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Ondo Finance Hires Allison Parent, Former GFMA Executive Director and Barclays Global Policy Head, as Chief Policy Officer

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Two decades of financial policy leadership, from the U.S. Senate to the Bank of England to the world’s largest capital markets trade association, now focused on shaping the regulatory foundation for onchain capital markets.

NEW YORK, Aug. 28, 2026 Ondo Finance today announced the appointment of Allison Parent as Chief Policy Officer. Parent has spent her career at the intersection of financial markets and global policy, advising governments, market regulators, central bankers, as well as global financial institutions on some of the most consequential regulatory frameworks of the past two decades.

Parent joins from the Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA), where she served as Executive Director since 2017, representing the world’s largest financial and capital markets firms on cross-border regulatory and market structure issues. Before GFMA, she was Head of Global Policy and Strategy at Barclays in London. She previously served as Senior Policy Advisor and Counsel for Markets at the Bank of England, and as Director for Government Policy and Finance with Barclays in Washington, DC. Earlier in her career, Parent was General Counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on the Budget, where she advised on key financial services legislation, including the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (aka TARP).

Allison has also served on a number of public sector advisory roles, including as member of the Financial Stability Board (FSB) Advisory Forum on Format for Cyber Incident Reporting, the Associate Members Consultative Committee of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), and the Digital Markets Subcommittee of the Global Markets Advisory Committee at the U.S. Commodity Futures and Trading Commission (CFTC). 

Ondo has spent years building the tokenization infrastructure for onchain capital markets. We believe as markets modernize the institutions and the jurisdictions that establish the necessary legal certainty, demonstrate market integrity in the underlying infrastructure, and transparency first will deliver the capital markets of the future. 

Parent’s appointment reflects the next phase of our work: industry collaboration with  policymakers and regulators worldwide as tokenized assets move into the financial mainstream is integral to  establishing  clear, credible market standards  that institutional adoption requires on a cross-border basis.

“Throughout my career, I’ve seen how global alignment of regulatory outcomes  can unlock new distribution channels and accessibility rather than constrain it. Tokenization is the most significant advancement  in market infrastructure in a generation, and getting the regulatory foundation and necessary industry standards right will determine how quickly its benefits reach investors and institutions globally. Balanced regulatory policy involves weighing growth and innovation with market integrity, consumer protection, and overall financial stability. Ondo Finance has the infrastructure in place and I’m excited to support   unlocking the full potential of  onchain markets.” — Allison Parent, Chief Policy Officer, Ondo Finance

Parent’s invaluable experience in the regulatory, infrastructure and governance conditions that underpin trust in capital markets reflects our commitment to developing global industry standards that reward on-chain markets to provide new distribution channels for investors and clients globally.

The appointment follows rapid growth and regulatory progress for Ondo tokenized stocks, which have surpassed $1 billion in total value locked in under eight months. Ondo has secured authorization from the Liechtenstein Financial Market Authority, with passporting across the EU and EEA, seen its digital securities become the first admitted for trading under ADGM’s FSRA framework via Binance‘s Multilateral Trading Facility, and received FINRA authorizations through its SEC-registered broker-dealer subsidiary Oasis Pro Markets. Parent will lead Ondo’s policy and regulatory engagement as this footprint expands globally.

About Ondo Finance

Ondo Finance is a blockchain-based platform focused on tokenizing real-world assets and bringing institutional-quality financial products onchain. By bridging traditional finance and decentralized infrastructure, Ondo aims to make capital markets more accessible, transparent, and efficient.

[*] The tokenized assets referenced herein (i.e. (i) the tokenized stocks, tokenized ETFs and tokenized ADRs now known as Ondo Stocks, and formerly known as Ondo tokenized stocks and ETFs, or as Ondo Global Markets tokens, (collectively, the “Ondo Stocks”) and (ii) USDY tokens (collectively, the “Tokens”) have not been registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”) or the securities or financial instrument laws of any other jurisdiction. The Tokens may not be offered or sold in the United States or to US persons unless registered under the Act or an exemption from the registration requirements thereof is available.  In certain jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom, Switzerland and (for certain Tokens) the European Economic Area (“EEA”), the Ondo Stocks and USDY tokens are offered and sold only to qualified investors or professional clients, as the case may be (or that jurisdiction’s analogue thereof). Other jurisdiction-based prohibitions and restrictions apply. The issuer of the Tokens is not registered as an investment company under the US Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or as an Alternative Investment Fund or Undertaking for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities in the EEA, or under the securities or financial instrument laws of any other jurisdiction.

Ondo Stocks provide their holders with economic exposure to the value of their underlying assets, including the value of dividends (less applicable tax withholdings). However, Ondo Stocks are not themselves stocks, ETFs or ADRs and the Ondo Stocks do not provide their holders with rights to hold or receive their respective underlying assets. Similarly, USDY tokens provide their holders with economic exposure to short-term US treasuries, but USDY tokens are not themselves US treasuries and do not provide their holders with rights to hold or receive any US treasuries.

In the EEA/EU, certain Tokens are offered to both Professional and Retail Investors. A base prospectus relating to the Tokens has been approved by the Financial Market Authority Liechtenstein (FMA) and notified, at the issuer’s request, to certain EEA Member States (the “Relevant EEA States”). The prospectus is published at app.ondo.finance at each applicable Token‘s webpage. The approval of the prospectus should not be understood as an endorsement of the Tokens. Investors residing in the EU/EEA should read the prospectus, and the relevant final terms and KID for each applicable Token, before investing in order to fully understand the potential risks and rewards associated with the decision to invest. This notice is a marketing communication and does not constitute a prospectus.

Certain Ondo Stocks (referred to in the UAE as “Digital Securities”) have been admitted to trading on Nest Exchange Limited, a Multilateral Trading Facility for Digital Assets operated by Binance in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (“ADGM”), authorised by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (the “FSRA”). Such Digital Securities are available for trading by those investors eligible for a Binance account. The ADGM FSRA has no responsibility for reviewing or verifying any documents in connection with the admission to trading of such Digital Securities in the ADGM. The FSRA has not approved the documents in connection with the admission to trading nor taken steps to verify the information set out in it and has no responsibility for it. No offer of securities is being made in ADGM. Prospective purchasers of such Digital Securities admitted to trading should conduct their own due diligence on such Digital Securities.

In the United Kingdom, the communications herein may be deemed a financial promotion pursuant to Section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. To the extent that any such finding is made, the communications herein are only intended for, and directed at, investment professionals as defined in article 19 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotions) Order 2005 (the “FPO”) who have experience of interacting with the Ondo Stocks and USDY tokens; high net worth companies as defined in article 49 of the FPO, and/or any other persons to whom lawful communication is permitted. Any person not falling within these categories is not permitted to act upon anything within the communications herein, and shall not be entitled to rely upon their contents. Ondo Global Markets (BVI) Limited will not enter into arrangements with such persons concerning Ondo Stocks and USDY tokens as a result of this or any other communication.

The Tokens are issued by Ondo Global Markets (BVI) Limited, a British Virgin Islands business company. OUSG tokens are issued by Ondo I LP, a Delaware (USA) limited partnership (the “Fund”). Ondo Finance Inc., a Delaware (USA) corporation, provides tokenization services to, and is an equity holder of, Ondo Global Markets (BVI) Limited.

The communications herein are only intended for eligible purchasers of, or for actual or potential business relationships or technical integrations with respect to the Tokens. Nothing herein constitutes any offer to sell, or any solicitation of an offer to buy, any Tokens. Nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, tax or financial advice. Acquiring the  Tokens involves risks. A holder of the Tokens may incur losses, including total loss of their purchase price. Past performance is not an indication of future results. Investors are responsible for conducting their own research, investigation, verification, checks or consultation for professional or investment advice.

The communications herein may contain forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements regarding future financial performance, business strategies, or expectations for the growth or development of Ondo Finance, Ondo Global Markets (BVI) Limited, or any of their respective affiliates (each, an “Applicable Entity”). These statements are based on management’s current expectations, estimates, projections, and beliefs, and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the following: economic, competitive, legal, governmental, and technological factors affecting the operations, markets, products, services, or prices of any Applicable Entity. No Applicable Entity undertakes any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.

Additional terms and restrictions apply. See docs.ondo.finance/legal/terms-of-service, docs.ondo.finance/ondo-stocks, ondo.finance/stocks, app.ondo.finance and (as applicable) the Token offering documents for details.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ondo-finance-hires-allison-parent-former-gfma-executive-director-and-barclays-global-policy-head-as-chief-policy-officer-302862749.html

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Simfoni’s Virgil AI Wins Stevie® Award for Best AI-Powered Product or Service

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Procurement AI agent is recognized in one of the most competitive categories in this year’s International Business Awards® program

BEDMINSTER, N.J., Aug. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Simfoni, a global provider of spend intelligence and procurement automation solutions, today announced that Virgil, the AI agent built into its Source-to-Contract (S2C) platform, has won a Stevie® Award for Best AI-Powered Product or Service in the 2026 International Business Awards®, one of the world’s most competitive business awards programs.

“Winning a Stevie Award in this category means being judged against some of the biggest names in enterprise technology,” said Chirag Shah, Executive Chairman of Simfoni. “and this recognition is a credit to everyone at Simfoni who helped build it into what it is today.”

The Best AI-Powered Product or Service category also recognized AI offerings from several of the world’s largest technology and industrial companies. Simfoni’s own team is a fraction of the size of many of its fellow honorees, and Virgil’s recognition rested entirely on the strength of the product and its real-world customer adoption.

“Winning a Stevie Award in this category means being judged against some of the biggest names in enterprise technology,” said Chirag Shah, Executive Chairman of Simfoni. “We believed AI could do more than sit on top of procurement software. It could run inside it, as part of the actual workflow. Virgil is proof of that, and this recognition is a credit to everyone at Simfoni who helped build it into what it is today.”

Source-to-contract tools are supposed to help procurement teams address more of their spend, but messy data, manual workflows, and limited headcount cap how much any team can meaningfully cover, leaving opportunities hidden and savings uncaptured. Virgil, the AI agent built natively into Simfoni’s Source-to-Contract platform, closes that gap, going deeper than a typical spend suite and staying more connected than a patchwork of point solutions. It works across spend analytics, sourcing pipeline, eRFx, and contract management, automating the analysis and workflows that previously kept spend out of reach. Virgil proactively surfaces savings opportunities in a customer’s data and pushes them directly into a sourcing project, connecting insight to action without manual handoffs or switching tools. Enterprise customers worldwide rely on Simfoni’s Source-to-Contract platform and Virgil to run day-to-day procurement operations.

The International Business Awards are conducted by the Stevie Awards, widely regarded as the world’s premier business awards program. This year’s competition drew thousands of nominations from organizations of all sizes across more than 60 nations, evaluated by a global panel of business professionals.

“Procurement teams don’t have a data problem, they have a time problem,” said Shah. “By the time they have pulled all the relevant information together, there’s no time left to act on what they found, so most of the opportunity gets missed. That’s the problem Virgil was built to solve, and it’s the reason customers use it every day, not just to answer questions, but to actually run their procurement function and activate more of the spend that’s addressable. This award is proof that Simfoni is leading the charge in defining the AI-enabled solution for procurement.”

About Simfoni

Simfoni is a global spend intelligence and procurement technology company that helps organizations gain visibility into spend, uncover savings opportunities, and streamline sourcing, contracting, and supplier management. Simfoni’s Source-to-Contract platform — powered by Virgil, its native AI agent — is used by enterprise procurement teams around the world. Simfoni has offices in Chicago, New Jersey, London, and the Middle East. For more information, visit www.simfoni.com.

Media Contact
Trish McLoughlin, Simfoin, 1 415-231-3691, info@simfoni.com, simfoni.com

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NATIONAL VACANCY RATE DOESN’T BUDGE IN THIRD QUARTER

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Overall vacancy rate held steady at 1.3 percent; Rate of “zombie” homes fell slightly to 3.3 percent

IRVINE, Calif., Aug. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — ATTOM, the leading provider of property data, AI-powered analytics, and real estate intelligence solutions, today released its latest Vacant Property and Zombie Foreclosure Report showing that 1.3 percent of residential properties in the United States were vacant in the third quarter of the year. That was the same rate as the previous quarter as well as the third quarter of 2025.

The report analyzes publicly recorded real estate data collected by ATTOM — including foreclosure status, equity and owner-occupancy status — matched against monthly updated vacancy data. (See full methodology below).

Out of the country’s 104.6 million residential properties, 259,666 were in the foreclosure process in the third quarter of 2026. About 3.3 percent of those, or 8,482 properties, were “zombies,” meaning the owners had abandoned the properties before the end of their foreclosure proceedings. That zombie rate was slightly lower than the 3.4 percent of properties posted in both the prior quarter and at the same time last year.

“It remains very hard to find an empty home for prospective buyers in most regions,” said Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM. “In 19 states, the home vacancy rate is below 1 percent, creating a bottleneck that is helping to keep prices high.”

Zombie homes decline in just over half of states

The number of zombie properties rose in 21 states between the second and third quarters of 2026.

Among states with at least 50 zombie properties, the largest quarter-over-quarter increases were in Kentucky (up 56.8 percent to 58 zombie properties); Colorado (up 30.1 percent to 95); Arizona (up 19.4 percent to 86); Maryland (up 18.9 percent to 151); and Indiana (up 17 percent to 344).

The states with the largest decline in zombie properties were Georgia (down 22.8 percent to 78); Texas (down 17.4 percent to 166); Ohio (down 10.8 percent to 602); Minnesota (down 10 percent to 54); and California (down 8 percent to 298).

Vacancy rates below 1 percent in 19 states

The states with the highest overall home vacancy rates in the third quarter were Oklahoma (2.4 percent); Kansas (2.4 percent); Alabama (2.2 percent); West Virginia (2.1 percent); and Missouri (2.1 percent).

The lowest vacancy rates were in New Hampshire (0.3 percent); Vermont (0.4 percent); New Jersey (0.5 percent); Connecticut (0.5 percent); and Idaho (0.5 percent)

Zombie rates highest in Midwest cities

Out of 140 metropolitan statistical areas with sufficient data to analyze, meaning they had at least 100,00 residential properties and at least 50 properties in the foreclosure process, the highest zombie rates were in Youngstown, OH (12.1 percent of homes in foreclosure were vacant); Cedar Rapids, IA (11.6 percent); Baltimore, MD (11.5 percent); Fort Wayne, IN (11.1 percent); and Akron, OH (10.5 percent).

The lowest zombie rates were in Bridgeport, CT (0 percent); Huntsville, AL (0 percent); Trenton, NJ (0.1 percent); Provo, UT (0.2 percent); and Atlantic City, NJ (0.4 percent).

Investors holding more vacant properties

Out of 24.9 million properties owned by institutional investors, 879,532, or 3.5 percent, were vacant in the third quarter of 2026—more than double the nation’s overall vacancy rate.

The states with the highest vacancy rates among investor-owned homes were Indiana (7 percent), Illinois (6.2 percent), Oklahoma (6 percent), Kansas (5.9 percent), and Alabama (5.9 percent).

The states with the lowest vacancy rates for investor-owned properties were New Hampshire (0.9 percent), Vermont (1 percent), Idaho (1.3 percent), North Dakota (1.5 percent), and New Jersey (1.5 percent).

Two Indianapolis zip codes in top five for home vacancy rates

There were 2,511 zip codes with sufficient data to be included in ATTOM’s analysis, meaning they had at least 1,000 residential properties and at least 25 properties in the foreclosure process in the third quarter of 2026. Of those, the highest zombie rates were in 33708 in Saint Petersburg, FL (38.3 percent); 88310 in Alamogordo, NM (36.7 percent); 46201 in Indianapolis, IN (34.1 percent); 34652 in New Port Richey, FL (32.6 percent); and 46208 in Indianapolis, IN (32.6 percent)

Conclusion

ATTOM’s third quarter analysis of vacant and zombie homes found that the national vacancy rate held firm at 1.3 percent despite vacancy rates dropping in a majority of states. The national zombie home rate decreased slightly to 3.3 percent.

Report Methodology

ATTOM analyzed county tax assessor data for nearly 104.6 million residential properties for vacancy, broken down by foreclosure status and owner-occupancy status in the third quarter of 2026. Only metropolitan statistical areas with at least 100,000 residential properties and 50 properties in pre-foreclosure, counties with at least 50,000 residential properties and zip codes with at least 1,000 residential properties and 25 in pre-foreclosure were included in the analysis.

Report Definitions

Vacant Rate

The percentage of all residential properties that are unoccupied at the time of analysis, regardless of foreclosure status or ownership type.

“Zombie” Foreclosure Rate (Pct Pre-Foreclosures Vacant)

The percentage of properties in the foreclosure process that are vacant because the owner has abandoned the property prior to the foreclosure being completed.

Vacant Investment Rate

The percentage of investor-owned residential properties that are unoccupied, measured against the total number of investor-owned homes.

Vacant Bank-Owned (REO) Rate

The percentage of bank-owned (REO) residential properties that are vacant after foreclosure has been completed and ownership has transferred to the lender.

About ATTOM

ATTOM delivers AI-driven property intelligence built on one of the nation’s most trusted property data assets, covering 160+ million U.S. properties—99% of the population. Our engineered, multi-sourced real estate data spans property tax, deeds, mortgages, foreclosure, environmental risk, property conditions, natural hazards, neighborhood insights, and geospatial boundaries, rigorously validated for advanced analytics. ATTOM supports analytics and AI-driven applications through flexible delivery options including APIs, bulk licensing, cloud delivery, market trend products, and the MCP Server for AI-powered, agentic access to engineered property data—enabling organizations to automate analysis and scale property intelligence across industries.

Media Contact:
Megan Hunt
megan.hunt@attomdata.com 

Data and Report Licensing:
datareports@attomdata.com 

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SOURCE ATTOM

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AT&T Kicks Off Football Season with Free Turbo Live and Introduces Season Passes

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Football fans can experience Turbo Live by AT&T for free at select professional and college football season openers. Fans can also purchase our new Turbo Live season passes for a better-connected gameday experience all season long.

Key Takeaways:

First game is on us: AT&T is giving football fans at select professional and college games a chance to experience Turbo Live at no cost.1Available to all football fans: You don’t need to be an AT&T customer to experience the power of Turbo Live. Reserve your complimentary spot now while availability lasts.2Save all season long: Turbo Live season passes will be available at select stadiums for AT&T customers3, helping fans save over the course of the season.

DALLAS, Aug. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — What’s the news: Football is back, and AT&T is celebrating by giving fans free Turbo Live at select season-opening games. Quantities are limited, so reserve your spot and sign up now for complimentary access to experience AT&T’s first-of-its-kind VIP connection during some of the biggest matchups of the season.2

After the season opener, AT&T is also introducing Turbo Live season passes at select stadiums for AT&T customers. Fans can choose between purchasing access for a single game or save with a Turbo Live season pass for every home game. The new offerings provide a flexible and cost-effective way to enjoy enhanced connectivity throughout the season.

Why it matters: Whether fans are checking scores, sharing photos and videos, watching replays or coordinating a ride home, staying connected is an essential part of the game-day experience. Turbo Live was created to provide fans with a priority connection in crowded venues, so fans can stay closer to the action when it matters most.

Quotable: “Turbo Live was built to help fans stay connected during high demand,” said Josh Goodell, vice president, consumer product development, AT&T. “The best way to feel the difference is to experience it firsthand, which is why we’re offering it free at select pro and college season openers. And for loyal fans who never miss a home game, the season pass delivers enhanced connectivity at a great value, game after game.”

Why it has to be AT&T: As a leader in connected stadium experiences, AT&T built Turbo Live as the first and only premium data connection designed for live events, giving fans enhanced access when networks are most congested. Turbo Live gives fans with an eligible 5G smartphone, including those on Verizon or T-Mobile, the chance to enjoy every game-day moment with our best data boost experience, only provided by AT&T.

To learn more about Turbo Live, please visit: att.com/turbolive.

1

AT&T customers on eligible plans will be provisioned on the selected game date; others receive a 100% off Connect on Demand by AT&T discount code.

2

Quantities are limited. Req’s a 5G-capable smartphone. May require an unlocked device & open eSIM slot for activation.

3

Requires eligible rate plan: AT&T Value 2.0, AT&T Extra 2.0, AT&T Premium 2.0, AT&T Elite 2.0, AT&T Unlimited Starter SL, Unlimited Extra EL, Unlimited Premium PL, Unlimited Elite & AT&T 55. Available for regular season home games for select teams. Excludes playoff games.

About AT&T
We help more than 100 million U.S. families, friends and neighbors, plus nearly 2.5 million businesses, connect to greater possibility. From the first phone call 150 years ago to our 5G wireless and multi-gig internet offerings today, we @ATT innovate to improve lives. For more information about AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), please visit us at about.att.com. Investors can learn more at investors.att.com.

© 2026 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T and the Globe logo are registered trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property.

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