VALK, the London and Zurich-based creators of a market-leading digital platform designed to enable users to capitalise on a global surge in private trading activity, has secured a prestigious place in the Financial Conduct Authority’s regulatory sandbox.
Launched in 2016 and widely seen as a global sandbox pioneer, the FCA regulatory sandbox is designed to help the financial services industry and the UK Fintech market, worth £11 billion, to collaborate and solve some of the industry’s most complex challenges – including the drive towards full digital transformation.
It also provides a safe test-space for companies, and the regulator, to learn how products work – normally for several months – with safeguards in place.
VALK is operating a digital end-to-end solution for investment banks, asset and fund managers as well as multi-family offices that integrate every stage of a fundraise or M&A deal onto one secure platform, which connects financial institutions and investors.
Based on the Corda Digital Ledger Technology, the product’s interoperability seamlessly digitises and automates the securities issuance process for a streamlined, efficient and more secure execution of private offers.
For this year’s FCA sandbox chosen cohort, VALK is collaborating with leading global law firm CMS on the product’s development to ensure it fully complies with all legal and regulatory requirements.
VALK co-founder, Antoine Loth, said:
“Our mission is simple. We want to bring private markets in the UK and globally into the 21st century by making them digital and securely connected, driving efficiencies and, most importantly, new revenue streams from secondary market transactions and other new opportunities that will transform and unleash the enormous potential which this trillion-dollar sector holds.
“Our success and experience to date has helped us to ensure a sought-after place in the FCA regulatory sandbox and we look forward to participating fully in this hugely beneficial and unrivalled experience as part of our growth journey.
“We warmly welcome the opportunity to test our leading digital platform solution so that we can help to bring even greater efficiency, reliability, transparency and liquidity to a market in urgent need of reform.”
For VALK, a successful exit from the sandbox will mean it ensures its products will be FCA-authorised and that its infrastructure and processes are fully compliant for regulatory standards, enabling its clients to take full advantage of its opportunities.