R3 and Axoni set to streamline reference data market

Blockchain consortium R3 CEV have announced a collaboration with capital markets technology provider Axoni, to test how blockchain technology can be used to enhance the reference data market. The project, which also involves Alliance Bernstein, Citi, Credit Suisse and HSBC is the latest example of how the financial services industry is finding new applications for the technology.

Reference data has become a real issue in financial markets of late as it accounts for up to 70% of the data used in transactions, but continues to be supported by legacy technology that often requires manual processing and constant upkeep. With reference data adding significantly to operational costs and ultimately affecting the bottom line for cost conscious institutions; it is a market ripe for innovation.

Moreover, as the market continues to grapple with regulatory measures designed to ensure firms manage and maintain the quality and accuracy of their reference data, many are now exploring the possibility of streamlining the process via a distributed ledger.

In partnership with Axoni, R3 CEV recently completed a multi-month proof of concept (PoC) exercise, coordinated by Credit Suisse. The prototype was created using Axoni Core to simulate the management of reference data on the blockchain, and also inform corporate bond issuance. The technology enabled participants to interact with reference data after issuance, with any proposed changes requiring validation by the underwriter to ensure the ledger provided a single, unchangeable record of all data related to the bond.

David Rutter, CEO of R3, comments: “Quality of data has become a crucial issue for financial institutions in today’s markets. Unfortunately, their middle and back offices rely on legacy systems and processes – often manual – to manage and repair unclear, inaccurate reference data. Distributed ledger technology – which allows financial institutions to push these functions to a cloud environment – removes the need to reconcile multiple copies of data, providing a sophisticated and agile solution to the headaches currently caused by these legacy systems and processes.”

Whilst the study of distributed ledger technology’s application to reference data is still in its early stages, this project marks the first step in testing its potential.