A study conducted by Depósito Central de Valores (DCV) and Cadem also reveals that the lack of knowledge regarding interest rates has decreased by 11% in the last four years.
Depósito Central de Valores (DCV) and Cadem have recently launched a new version of the Financial Knowledge Index (ICF), which shows a high lack of financial knowledge in Chileans. Based on the main results, 42% of Chileans have a low level of financial knowledge, 21% high, and 37% average.
The index was obtained by measuring three main aspects: Knowledge about financial institutions, financial products, and interest rates. Financial knowledge is still marked by a strong socio-economic segmentation, established in segment C1, where half of the respondents claim to have high or average knowledge. In contrast, over half of the D and E segments claim to have poor financial knowledge or none. Also, knowledge regarding cryptocurrencies has increased by 38% over the last four years and is currently 76%.
The report also indicated a considerable gender gap in financial knowledge. While 40% of men say to know a lot or quite enough about financial issues, 26% claim not to know anything about them. Regarding women, 26% claim to know a lot or enough, while 38% do not have any knowledge.
As Javier Jara, Legal and Corporate Affairs Manager of DCV, explained, "the numbers provided by the study reflect the urgency in Chile to make progress in financial education. People must know about the financial services and products they can obtain and how to obtain them to have a healthy and growing economy. We must move forward by working with the main players in the field, the private and public sectors, and the academia."
The study of DCV and Cadem also proves that most Chileans do not have sufficient knowledge about interest rates. 66% say they understand how interest rates work, representing an 11% reduction from 2020. However, 61% (+20pts) know about the diversification of investments, and 71% (+19pts) claim to understand the effect of inflation on savings.
Twelve startups from four different countries were the finalists of the event hosted by AUNA, the first consortium in Latin America to create and provide access to blockchain-based solutions, comprised by Depósito Central de Valores (DCV), the Santiago Stock Exchange, and GTD, to finalize the first open innovation tournament organized by them.
After receiving more than 100 applications and with more than 32 semifinalists, the grand finale took place on November 29 with 12 startups from four countries: Chile, Argentina, Colombia, and England.
The jury was comprised of representatives of the organizing companies: Fernando Gana, General Manager of Gtd; Tomás Gil, Innovation and Development Corporate Manager of Gtd; Carolina Ariztía, PMO Assistant Manager of Gtd; Juan Landaeta, Technology and Operations Manager of Gtd; Javier Jara, General and Corporate Affairs Manager of DCV; Claudio Calderón, Head of Strategic Projects of DCV; Andres Araya, Clients and Businesses Manager of the Santiago Stock Exchange; Gabriel San Martín, New Businesses and Markets Assistant Manager of the Santiago Stock Exchange, and Cristobal Pereira, CEO of Colledge.
The presentations and demos of the finalists were displayed in a hybrid format, in-person and remotely, in the conference room of the Santiago Stock Exchange, and addressed five different topics; digital identity, disbursements and expediting procedures, improvements for insurance companies, expediting municipal procedures, and an open challenge.
In an online ceremony on Friday, December 2, the organizers and sponsors awarded the winners and the honorable mention. The first place and the winner of the 10,000 USD prize was Juan López from Colombian company Contrato Marco with the collXM solution; an OTC warrants management platform based on digital records through a platform developed on blockchain technology.
The second place was for two proposals: Valeria Deik from Azurian, with the Meditrace solution, a drug traceability platform, and Jorge Garcés from Gatblac, with the Invento solution, an NFT purchase and sales platform to manage events, loyalty programs, and online marketing enabling a market for ticket resale where producers are benefited. Both were part of the open category.
The third place was awarded to Joaquín González with Cero Trade, a renewable energy certificates sale and traceability platform, also part of the open category.
The second and third place got to choose between a prize consisting of 12 months of free 2 to 20 GB link from Gtd or 12 months of free virtual server access to Gtd laaS.
Finally, an honorable mention was awarded to Daniel Malaver with Equitly Finance, a tokenized shares trade platform to provide funding to companies and startups, also part of the open category. Daniel obtained a mentorship from Colledge through its founder Cristóbal Pereira.
BCI Lab offered to pilot two concept tests with the winners' proposals.
Juan López, who obtained first place, explained that "we are a Colombian startup that consists of a warrants exchange system based on digital records through a platform developed on blockchain technology. I would like to thank DCV, GTD, and the Stock Exchange for making this dream possible. All the organizers were very generous with the time they spent on us. This is a great opportunity to develop the blockchain technology ecosystem, and I believe it puts us ahead in terms of where we need to be in the region. I think we can do it, and we will."
At AUNA, they expressed that "we feel proud about the proposals presented and of the great level of the finalists, we are convinced that traditional actors have an important role to play in being leaders of this future, but startups play an even more important role because they are the engine of innovation and technology disruption that moves industries."
About AUNA Blockchain:
AUNA Blockchain is a joint initiative of Gtd, the Santiago Stock Exchange, and Depósito Central de Valores. It is the first blockchain for businesses consortium in Latin America whose aim is to help bring together blockchain solutions for the financial market. Either as members or partners, participants will be part of this innovative business blockchain world where they will be able to create, launch, and market blockchain applications within days and not months, become known among the broad network of clients of the three founding companies and establish partnerships with other companies of the AUNA ecosystem. For more information, visit https://aunablockchain.com/.
DCV gets together with its clients in an event to celebrate the success of the DCV Evolution Project.
A close, dedicated, and strongly committed work from Depósito Central de Valores' clients was one of the distinctive marks of the DCV Evolution Project. This project ended with the start-up of the new services platform for local and cross-border custody on August 26. "Training, tests, and work meetings are some examples of the joint work of our clients and DCV that allowed us to successfully conclude this great technological innovation project that provides our Company with the highest international standards," says Rodrigo Roblero.
The event on November 9 was intended to thank all the people who were part of the project. Guillermo Tagle, Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Rodrigo Roblero, General Manager of DCV, highlighted the importance of collaborative work and the involvement of the entire market. Guillermo Tagle said, "this celebration became a valuable instance to get closer to our clients, which is precisely how we will continue working at DCV".
The 2022 Most Innovative Companies in Chile Ranking was created in 2009 and includes more than 400 companies in 42 industries, making it the most important ranking in the country.
Depósito Central de Valores (DCV)wasawarded first place in the 2022 Most Innovative Companies in Chile ranking in the Financial Industry, organized annually by the ESE Business School and its Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center in collaboration with MIC Innovation, in partnership with El Mercurio newspaper.
In 2019, our Company was awarded first place and second place in 2020—both in the Financial Infrastructure sector.
"We are convinced that innovation culture will allow us to provide real solutions to our clients in the financial sector. Similarly, it reaffirms our vocation of being on the front line of new technologies. This award makes us very proud," says Rodrigo Roblero, General Manager of DCV.
The Most Innovative Companies award acknowledges the work of the most innovative companies in systematically developing new innovative products and services. It measures and compares seven key aspects of innovation: Strategy, culture, leadership, organization, innovation processes, use of strategic assets, and the impact on value creation.
"Collaborators are those promoting the networks through which DCV obtains this award. This is why we are grateful to them for moving towards a quest for ongoing excellence," explains Sandra Valenzuela, the Organization's People Management Manager.
On the other hand, Javier Jara, Legal and Corporate Affairs Manager of DCV, remarks that "innovation is one of our central pillars, which was proven with the efforts that our Company made to successfully complete the DCV Evolution digital project.
The award ceremony took place in the ESE Business School's auditorium, where Rodrigo Roblero, Javier Jara, and Sandra Valenzuela attended.
""DCV is the gateway to the Chilean market that allows us to offer a range of services for local certificates to international financial entities."
At the beginning of 2011, Depósito Central de Valores (DCV) looked beyond its national borders and embarked upon a process to analyze and develop services for the international market. To start this journey, DCV looked for agreements to exchange services with foreign securities depositories, and it established a partnership with Euroclear, one of the world's leading financial securities clearing and settlement services.
This partnership has been in place for 11 years. It has improved Chilean investors' access to international markets and vice-versa, facilitating the Chilean sovereign bonds settlement process with international investors that are part of Euroclear.
"Our partnership with DCV has been successful." We are interested in continuing to develop strategic relations with the Chilean market because the relationship with DCV provided its depositors access to international markets," said Diego Pizzamiglio, who addressed the benefits of the agreement and the importance that it has for foreign investors to be able to invest in our country.
1. What opportunities does Euroclear see in Chile that makes it interesting to have a strategic partnership with DCV?
The first conversations we had with the Chilean market were with the Ministry of Finance, which approached Euroclear to increase and diversify the investment base to create a "yield curve" of its bonds. The Ministry's objective was to increase the importance of Chile as a sovereign issuer in global indexes, such as the JP Morgan Bond, which allows easy access to local debt instruments. The link was established in 2016, and the importance of Chile in JP Morgan increased substantially, as described in this chart:
Euroclear Bank holds certificates, has a high credit rating and offers its clients extended protection of their assets held in custody. Due to this, we decided to open a direct account with DCV for our international clients to settle their transactions in Chilean bonds in our books and offer cross-border settlement services.
2. What is the importance of this agreement between DCV and Euroclear Bank?
It guarantees mutual access to the services of both entities. For Euroclear, DCV is the gateway to the Chilean market, allowing us to offer a range of services on local certificates to international financial entities. That is why we are ensuring that local issuers (private and banking institutions) can benefit from our link to diversify their investors' base for the instruments issued locally in Chile.
3. What benefits does Euroclear provide to DCV's clients/depositors?
This partnership allows depositors to extend their existing business relations and settle transactions in Chilean bonds with international counterparts. Similarly, DCV offers its clients the ability to diversify their investment portfolio to more than 50 markets through safe access.
4. What challenges do you see in the development of investments between Euroclear and the Chilean capital market?
The first phase of the link was very successful, with an evident increase in the holdings we hold in custody. International financial entities can use Euroclear's account to access several markets directly because the aim is to extend the range of eligible certificates. Since 2021, Chilean corporate debt has been eligible for Euroclear. We work with the Chilean Securities Depository to inform local issuers and their law firms about these new business opportunities, positioning the advantages of accepting corporate bonds as "Euroclearable" instruments.
In addition, we are analyzing the possibility of accepting other local instruments, such as Chilean investment funds, if our clients express a clear interest.
5. In the current world context, what is the business's role in promoting Chilean and foreign investments and industries?
The Euroclear group manages 38 trillion euros in assets held in custody. In 2021, our clients entered approximately one quadrillion transactions in our system, connecting issuers and global investors. Most international financial entities (banks and brokers) have direct accounts in our books. This reality allows Chilean local issuers to benefit from a base of very important potential investors to increase the liquidity of instruments. Due to this, our clients are always looking for new collateral sources to diversify their investments; they use Chilean certificates as a guaranty of their financial transactions (repos, certificate loans, derivatives).
The fact that Chile is the economy with the highest rating in Latin America makes considering domestic bonds an eligible collateral and further increases their liquidity. Also, one of our strategic goals is to maintain and ensure the stability of financial markets and reinforce our involvement in a more sustainable financial world, creating interconnections between issuers and investors to facilitate the growth of ESG services.
6. How would you qualify Euroclear's experience with DCV since the early days of this partnership?
From the beginning, I had the opportunity to be involved in the conversations with the Ministry of Finance and Depósito Central de Valores to establish the link with the Chilean market. It was a very fulfilling stage. The characteristics of DCV's services and those of the Chilean market's local infrastructure met our requirements to consider Chile an eligible market in Euroclear. They were key to the success of this initiative.
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