms manage non-financial risk through a technology, data standards

and content-driven platform that connects financial services firms together to

better measure, manage and mitigate non-financial risk. We are resolving the

root cause of the problem rather than just treating the symptoms.

    Acin's solution has received widespread industry recognition, including

multiple awards wins such as the IIRSM Risk Excellence Award 2020, and has been

named as one of the most innovative RegTech companies in 2019 and 2020.

    www.acin.com

    Source: Acin