Wolters Kluwer Financial Services to Offer
Linklaters’ Blue Flag Legal Compliance Services Solutions
Leading Compliance and Legal Experts Team Up
to Help Financial Firms Navigate International Regulatory Environment
(WALTHAM, Mass. March. 3, 2008) – Wolters Kluwer Financial Services today announced that it is contracting with Linklaters, a leading international law firm, to offer the Legal Compliance Services solutions from the firm’s Blue Flag® product suite. This marks the first time Blue Flag products, which were created by Linklaters for its clients in the financial services industry to provide regulatory compliance information on conducting international business, will be available to the broader financial services market.
Wolters Kluwer Financial Services will work with Linklaters to bring three of its online services—Regulatory, Shareholding Disclosure and Funds—to financial services firms in the United States and the United Kingdom. These products, which will complement the regulatory tools, news and analysis offered by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services’ CCH Wall Street®, provide distinct benefits to professionals in the securities industry:
• Blue Flag Regulatory - A cross-border legal risk management tool for investment banks, securities firms, commercial banks, asset management firms and hedge funds, this tool covers 35 countries in Europe, Asia and the Americas, and addresses a number of topics, including licensing, conduct of business rules and marketing restricutions for various financial services activities and products.
• Blue Flag Shareholding Disclosure - Designed for companies and financial institutions that face the challenge of complying with detailed shareholding disclosure rules, which differ from country to country, this resource shows how disclosures apply in relation to large shareholding positions in 41 jurisdictions.
• Blue Flag Funds – This solution assists fund managers and portfolio managers in developing appropriate marketing strategies for the promotion of funds in different jurisdictions; interprets the applicable regulatory provisions that govern the sale of financial products in a variety of markets.
“As financial services firms conduct more international business in an increasingly complicated regulatory environment, they need information and tools that can help them access and understand the regulations that apply in the different jurisdictions in which they do business,” said Stephen Fletcher, partner at Linklaters. “By working with Wolters Kluwer Financial Services, we can help to meet this growing demand by expanding the reach of Blue Flag to offer truly useful multi-geographical tools for the financial marketplace.”
“For more than 65 years, CCH Wall Street has helped securities professionals navigate the ever-changing regulatory environment,” said Mark Coronna, executive vice president of Securities and Insurance at Wolters Kluwer Financial Services. “With our recent expansion into the U.K. marketplace, we are focused on broadening CCH Wall Street’s international content. Offering the Blue Flag legal risk management tools complements this effort and will undoubtedly appeal to financial firms facing the challenges of global growth.”
CCH Wall Street offers customizable compliance tools addressing written supervisory procedures, investment adviser compliance manuals, employee personal trade surveillance, e-mail and instant messaging archiving, and records management. With its flagship online platform, cchwallstreet.com, subscribers can access a suite of rich databases and resources that offer compliance insight and in-depth regulatory analysis.
About Linklaters
Linklaters LLP (www.linklaters.com) is a law firm which specialises in advising the world’s leading companies, financial institutions and governments on their most challenging transactions and assignments. With offices in major business and financial centres, we deliver an outstanding service to our clients anywhere in the world. On 1 May 2007 Linklaters became Linkaleters LLP, a limited liability partnership.
About Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
Wolters Kluwer Financial Services provides best-in-class compliance, content, and technology solutions and services that help financial organizations manage risk and improve efficiency and effectiveness across their enterprise. The organization’s prominent brands include Bankers Systems, VMP® Mortgage Solutions, PCi, GulfPak, Desert Document Services, AppOne®, GainsKeeper®, CCH® Capital Changes, NILS INSource®, AuthenticWeb™ and CCH Wall Street®.
Wolters Kluwer Financial Services’ solutions include integrated and stand-alone compliance and work flow tools, documentation, analytics, authoritative information, and professional services. Customers include banks, credit unions, mortgage lenders, and securities and insurance organizations of all sizes throughout the United States. For more information on Wolters Kluwer Financial Services, visit www.WoltersKluwerFS.com.
Wolters Kluwer is a leading global information services and publishing company. The company provides products and services for professionals in the health, tax, accounting, corporate, financial services, legal and regulatory sectors. Wolters Kluwer has annual revenues (2006) of € 3.4 billion, employs approximately 18,450 people worldwide, and maintains operations across Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific. Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Its shares are quoted on the Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices. For more information, visit www.wolterskluwer.com.
Contact:
Jennifer Marso
Director, Corporate Communications
Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
612-852-7912
jennifer.marso@wolterskluwer.com
Angela Peterson
Senior Public Relations Specialist
Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
612-656-7745
angela.peterson@wolterskluwer.com