Posts by Anna Reitman

AI ethics, Asia, China, Japan, South Korea

This chapter introduces readers to distinct Chinese, Japanese, and South Korean perspectives on and approaches to AI and robots as tools and partners in the AI ethics debate. Little discussed…

Fintech weekly deals and partnerships roundup

FT: Vanguard and Ant Financial team up for mutual funds adoption in China Pennsylvania-based Vanguard has just agreed an investment advisory joint venture with Ant, a subsidiary of the Chinese…

O’Reilly: automatic data cleaning deployed by financial services

June 25, 2019

data management, machine learning

There is an emerging class of technologies aimed squarely at the need for quality training data as models are increasingly becoming commodities. An O’Reilly survey results found that a lack…

Quanta: “Neven’s Law” forecasts quantum supremacy

June 24, 2019

Google, Quantum Computing

Rapid improvement at Google’s Quantum AI Lab has led to what’s being called “Neven’s law,” a new kind of rule to describe how quickly quantum computers are gaining on classical…

Reuters: banks pan for gold in data lakes

June 24, 2019

Big Tech, data management

Wall Street trails Silicon Valley in using customer information to boost revenue but with tech giants such as Amazon and Google wading onto their turf with forays into lending and…

BIS discusses competitive advantages between bigtech and large banks, and regulatory options

June 24, 2019

Bank for International Settlements, bigtech

Financial services both benefit from and fuel the DNA feedback loop. Offering financial services can complement and reinforce big techs’ commercial activities. The typical example is payment services, which facilitate…

Alibaba’s CVaaS: machines advance in reading and writing code

June 23, 2019

AI, Alibaba, AutoML, Big Data, blockchain, Bynet Expo, cloud, computer vision, machine learning

Last week, we stopped by ICT event Bynet Expo in Tel Aviv to see what’s being said about the AI, big data and blockchain spaces. Alibaba’s “Computer Vision as a…

BoE mulls fintech access to its balance sheet, Carney cites cryptocurrency Libra

June 21, 2019

BoE, fintech, Libra, Mark Carney

Excerpts from speech by Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, Mansion House speech, London 20 June 2019 The Bank of England is announcing plans to consult on opening…

Get the weekly SFM update – our June 21 newsletter is online

June 21, 2019

Headlines: Fintech trends with implications for securities finance and collateral (Premium); The agent lender queue may no longer be in the client’s best interest (Premium); BNYM clears the first Eurex…

Brazil’s regulators to create emerging technologies sandbox

June 19, 2019

artificial intelligence, blockchain, Brazil, Regulation, sandbox

Four Brazilian financial authorities (Special Finance Secretariat of the Ministry of Economy, Central Bank of Brazil, Securities Commission and Superintendency of Private Insurance) announced the intention to implement a regulatory…

PanAgora: machine learning’s promise and pitfalls

June 18, 2019

AI ethics, CAIA, China, machine learning, natural language processing, Panagora

When CAIA (Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association) conducted a survey on the use of machine learning in the investment process, the vast majority of respondents proved to be in “raising…

Fintech weekly deals and partnerships roundup

ECB picks SIA And Colt for Eurosystem’s payments, securities and collateral infrastructures SIA, in partnership with Colt Technology Services, was awarded a 10-year license from a tender commissioned by the…

SCMP: China launches its own Nasdaq

June 17, 2019

China

Beijing has officially launched its new technology innovation board, which is being dubbed China’s Nasdaq-style market. Huang Hongyuan, chairman of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, told the Lujiazui Forum in Shanghai…

Regtech at crossroads: are more prescriptive vendor standards coming?

June 17, 2019

artificial intelligence, ASIC, blockchain, FCA, ICMA, machine learning, regtech

It’s becoming apparent that technology alone isn’t the answer for regulatory compliance, so what is? We spoke with JWG Group after its annual RegTech Capital Markets Conference to find out…

FT: quant funds home in on the bond market

June 15, 2019

alternative data, AQR, asset managers, Cantab, digitization, electronification, Fixed Income, GAM Systematic, hedge funds, Man Group, PIMCO

Bond markets are slowly but surely becoming more reliant on machines. At the moment only smaller trades can be automated, with big-ticket or more bespoke deals still arranged by messages…

Reuters: blockchain needs to reconcile with settlement finality

June 15, 2019

blockchain, Clearing, DTCC, settlement

One area that has been often cited as a natural home for blockchain has been the clearing and settlement process in equity markets. Proponents have argued that the process could…

Get the weekly SFM update – our June 14 newsletter is online

June 14, 2019

Headlines: Finadium: ESG Funds in Securities Lending: A Statistical and Program Analysis; Beyond Meat (BYND) highlights dysfunction in securities finance pricing (Premium); The Powell Put: pros and cons to the…

Tradition picks Paris to “future proof” EU derivatives venue

June 13, 2019

News and Notes

Brexit, CLOB, OTC derivatives, Tradition

Trad-X’s dealer-to-client CLOB will be located in Paris, said a spokesperson for Tradition, the interdealer broking arm of Compagnie Financière Tradition: “Anyone who spends time, effort and money to onboard…

Broadridge survey: top priority for financial AI is data mining

June 13, 2019

artificial intelligence, Broadridge

The financial services industry’s top priority for artificial intelligence (AI) applications is data mining, according to the second annual AI Outlook Survey from Broadridge Financial Solutions. The survey results, released…

FIS: financial services tech confidence misplaced as competition heats up

June 12, 2019

artificial intelligence, automation, cloud, data management, FIS, risk management

Financial services firms with advanced technology models continue to outgrow peers, according to FIS research. Key findings show that: FS firms with more advanced technology are growing over twice as…

L&G launches world’s first blockchain reinsurance platform

June 12, 2019

blockchain, insurance firms, Legal & General

Legal & General Group announced the launch of estua-re, the first pension risk transfer execution platform driven by blockchain technology. It is a single ecosystem capable of driving every stage…

Wells Fargo starts prime services for outsourced and agency trading

June 12, 2019

News and Notes, News and Notes – Fintech

prime brokers, Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo Corporate and Investment Banking announced the launch of its Prime Trade Services group, which, combined with the Wells Fargo Prime Services platform, will give buy-side clients outsourced and…

AQR: machine learning evolutionary, not revolutionary

June 12, 2019

AQR, asset managers, machine learning, portfolio managers

Can machine learning be helpful to asset management – and if so, how? Asset markets fundamentally differ from many of the environments in which machine learning has enjoyed success, and…

Fintech weekly deals and partnerships roundup

HSBC partners with Canada’s Element AI in GBM division HSBC has signed a collaboration agreement with artificial intelligence (AI) software company Element AI to help the bank develop the capability…

Quantum computing: NIST physicists teleport logic operation between separated ions

June 12, 2019

NIST, quantum computers, Quantum Computing

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have teleported a computer circuit instruction known as a quantum logic operation between two separated electrically charged atoms, showcasing how…

SIFMA: DTCC’s adoption of fintech

June 12, 2019

DTCC, fintech, SIFMA

DTCC is working on several initiatives to assess and use fintech capabilities, including: Today: Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Billing – DTCC’s Finance Revenue Cycle team used to use two different…

Eurekahedge: AI hedge funds down, crypto funds rally in May

June 12, 2019

artificial intelligence, bitcoin, crypto fund, Eurekahedge, hedge funds

Fund managers utilizing AI/machine learning strategies ended May down 2.21%, registering their first monthly loss in 2019. On a year-to-date basis the index was still up 1.35%. The Eurekahedge AI…

Are security tokens really a flop? We look back at predictions.

June 11, 2019

Blockchain, Technology

blockchain, security tokens, STOs

A recent article from Forbes came with a reminder of year-end predictions for institutional crypto, in particular how security tokens would roll out. The article, titled “Security tokens were supposed…

Science: researchers train AI for teamwork in “capture the flag”

June 11, 2019

artificial intelligence

For the first time, artificial intelligence has mastered teamwork in a complex first-person video game, coordinating its actions with both human and computer teammates to consistently beat opponents as a…

Velocimetrics connects business transactions and data enterprise-wide in real-time

June 11, 2019

data analytics, MiFID II, regtech, SFTR, Velocimetrics

Velocimetrics announced an upgrade to its product suite, VMX, that aggregates and connects data from all levels across the enterprise to give a single, connected view of an organization’s business…

G20 talks digital tax, AI ethics and bigtech systemic risk

June 10, 2019

AI ethics, bigtech, digital tax, G20, IMF

The Finance Ministers of the world’s 20 leading economies came together before the annual G20 summit. For the first time, the G20 countries agreed on principles for dealing with artificial…

Deutsche Bank asks: why can’t Europe create a post-trade Amazon?

June 10, 2019

Big Data, Technology

Amazon, bigtech, CSDs, Custodians, Deutsche Bank, Europe, T2S

In a recent report about the future of post-trade in a T2S era, Deutsche Bank’s Global Transaction Banking division strikes a note we hear more and more often these days…

MIT TR: Beijing’s AI ethics move signals openness to dialogue

June 7, 2019

AI ethics, China, MIT Technology Review

This week, Chinese scientists and engineers released a code of ethics for artificial intelligence that might signal a willingness from Beijing to rethink how it uses the technology. And while…

Get the weekly SFM update – our June 7 newsletter is online

June 7, 2019

Headlines: Thursday News Roundup: analytics for hedge funds, the rumor mill, seclending pricing and more (Premium); US bank balance sheets show capacity – at what point would policymakers react?; Battle…

The Information: more Facebook crypto details leaking out

June 6, 2019

cryptocurrency, Facebook, GlobalCoin, temtum

Facebook plans to cede control of its forthcoming cryptocurrency to outside backers, a move meant to encourage trust in the digital payment system and reassure financial regulators, The Information has…

FSB report considers implications of decentralized financial technologies

June 6, 2019

blockchain, decentralized, DLT, fintech, FSB, G20

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) published a report on decentralised financial technologies. This report considers the financial stability, regulatory and governance implications of the use of decentralized financial technologies such…

Corvil launches high performance streaming analytics appliance

June 5, 2019

Uncategorized

Corvil announced its new flagship streaming analytics appliance, the Corvil 9000 for both 40G and 100G networks, already deployed with two bulge bracket banks and a financial service provider. Amidst…

Reuters: bond traders swap phones for new technology

June 5, 2019

algorithms, asset managers, electronification, Fixed Income

Bond traders at Pictet Asset Management are about to start learning computer coding to help them understand the technological changes sweeping through one of the final frontiers of ‘old-style’ trading.…

CFTC’s Giancarlo takes stock of blockchain and “exponential” tech

June 5, 2019

blockchain, CFTC, crypto regulation, cryptocurrencies, DLT, fintech, Giancarlo

Excerpts from remarks of CFTC chair Christopher Giancarlo at Commissione Nazionale per le Societa e la Borsa (CONSOB), Rome, Italy, June 3, 2019, “The New Futurism: 21st Century Financial Markets,…

Bloomberg: Graphcore developing “IPU” chip for AI

June 5, 2019

AI chips, artificial intelligence, Graphcore

Unlike the number-crunching alternatives, British startup Graphcore, founded in 2016, has developed a brain for computers that excels at guesswork that they are calling IPUs, or intelligence processing units. Whereas…

Financial services pulls ahead on climate change reporting as regulators spur action

June 5, 2019

climate change, CPD, ESG, FSB, TCFD

The FSB said that a recently released TCFD (Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures) report finds encouraging progress on climate-related financial disclosure, but also need for further progress to consider…

SCMP: Ping An plans to be advanced tech provider for Hong Kong banks

June 5, 2019

artificial intelligence, bigtech, blockchain, China, Hong Kong, NLP, Ping An

Ping An OneConnect, a virtual bank licence holder and the fintech arm of Ping An Insurance, is developing a range of technology that can help manage fraud and loan default…

BoE official reveals early results of financial AI adoption survey

June 4, 2019

News and Notes, News and Notes – Fintech

AI ethics, artificial intelligence, Bank of England, FCA

Excerpts from speech by James Proudman, executive director of UK Deposit Takers Supervision at FCA Conference on Governance in Banking, June 4 2019 The art of managing technology is an…

ESRB: IT may play an important role in managing regulatory complexity

June 4, 2019

complexity, ESRB, IT, Regulations

The Advisory Scientific Committee of the European Systemic Risk Board published a report discussing how excessive regulatory complexity can contribute to systemic risk and possible ways to address the issue,…

FSB report on market fragmentation scrutinizes CCPs, data, cyber and crypto

June 4, 2019

CCPs, central clearing, cryptoassets, cyber, cybersecurity, data management, FSB, market fragmentation

The Financial Stability Board has released a report on market fragmentation, which was delivered to G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors ahead of their meetings in Fukuoka on 8-9…

Highlights from BIS’ 970-page tome on big data for central banks

June 4, 2019

artificial intelligence, Bank for International Settlements, Big Data, Central Banks, machine learning

Big Data, Technology

Getting the most out of big data and the advanced technologies used to make sense of it is no trivial task for central banks, and in a recently released report,…

Reuters: FX flash crashes put regulators on alert

June 4, 2019

Central Banks, Flash Crash, FX

The increasing frequency of flash crashes in the $5.1 trillion-a-day foreign exchange market has regulators scrambling for answers. Bankers and policymakers agree that an industry-wide switch to machine-trading in FX markets…

Fintech weekly deals and partnerships roundup

Fnality confirms £50mn equity round for wholesale banking crypto The Utility Settlement Coin (USC) is moving into its next phase of maturity with the creation of Fnality International and completion…

Cyber, AI, ESG, fintech among top 10 fears for risk managers

June 3, 2019

artificial intelligence, bigtech, cyber resilience, cyber risk, cybersecurity, ESG, fintech, machine learning, Nedbank, risk management, RiskMinds, Standard Chartered