There is a well-worn theme in capital markets: at a time when trading has never been faster or more electronic, the execution of primary deals remains archaic. There have been tweaks around the edges, but the fundamental processes have not changed for decades.
Finsmart, a small outfit run by former bankers, is the latest fintech to try to address this. After initial discussions with market participants last year, as well as approaching individuals to come on board as advisers, it has now started development of a new debt capital markets platform, DealPro, and completed a first pre-seed funding round in March.
Finsmart founder and chief executive Sotiris Manderis is a former banker who was most recently a managing director in corporate and institutional digital at HSBC. He says the need for modernization is self-evident.
“I really believe that the whole space of primary capital markets needs streamlining,” he tells Euromoney. “In 2021, people are still printing stuff out or sending sensitive PDFs by email. But why? At a time when banks are looking to reduce their cost base and reduce their operational risk, there is still the risk of leaving a document on a train.”
