We saw during 2019 increased interest in various projects for a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) launch as a recurring theme. CBDC is a digitised sovereign currency, created and issued by, and a liability of, the country’s monetary authority. As such they are viewed as legal tender which is a core difference to cryptocurrencies and stablecoins. Those who made it up the Davos slopes to the World Economic Forum (WEF), were met with ideas and discussions taking place on how CBDC could be a potential solution to multiple challenges, including financial inclusion and efficiencies in the global payment systems.
In the optimistically titled film ‘2001’, Stanley Kubrick introduced a world where AI (in the form of the cycloptic HAL-9000) was entrusted with the critical functions of a spaceship. HAL was considered infallible by its human masters. However, confused by conflicting priorities and orders, this led to unexpected behaviour and conflict.
CTO's, Product Directors and all varieties of tech gurus are eager to find use cases for AI under their remit; capturing a market or increasing their profile within their businesses. What they/we risk doing is artificially creating use cases that do not benefit the organisation, users or customers.
As is traditional this time of year, our good intentions of New Year resolutions fade to what we might expect to be dominant themes in 2020, and it has to be said that if certain plans are not yet well advanced you might want to get to it!
When Lloyd’s released ‘Blueprint One’ in September last year, it was broadly met with approval from the market. However, calling the document a blueprint overlooks a great deal of information which still needs to be shared with (and accepted by) the market. So, with the next document due at the end of January, what did the blueprint say and what should we expect?
As we settled down to the first full working week of 2020, ESMA published the latest and final set of papers on the Securities Financing Transactions Regulation (SFTR) with guidelines on reporting structures. This was accompanied by the amended SFTR validation rules and a statement on Legal Entity Identifiers (LEI). The good news is that it now clarifies a number of provisions pertaining to SFTR, alongside some practical guidance.
The festive season has taken over and it is reflected in the post UK election newsfeeds for financial markets. We are moving forward into the 2020s, and people are making predictions about the new decade. But, we should not expect the exuberance, irrational or otherwise, of the Roaring Twenties a century ago!
We have moved on from the conference season which highlighted AI, Machine Learning and Algo trading as core topics de jour. Interspersed in this were concerns over information security, predictions of a greater take-up of cloud computing and regulatory attention on cybersecurity. Now we have moved well into Advent and the festive season is getting into full swing. So what has been cropping up behind the doors of the Advent calendar this year?
On 12th December the British electorate will head to the polls for the third time in four years. Each political party is asking the public to put their faith in its manifesto and to fund a splurge in public spending after years of austerity. This has sparked a broader topic of discussion in relation to (i) the extent to which the opportunity to cast our vote represents a chance to hold the conduct of our politicians to account, (ii) assess the policies of the incumbent party during the previous parliamentary period, and (iii) whether there are more efficient (and frequent) ways of making politicians accountable.
Meanwhile, today the Senior Managers Certification Regime (SMCR) comes into effect for solo-regulated firms in the financial sector.
In the UK, one demon that will not be roaming the streets is a hard Brexit following the extension. This has paved the way to a General Election in the festive season. One demon in the UK that has been stalking the European and USA markets will be in the financial news. The opposition party is resurrecting the alchemy of financial taxation, and this could blast an icy chill into the Christmas season if an upset at the polls occurs.
With the Rugby World Cup in full swing and moving to the decisive knock out stages, we have been treated to a feast of the oval ball game. Some great matches and a fairy tale unfolding as the ‘Brave Blossoms’ cause more than one upset. The host nation has won hearts and minds during their continuing progress. Elsewhere in the competition, and as usual, the scrum set pieces have garnered a certain amount of controversy!
When it’s time to review systems and processes how do you best go about that? Chat to your peers in similar organisations to identify what they’re using? Search the internet? Employ the services of a consultancy firm to do the research for you? They’re all familiar options widely used, and the outcome of each can actually be quite different.
