Wolters Kluwer Releases Half Yearly Results, With Growth Reported in GRC Division’s Banking & Regulatory Compliance Business Lines

Wolters Kluwer, the professional information, software solutions, and services company has released its half-year 2019 results. The Netherlands-based company reported revenues of €2,204 million, up 4% in constant currencies and up 4% organically compared to the same period last year. Adjusted operating profit was €497 million, up 3% in constant currencies.

Wolters Kluwer’s Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) division, which is home to the company’s financial technology business lines, reported revenues of €518 up 4% in constant currencies and 4% organically. The division says it “provides legal and banking professionals with solutions to ensure compliance with ever-changing regulatory and legal obligations, manage risk and increase efficiency.” It offers a portfolio of technology-enabled expert services and solutions focused on legal entity compliance, legal operations management, banking product compliance, and banking regulatory compliance.

It’s banking and regulatory compliance business lines (comprised of Compliance Solutions, Lien Solutions and the Finance, Risk & Reporting business), delivered 2% organic growth (HY 2018: flat), “driven by improved momentum in recurring software maintenance revenues for its banking software solutions,” according to the company’s official earnings statement. The division’s legal services business units (CT Corporation and ELM Solutions) achieved 4% organic growth.

The news follows a busy first half of the year for the three banking and regulatory compliance business units of the GRC Division, which is led by New York-based CEO, Richard Flynn.

In May, Wolters Kluwer Lien Solutions launched Portfolio Sync a lien management solution designed for lenders who use multiple methods of submitting Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) filings. As an addition to iLien, Lien Solutions’ flagship lien management product, Wolters Kluwer says “Portfolio Sync combines customers’ existing iLien filings with public records data into one view, providing greater visibility into one’s entire lending portfolio—and identifies associated gaps that may require risk mitigation or other actions to maintain a lender’s secured interests.”

The business, run by General Manager Raja Sengupta, has also picked up a raft of notable awards. US Business News named the company Best Lien Services Technology Company, 2019, also naming the company’s iLien Motor Vehicle solution its Motor Vehicle Lending Technology Innovation of the Year, 2019. Finance Monthly magazine, meanwhile, has named the business Lien Filling Company of the Year, 2019, and Risk Mitigation Company of the Year, 2019. Corporate Vision magazine has also awarded the company its coveted Lien Management Technology Provider of the Year, 2019, trophy as part of its competitive Technology Innovator Awards.

The Finance, Risk & Reporting (FRR) business, meanwhile, “recorded strong high single-digit organic growth, reflecting new customer wins in Europe and Asia for OneSumX Regulatory Reporting, as well as strong growth in recurring maintenance fees.” Just last month the business launched a software-as-a-service (SaaS) Regulatory Reporting solution. This marks the first time that the company’s OneSumX regulatory software has been made available on the cloud, providing predictability of cost and lower total costs of ownership. At the same time Wolters Kluwer FRR also unveiled a major upgrade to its OneSumX Regulatory Engine, which will be rolled out for on-premise installations of OneSumX for Regulatory Reporting, and immediately available in the new SaaS offering for clients across Europe and Asia Pacific. The new Regulatory Engine “will be characterized by its enhanced performance and better user experience, in terms of speed, automation and scalability” the company said in a statement.

Wolters Kluwer FRR, led by London-based General Manager Claudio Salinardi, has announced a number of major deals in recent months. Just yesterday a statement announced that it has successfully deployed its OneSumX for Finance software at Small Medium Enterprise Development Bank Malaysia Berhad (SME Bank), allowing the bank to fully implement the Malaysian Financial Reporting Standards (MFRS) 9. Other banks going on record as users of Wolters Kluwer FRR services during 2019 include China Merchants Bank, Investors Bank, BBVA, Milleis Banque, Sparkassen- Prüfungsverband and Bank of China. For the second year running its OneSumX for Regulatory Reporting solution has been named Regulatory Reporting System of the Year in Risk magazine’s annual Technology Awards which celebrate excellence and innovation.

Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions, led by Minneapolis-based General Manager Steve Meirink, reported “improved organic growth in recurring revenues for Expere Mortgage and OneSumX Regulatory Change Management software.” Recently announced clients for the business include Grow Financial Credit Union, which selected Wolters Kluwer’s ComplianceOne® Lending and CASH Suite™ solutions to streamline its commercial lending processes and enhance compliance risk management throughout its 26 branch locations. Central Bancompany, meanwhile, has implemented Wolters Kluwer’s regulatory change management offering along with its risk and controls assessment solution to streamline processes and enhance compliance risk management and controls among Central Bancompany’s 13 affiliate banks.

The Compliance Program Management (CPM) business of Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions has been recognized for its Operational Risk expertise this year, winning RegTech Insight’s Best Vendor Solution Award for Managing Operational Risk, 2019. The business has also won Operational Risk accolades from US Business News and Corporate Vision magazine, celebrating the prominent market position of its OneSumX for Operational Risk solution.