Fintech and the future of securities services

Looking ahead, financial markets will continue to undergo profound changes, owing in no small part to the perpetual growth of knowledge sharing and globalisation that has helped to define the millennium years. For securities-services providers, the pace of this change will accelerate with increased consolidation, pervasive regulatory mandates, as well as greater technological innovation. Indeed, the rapid expansion of financial technology services — or fintech — will play a lead role in this ongoing evolution, as the emergence of newer, more disruptive vehicles such as blockchain streamline the business of custody, clearing, settlement and other post-trade operations as never before. Along the way, providers will find it necessary to have an increasingly multi-global as well as multi-local presence; meanwhile, resources like capital, li­quidity and collateral will continue to be closely monitored, compelling providers to be more selective while focusing on growth and market expertise. In an increasingly competitive and globalised environment, innovations such as blockchain’s decentralised master ledger could serve as a stepping stone to a far more streamlined securities-services business in the years to come.