Empowering Smarter Business Decisions: Coface and LSEG Join Forces

In today’s complex global business environment, understanding who you’re doing business is more critical than ever. From financial risk to reputational exposure, companies need tools that help them make informed decisions. That’s why we have partnered with the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) to integrate their World-Check One solution into our Coface’s Business Information solution Urba360.

Ahead of the launch we sat down with the project team behind this partnership to explore what this collaboration means for businesses and how it will help customers navigate compliance and risk with confidence.

Alexander Tame – Senior Channel Partner Manager, Risk Intelligence LSEG

Giulia Branduardi – Group Head of Partnerships – Business Information and

Felipe Henao Brand – GTM Director – Business Information

Ruth Connor: Why have you added this Compliance Screening Service to Urba?

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.

R.C.: Giulia, why did Coface choose LSEG as their partner?

Giulia BRANDUARDI: LSEG was already a trusted long-term partner of TCI. We extended our partnership to leverage their solution and data for Business Information customers. LSEG is trusted by financial institutions globally and is seen as a stable API provider, especially in times when connectivity is crucial.

From an operational standpoint, LSEG has shown flexibility in contracting, which has helped us tailor our solution to market needs. Their product, World-Check One, includes adverse media checks, ownership and control analysis, and monitoring — making it the ideal product and partner for us.

R.C.: 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, AML, 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.

R.C.: Who can benefit from this data? Felipe, let’s start with you, and then I’ll come back to Alex.

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/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.

R.C.:  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.

R.C.: Alex, what’s your take?

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.

R.C.: Great points. 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.

R.C.: So, how do we think this benefits 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.

R.C.: How can our customers find out more?

F.H.B.: Existing customers can reach out to their account managers. Or they can find out more on our business information website, and request a meeting.

R.C.: Thanks all for your contributions, can I just ask for your final thoughts?

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:  Just wishing us great success. 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, companies of all sizes gain access to powerful tools that help them screen partners, mitigate risk, and operate with confidence. Whether you're a multinational enterprise or a growing mid-market firm, this partnership ensures you have the insights needed to protect your business and thrive in today’s global economy.