SS&C Disputes Data Misuse Damages and Asks $889 Million From BNY Mellon

Canadian FinTech SS&C is reportedly accusing banking giant BNY Mellon of data misuse.

The long-standing legal dispute is returning to court, Bloomberg News reported Monday (Feb 5), with SS&C — which provides operations services for investment managers — saying it is owed nearly $890 million by the banking giant.

According to the report, the case began when SS&C uncovered information that led it to believe BNY had taken financial markets data and shared it with dozens of other entities, without permission and without paying additional fees.

SS&C sued, accusing BNY Mellon and its Canadian joint venture, CIBC Mellon Global Securities Services, of breaching the terms of their contracts. In 2021, SS&C won a finding of liability from the Ontario Superior Court, though the judge awarded only minimal damages.

Now, the company is appealing that ruling, arguing the court’s calculation was based on “guesswork that was inconsistent with his previous factual findings in the liability decision” in the ruling on damages.

The appeal goes on to say that the bank “destroyed and refused to produce relevant evidence” that would have established how it used market data provided by SS&C.

“BNY Mellon strongly denies SS&C’s claims, including its ‘spoliation’ claim that the lower court denied,” a company spokesperson said. “We intend to defend ourselves vigorously on appeal.”

Last month, BNY Mellon unveiled a cash management solution, dubbed Virtual Account-Based Solutions, which aims to provide clients with enhanced access and control over their cash administration activities and reporting capabilities.

The Virtual Account-Based Solutions use virtual accounts linked to physical accounts within the bank and allow real-time reflection of incoming and outgoing payments, maintaining a virtual sub-ledger that provides continuously updated transaction and balance history.

“One of the key advantages of virtual accounts is the flexibility they offer clients,” PYMNTS wrote. “Instead of opening multiple physical accounts with different banks, clients can now reflect their desired account structures through virtual accounts.”

The bank also recently collaborated with the FinTech Obligo to enhance the rental experience for property managers and renters.

An integration of the two companies’ services allows Obligo to provide its suite of security deposit solutions directly from its banking portal, PYMNTS reported.

This story was updated to include comments from BNY Mellon.