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Interesting article, Carlo, but I think you mix up 2 different things : an operational issue on one hand and a technology that could be envisaged to help it solve at the other. It looks like you are an advocate of blockchain technology and there is nothing wrong with that. However blockchain is just one possible way to address the challenge and possibly not the best or most efficient one, but that is a different debate...Thanks for shedding your light on the matter!

This is a truly revealing and relevant article about propably the most neglected but undoubtedly the most critical activity related to building a solid financial technology business. An absolute prerequisite for possible success is a solid sales strategy and a team of industry experts that have built a trusted relationship with the targeted financial institutions. I invite every starting and scaling fintech to find those experts. In the exceptional case that the expert is found, another issue pops up : the absence of a sensible sales budget.

Thank you, Roger, for putting the finger on a universal problem! 

Willem

Hi Scott, thanks for your comment! Much appreciated! We may possibly be able to help you out. Kind invitation to visit www.drebbel.eu.

I look forward to talking to you!

I think this is a great initiative by a bank and an example to be followed. But....it is only a first step, albeit a crucial one. Once this overview has been created, a logical next step has to be taken. At the end of the day, a bank is not a static warehouse of IT systems; it is a dynamic factory that process masses of transactions and flows of data. The logical next step, at least as crucial as the first one, is getting real-time view on those flows, by tracking them, not only on an IT - level, but more importantly on the business transaction level. This picture shows the warehouse, what it's all about is the transaction flow. The good news is that the technology, and no , it is not disruptive, does exist and is architected in such a way that it is meant to be agnostic of any changes in processes, systems or applications. More than happy to provide you with more information.

Hi Maxwell, thank you for this interesting article. This is indeed a hot topic and now, less than half a year before Mifid II comes into force, we are finally seeing a growing number of requests on this topic. The good news is that for institutions acting now, it may not be too late. The right technology is available and should not cost fortunes. The matter is just to give the issue the right attention and to talk to the right people. Budgets should not be the issue.

Thank you Peter, for this interesting view on the clock matter in the Mifid context. Fortunately the time stamps will be used and put in the right context by machines, not by humans. It is technically more than just feasible to track and trace thousands of transactions per second, in real time and with time stamps going to nanosecond detail.

It is a bit like in the movie. The reality often overtakes imagination, both in a postive and in a negative way.

In any case, as you I'm looking forward to the sequel!