LPA, a capital markets technology and advisory firm, will expand into the United States, with Serge Malka joining the firm as LPA US managing director. Malka will be responsible for the acceleration of LPA’s American software and consulting operation with the opening of a new office in New York. Leveraging his industry connections, Malka will build on LPA’s growth trajectory and international client base.

LPA has expanded following its 2018 investment from New York and London-based Motive Partners, a specialist private equity firm focused on financial technology. The firm has 12 international locations, including those in Germany, the UK, Switzerland, France, Luxemburg and Singapore, and employs more than 400 technology and capital market experts around its flagship technology, Capmatix, helping it serve more than 200 banks and asset management companies. The opening of the LPA New York office as its North American hub marks an important milestone in product development, international expansion and strategic hiring for the firm.

LPA’s Capmatix software is already in use with several European-based global financial institutions and will now be offered in the North American market, providing a digitization value proposition that aims to grow businesses’ top lines efficiently while also improving bottom lines and risk profiles. Capmatix relies on its flexible framework, which encompasses document generation and workflow and data ingestion capabilities enabled by financial and risk analytics and all enhanced by artificial intelligence. With concrete applications in the sales and trading space for derivatives and structured products, asset management regulatory reporting and loan syndication, LPA believes its offerings will be a strong fit with the North American financial sector. LPA’s advisory financial experts assist on new topics, such as environmental, social and corporate governance initiatives and crypto assets, but also on traditional risk and compliance matters, such as trade surveillance, the LIBOR transition and financial risk management.

Malka will drive LPA’s continued strategy for business development and growth in the United States, creating and building out a team by leveraging the region’s talent pool. He has more than 25 years of international experience in the capital markets industry both at major firms and startup companies across the United States and Europe, often focusing on building out and expanding businesses and digital transformation in the capital markets space.

Malka joined LPA from Cognizant Consulting, where he was the capital markets and risk practice leader and was responsible for organizational, regulatory and technology projects, touching on both regulatory transformation and compliance, as well as digital transformation and human experience in the capital markets space.

“I am very excited to be heading LPA’s North American presence,” Malka said. “This is a major milestone for a capital markets firm intently focused on supporting the evolution of the sector, continually expanding LPA’s strong international presence. Establishing successful new teams in very different market segments and environments has been one of the most rewarding achievements of my career. The rapid digital transformation occurring across capital markets has significantly increased the need for digitally enabled financial technology with a stronger than ever business requirement. That is what attracted me to LPA, and I look forward to connecting with our growing client base to grow value for them at a critical time.”

“The capital markets space continues to digitize at an extraordinary pace through emerging players, asset classes and technologies, meaning it is absolutely the right time to capitalize on LPA’s progress in Europe by expanding into the North American market,” Blythe Masters, founding partner at Motive Partners, said. “LPA is positioned at the forefront of capital markets digitization, and with Motive’s support, we look forward to seeing the benefits LPA can bring to the U.S. financial services participants.”

“Technology is no longer a financial tool; it’s an industry in itself,” Peter Schurau, CEO of LPA, said. “Financial markets worldwide are now operating on an interconnected, global scale, having been bolstered by an unparalleled rise in trading volumes. In the digital age, it’s no longer enough to just transform workflows into this new medium; you have to transform the way finance works, and LPA enables such change. Thanks to our adaptive modular systems, we offer unmatched services across banking, asset management and insurance with a focus on industry, coverage of front-to-back value chain and flexibility for clients. With more than [$10 trillion] of market value opportunities in the next 10 years alone and an aggressive growth path in the five years ahead, LPA is keen to operate across an organically ambitious route. Significant acquisitions and a wider global reach can ensure that by 2026 LPA, cements itself as the glue that holds traded markets together.”