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FinTech Trends Newsletter Week 18th December – 22th December 2017
Technology outlook for financial markets in 2018
As 2018 approaches, people are winding down now and in a more light hearted blog, this time of year offers an opportunity to reflect on the previous year and look at the trends that are likely to shape the financial services sector in the coming year. Just like last year, I offer my personal view on five technology predictions for financial markets in 2018.
1) Regulation, regulation, regulation. Perhaps the biggest challenges of 2018 will be regulatory compliance and the subsequent need to manage market structure change. The year starts with MiFID II (January 3rd 2018), but it will not be long until GDPR moves to the top of the compliance manager’s to-do list, start date 25th May 2018. Additionally, the UK’s departure from the EU will be yet another regulatory puzzle that will need to be addressed – to say nothing of possible Dodd-Frank changes in the US! Regulation is a driver of change – it presents opportunities, as well as challenges. It will instigate a review of core business strategies, supporting systems, processes and procedures, offering an opportunity for financial firms to refresh.
2) Cloud adoption. Cloud has been a prominent talking point this year, with a large number of tier one financial institutions increasingly realising its use for high scale applications. In 2018, we expect to see an increasing use of hybrid cloud environments whereby financial services firms will leverage networking, security and managed cloud services to enable them to consume and simultaneously utilise multiple clouds environments at scale and across different geographies.
3) Big data, intelligence and insight. 2017 was the year when the hype surrounding big data subsided as the industry moved beyond prototypes and began implementing real-life, large-scale applications. In 2018, big data will be vital to reducing IT operational costs and delivering advanced data capabilities. More insights from existing data sets, structured and unstructured, will help firms leverage other technologies, such as machine learning, algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI), in a more efficient way. This will help firms to utilise the insights in order to deliver a better client experience and optimise their operations.
4) Evolution of distributed technology models. Distributed computing whereby processing and data is spread across multiple systems and different locations has become more commonplace over the past year. In the next 12 months, it will be interesting to see how the distributed model is affected by the emergence of new technology solutions with strong distributed computing capabilities, specifically Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain. The growing uptake of these technologies may expose a new computing model. Moving forward, we can also expect the debate around managing the technologies that underpin the distributed technology model to move higher up the regulatory agenda. The immutability of data in these new technologies will likely play an important part in these discussions.
5) Industrialisation of blockchain. Similarly to the use of big data, 2017 was an exciting year for real-life blockchain projects as distributed ledger technology (DLT) moved beyond hype into the phase of industrialisation. A number of organisations have showcased a mature approach to blockchain solutions in the previous year and we saw a large number of interesting projects materialise – real change. 2018 is likely to be the year when we discover the real impact of DLT applications in financial markets. Watch this space !
MiFID II is being introduced on the 3rd January 2018 will have consequences for the way in which your firm and your IT managed services provider manages its IT systems. Understanding MiFID II is the first step towards putting in place the necessary systems and processes to meet the new requirements. Contact Storm IT Financial for help and guidance about MiFID II & GDPR and it’s effects on your firm, our MiFID II Call Recording & Data Compliant Solutions and how you can align your IT systems to the directive’s requirements.
Storm IT Financial FinTech News & Trends picks: Week 18th December – 22th December 2017
Banks Are Worried Tech Systems Could Crash After Introduction of New EU Rules
Banks are said to be worried that tech systems will crash:
EU regulators grant more last-minute relief on Mifid II
Banks and brokers will have six more months to comply with requirement to have a trading ID:
https://www.ft.com/content/7eba7f64-e578-11e7-8b99-0191e45377ec
Thomson Reuters launches MiFID compliance learning suite
Reuters expanded e-learning capabilities with new compliance training courses designed to give clear understanding of regulatory framework:
https://www.finextra.com/pressarticle/72068/thomson-reuters-launches-mifid-compliance-learning-suite
UBS’ new robo wealth arm wins top tech award
UBS has been awarded the prestigious banking technology award for its recently launched robo-advice app:
Regulators Give Fresh Sign They’ll Go Easy on MiFID Rules
Many of 28 EU nations still racing to convert MiFID into law as ESMA
announces six-month leeway for firms’ legal identifier:
Bitcoin the ‘most crowded’ trade, warn fund managers
Fund managers have labelled bitcoin as the ‘most crowded trade’ in investment, as the crypto-currency’s meteoric rise attract headlines:
Deloitte’s releases ‘2018 Investment Outlook’ report
Deloitte’s report predict Cloud Computing, Outsourcing and AI to continue to dominate and rise the Hedge Fund & Investment Fund sector as “likely continued experience of complex and disruptive environments, which would demand outsourcing of various business functions” and “Firms have identified a mix of on- and off-premises technology infrastructure”:
Sophisticated cyber threats and being ready forGDPR are major concerns for finance sector IT pros
Concerns about data & system security & ensuring systems will be equipped for compliance with GPDR…:
EU sets in motion rules to tackle cryptocurrency money laundering
The EU unveils plans for tighter rules to prevent money laundering on cryptocurrency exchange platforms:
Firms given a six month reprieve on key Mifid II rule
The FCA backs move by the European regulator to give firms six-month reprieve on key Mifid II requirement:
UBS Eyes Global Rollout of Online WealthManagement Service
UBS hopes SmartWealth will help expand its customer base from millionaires/billionaire to the mass affluent:
Citi and CME Clearing use blockchain to reduce back-office costs
Blockchain-inspired platform implemented to reduce costs & speed up of back office functions:
