Investment banks and any other institution that deals with sensitive data have a responsibility to be GDPR compliant. When it comes to non-compliance and data breaches, financial institutions are starting to realize how costly this can be. In 2020, there were over $10 billion in fines handed out for compliance failures and breaches with Capital One taking the largest individual hit.
A US banking regulator hit Capital One with an $80 million fine for a cloud-based data breach. Any bank or financial institution that fails to perform due diligence and use secure data rooms risks being hit with a heavy financial penalty.
What are data rooms, and why, and how are they used by bankers?
What is a data room?
There are effectively two types of data rooms; a physical one and a virtual one. These days, the virtual data room is becoming very common and more popular.
A physical data room is an area set aside to store records and will have security in place so that only authorized personnel can access it. In the case of a merger or acquisition, this would normally mean the seller, the buyer, and their attorneys.
A virtual data room is a secure cloud-based storage area that has software put in place to stop access by anyone that is unauthorized. They are thought of as very secure and many top banks use them today. HSBC, Goldman Sachs, Barclays, Santander, and Bank of America are just a tiny portion of the financial institutions that put their sensitive information into data rooms.
A virtual data room is accessed through the internet but the actual servers will be stored in a secure facility far from the actual bank of finance house. Authorized personnel will have individual passwords and all activity is monitored and recorded.
What are the reasons for using a virtual data room?
Cybercrime is worldwide and affects individuals and businesses. Cybercrime is having an impact on the banking sector in many countries, compliance and security are paramount.
There will be different data protection laws around the world and the GDPR or General Data Protection Regulations covers all European Union countries. Banks must avoid data breaches and practice due diligence and this is why data rooms are important.
When companies are involved in mergers and acquisitions, records need to be made available to the interested and relevant parties, however, they must also be kept out of the hands of hackers or other unauthorized people. In the past, it was common for due diligence to be performed using hard copies and this makes the process much slower. Virtual data rooms allow a much faster process to take place.
Data rooms are also put in place to help share files between clients, third parties, and to store records. They are far more cost-effective than having a physical data room and so more companies than ever are now turning to these secure storage methods.
What happens if a bank fails to use a good virtual data room?
Failure to be compliant and be the victim of a data breach will lead to huge fines. In the European Union, those fines are a maximum of 18 million Euros or 4% of the total worldwide turnover.
But, it isn’t just financial penalties that can hit a business if they fail to keep their data secure. When Equifax admitted it had suffered a data breach affecting over 140 million Americans, or over 40% of the population, their company valuation plummeted. Around $3.5 billion was wiped off the stock market valuation of Equifax all because of a data breach.
Not using a secure data room can lead to loss of revenue, a drop in valuation, investors losing money, and also lead to a PR disaster. After all, people trust banks to keep their money safe and if there are data breaches then clients may leave.
How do banks use virtual data rooms?
VDRs are used in IPOs, M&A transactions, restructuring, raising capital, and for many more purposes.
Banks use them to have a smooth flow of information backward and forwards between stakeholders. They help to close deals quicker as fewer hard copies are being transferred around. Data is sent immediately anywhere in the world.
They of course store documents safely and away from prying eyes, but, at the same time allow for a higher level of transparency.
Choosing the right data room for a bank
Due diligence rooms may have been used traditionally for mergers & acquisitions but modern, virtual data rooms are used for much more, especially by bankers.
That means that a banker needs a data room that is capable of handling much more than just M&A transactions. The software that powers the data room has to provide enough functionality for buyers and sellers in M&As, loans, fundraising, debts, and many more purposes.
Some of the features you would look for when choosing a data room would be:
- Security
- Smart features
- Access control
- Customer service
- Add-on features
- Pricing
All of these are areas that need careful consideration when choosing the right data room.
Security of data room
If you use the internet and share sensitive data then you need to understand how to protect yourself from cybercrime. Banking requires serious levels of security and this should be the number concern when choosing a virtual data room.
A good VDR will have several certifications such as ISO 9001 and they should also have many security features set to international standards. Some things to look for are watermarks, the ability to recall documents from a user, and screen-only viewing.
Watermarks are used to identify who downloaded and printed a particular document. Screen-only viewing means that some documents cannot be printed or downloaded, reducing the risk of having several hard copies floating about.
One other important feature is being able to pull back documents from unauthorized hands. This means that if someone has previously downloaded some records and has now had their access revoked you can ‘pull’ those files back from their computer.
Other areas to look for in a data room
Smart features
These include the ability to search for keywords and phrases much like you would in Google. It helps when trying to find documents that fit together or when you have forgotten a particular heading.
Access control
You need to be able to access the documents remotely and to control who is allowed to view and download records.
Customer service
A good firm will offer 24/7 customer service all year round. This is vital as clients may be working in different time zones and need assistance at unusual times of the day. A company such as Firmex can offer this kind of customer service and may fit your virtual data room needs.
Add-on features
Many virtual data rooms allow for extra features so they can be used for more than just mergers & acquisitions. These can include project management and can help streamline many processes.
Pricing
Lastly, the other consideration is cost. Virtual data rooms offer a cost-effective alternative to a physical room but there is still a price to pay. There are free cloud-based storage systems but when it comes to security it is worth paying for so corners aren’t cut.
Summary
Banks have some different needs than other businesses when it comes to data rooms but VDRs can help with many areas. They use them for IPOs, M&As, raising capital, and many more banking processes.
Modern data rooms offer a high level of security and functionality that traditional, physical due diligence rooms cannot and are ideal for the banking world.