Distribution ledger consortium gains traction 28 October 2015New York Reporter: Stephanie Palmer
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UniCredit, Mizuho and Nordea have signed up to R3’s distributed ledger project, bringing the total number of participating banks to 25.
Financial innovation firm R3 created the project in September, in order to form working groups of institutions that will focus on developing commercial applications for distributed ledgers in financial services.
The project is also intended to establish more consistent standards and protocols in the new technology, with a hope that this will lead to broader adoption and an effective network.
Participating banks bring expertise in retail payments, corporate banking, wealth and asset management, and custody services, and include the likes of HSBC, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan and State Street.
By signing the initiative, they agree to make their internal resources available for designing and developing a financial-grade distribution ledger system that incorporates various open-source technologies and standards.
CEO of R3 David Rutter said: “We have been inundated with interest in this project from banks across the world since launching with an initial nine institutions.”
He added: “An emphasis on working with the market has always been a key differentiator of our project from day one, and so we are delighted to broaden the network once again and grow the resources we have to research and develop this exciting technology.”
Erik Zingmark, deputy head of Nordea’s transaction products, said: “We always strive to explore new technology to make banking easier and more efficient for our customers. The distributed ledger technology has the potential to reshape the banking industry, and that is why this partnership fits very well with our ambitions for the future.”
Deputy general manager of UniCredit Paolo Fiorentino added: “Participation in the workgroup will have a strategic relevance for UniCredit as it will ensure a long-term vision and competitive advantage on innovative methodologies and technologies, which are opening a new era in the financial and capital markets.”
“This will allow UniCredit to play a leading role in the upcoming revolution of the financial products and payment services, as well as in the overall banking industry proposition.”
Toshitsugu Okabe, deputy president and executive officer in charge of the Incubation project team at Mizuho Financial Group, said: “Distributed ledger technologies might become the next disruptive technology that has the potential to innovate everyday banking activities.”
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