LONDON and ARMONK, N.Y., July 19,
2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Borsa Italiana, part of London
Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) and IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced
they are building a blockchain solution to digitize the issuance of
securities for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Europe. Designed to simplify the tracking and
management of shareholding information, the new system intends to
create a distributed shared registry containing a record of all
shareholder transactions, helping to open up new opportunities for
trading and investing.
"Through our work with IBM on this blockchain solution, Borsa
Italiana is taking the lead in transforming the way European SMEs
can manage their shareholder data and at the same time expand
credit access - all on a trusted digital platform," said
Raffaele Jerusalmi, CEO, Borsa
Italiana.
The blockchain solution for unlisted SMEs in Europe is designed to replace the paper
trading certificates that are commonly issued to private companies
today. With a more digitized, streamlined and transparent process
enabled by the blockchain solution, various parties – including
issuers, regulators and investors – will have increased insight
into company information.
Traditionally, private SMEs lack access to public stock exchange
networks or formalized credit structures. With this solution, SMEs
in Europe can better access credit
and link into a broader and more mature investor ecosystem,
enabling them to set up new trading networks and obtain funding by
sharing financial data in a security-rich and transparent public
arena. By implementing the blockchain solution, Borsa Italiana is
taking the lead in transforming how private companies can exchange
and bring transparency around shareholder data and expand credit
access.
"LSEG is testing the use of blockchain technology in a financial
business network where data segregation and confidentiality is
vital. By working with IBM, a pioneer in building enterprise-class
blockchain solutions, we are committed to building, testing and
scaling our capabilities in emerging technologies over time," said
Chris Corrado, Group COO and CIO,
London Stock Exchange Group.
Built on Hyperledger Fabric version 1.0, a blockchain framework
and and one of the Hyperledger projects hosted by The Linux
Foundation, the system is designed to help ensure that highly
sensitive securities data can be shared amongst permissioned
network participants while remaining secure and gated. This
blockchain solution, developed in collaboration with IBM, is built
on highly secure infrastructure technology that provides the
highest levels of encryption commercially available1.
The solution is also built to achieve interoperability with LSEG's
existing systems, promoting efficiency and business continuity.
"Sharing secure and transparent critical network data across
shareholder networks is difficult using traditional system," said
Marie Wieck, general manager, IBM
Blockchain. "Blockchain is poised to help remove some of these
barriers in traditional methods for the transfer of value – much as
the Internet did for the exchange of information in the late
1990s."
The solution is undergoing an initial test phase with a small
group of partners and clients.
For further
information:
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Media
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Ed Clark
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+44 (0)20 7797
1222
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newsroom@lseg.com
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Hannah
Slocum
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+1 212 671
9974
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hslocum@us.ibm.com
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Notes to editors:
About London Stock Exchange Group:
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE.L) is an international markets
infrastructure business. Its diversified global business focuses on
capital formation, intellectual property and risk and balance sheet
management. LSEG operates an open access model, offering choice and
partnership to customers across all of its businesses. The Group
can trace its history back to 1698.
The Group operates a broad range of international equity, ETF,
bond and derivatives markets, including London Stock Exchange;
Borsa Italiana; MTS (Europe's
leading fixed income market); and Turquoise (a pan-European
equities MTF). Through its platforms, LSEG offers market
participants, including retail investors, institutions and SMEs
unrivalled access to Europe's
capital markets. The Group also plays a vital economic and social
role, enabling companies to access funds for growth and
development.
Through FTSE Russell, the Group is a global leader in financial
indexing, benchmarking and analytic services with approximately
$12.5 trillion benchmarked to its
indexes. The Group also provides customers with an extensive range
of data services, research and analytics through Mergent, SEDOL,
UnaVista, XTF and RNS.
Post trade and risk management services are a significant part
of the Group's business operations. In addition to majority
ownership of LCH, a multi-asset global CCP operator, LSEG owns
CC&G, the Italian clearing house; Monte Titoli, a leading
European custody and settlement business; and globeSettle, the
Group's CSD based in Luxembourg.
LSEG is a leading developer and operator of high performance
technology solutions, including trading, market surveillance and
post trade systems for over 40 organisations and exchanges,
including the Group's own markets. Additional services include
network connectivity, hosting and quality assurance testing.
MillenniumIT, GATElab and Exactpro are among the Group's technology
companies.
Headquartered in the United
Kingdom, with significant operations in North America, Italy, France
and Sri Lanka, the Group employs
approximately 4,000 people.
Further information on London Stock Exchange Group can be found
at www.lseg.com
About IBM Blockchain
IBM is the leader in open-source blockchain solutions built for
the enterprise. As an early member of Hyperledger, an open source
collaborative effort created to advance cross-industry blockchain
technologies, IBM is dedicated to supporting the development of
openly-governed blockchains. IBM has worked with more than 400
clients across financial services, supply chains, IoT, risk
management, digital rights management and healthcare to implement
blockchain applications. For more information about IBM Blockchain,
visit www.ibm.com/blockchain.
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1 IBM
LinuxONE is certified up to the Evaluation Assurance Level of
EAL5+
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SOURCE IBM