Before signing with a new supplier or customer, you check their financial health. But do you know if this partner is linked to sanctioned individuals or high-risk entities? A single problematic business relationship can be costly, in terms of cash flow, fines and reputation.
To help businesses manage these new risks, Coface is now integrating compliance checks into Urba360, thanks to a partnership with the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG).
Alexander Tame (Senior Channel Partner Manager, LSEG), Giulia Branduardi (Head of Partnerships) and Felipe Henao Brand (Head of GTM), both from Coface Business Information, explain this new feature and its concrete benefits for businesses.
Why go beyond financial health?
Why have you added this Compliance Screening Service to Urba360?
Felipe HENAO BRAND:When evaluating business partners, it's important to look beyond financial metrics. Organizations need to consider whether their potential business partners are linked to sanctioned individuals or politically exposed persons. Uncovering complex ownership structures, that help you reduce regulatory and reputational risk. All while accelerating onboarding processes and deciding with confidence.
World-Check One, the KYC & AML database of reference
Alex, can you tell us about the LSEG World-Check One solution?
Alexander TAME: World-Check is a risk intelligence database used in screening programs for KYC (Know Your Customer), AML (Anti-Money Laundering), counter-terrorist financing, sanctions, and anti-bribery and corruption compliance. It's built using open-source intelligence and provides structured, high-quality data on individuals and entities with heightened risk profiles.
The database is created based on strict inclusion criteria aligned with global compliance legislation. It's used to screen clients, transactions, suppliers, agents, intermediaries, vessels, UBOs, and more.
As Felipe mentioned, companies need to identify exposure to sanctioned individuals, politically exposed persons, and those listed by law enforcement agencies or featured in adverse media.
Who is this relevant for?
Who can benefit from this data?
F.H.B.:
Any company involved in cross-border trade can benefit, but it's not limited to import-export businesses. Even local companies can use these insights to protect themselves.
Alex mentioned the structured data and analytics used by LSEG—these help identify local partners who may be exposed to sanctions due to hidden and complex ownership links.
CFOs, finance directors, KYC/AML analysts, procurement, risk, and treasury teams all benefit: Compliance Screening adds sanctions and PEP checks and beneficial-ownership along with Urba360 financial view—reducing regulatory and reputational risk. This data is not just for compliance teams; it's relevant across departments.
So, from mid-market businesses to large enterprises, especially those involved in import/export, but also domestic companies, this data helps ensure their partners aren’t linked to sanctions or politically exposed individuals?
F.H.B.: Exactly. It’s all about minimizing exposure and risk.
A.T.: Felipe summed it up well. Every company has suppliers and a sales channel. Both represent potential exposure to financial crime, regulatory breaches, and reputational damage.
This data helps mitigate those challenges by enabling a robust third-party risk process.
Conducting a detailed and holistic assessment of relevant risks before engaging a new third party is a critical part of managing any supply chain or distribution network.
World-Check now alongside Coface directly supports that process.
Felipe, you mentioned that this data isn’t just for compliance or legal teams. It can be used by procurement, supplier management, and customer onboarding teams too.
F.H.B.: Yes, and it depends on the size of the organization. In smaller companies, one person might wear multiple hats—finance, compliance, procurement.
Having a tool like World-Check One helps manage financial exposure and compliance risks in one place. It’s everyone’s responsibility to ensure safe business practices.
A single tool for all your assessments.
How does this benefit our customers? Where will they use this information?
F.H.B.: The benefit is having unified access to both platforms—our scoring and trade opinions, plus LSEG’s structured data.
By combining Coface scoring and trade opinions with LSEG’s structured sanctions/PEP and ownership data, customers get a single, actionable view for real use cases; initial onboarding (finance, AML), supplier selection (procurement, risk), and payment controls (treasury).
This partnership brings best-in-class data to companies of all sizes, even those that don’t typically think about compliance checks. We’re democratizing access to quality data and insights.
Thanks all for your contributions. A final word?
Alexander TAME: World-Check is a negative database, but we see it as a business enabler. It allows companies to operate with confidence and efficiency.
It’s a comprehensive tool that supports fast, secure decision-making—helping businesses grow while staying compliant.
Giulia BRANDUARDI: This is a growing opportunity, and we’re enriching Urba with more content for our customers.
Felipe HENAO BRAND: This is the first of many valuable partnerships. By combining best-in-class providers, we’re democratizing access to quality data while removing complexity for our customers.
The partnership between Coface and LSEG marks a significant step forward in risk management and business intelligence. By integrating World-Check One into Coface's offering, businesses of all sizes have access to powerful tools that help them select their partners, mitigate risks and operate with confidence.
Whether you are a multinational corporation or a growing medium-sized business, this partnership ensures you have the information you need to protect your business and thrive in today's global economy.
With Urba360, you no longer have to use multiple tools or navigate between different platforms. Financial analysis, credit opinions, compliance checks: everything is in one place. You save time, reduce risk and make better decisions.
