Fenergo Expands In Middle East

Fenergo has expanded into the Middle East with the launch of an office in Abu Dhabi.

The company is a provider of regulatory and client lifecycle management and software solutions for wholesale and private banks. Its products are designed to help these institutions onboard clients in compliance with a wide range of regulations.

Fenergo says the move into the Middle East is a natural progression of the company's growth and due to the fact that these regulations are increasingly stringent.

Head of business development for Middle East and North Africa at Fenergo, Simon Leighton-Porter, tells Inside Reference Data: "The Middle East is a hotbed of regulatory activity at the moment. Banks in the region are in danger of being de-risked by major US dollar payment and clearing providers unless they can prove compliance with increasingly stringent international regulatory standards. Local regulators are cracking down, checking that anti-money laundering and know-your-customer systems are compliant and robust.

"Also, increasing global regulation, especially extra-territorial regulation such as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act and Common Reporting Standard is putting additional pressure on local AML, KYC and enterprise data management capabilities."

Fenergo says it has grown on average 100% year on year for the past four years. In 2015, it secured venture capital, which it is using to expand its global footprint, starting with the Middle East, North Africa and Asia-Pacific. The Abu Dhabi office opening follows two others in Singapore and Japan in the past three months.