Members of the Irish funds industry have combined to search for a way to carry out regulatory reporting using blockchain technology.
Irish Funds, the trade body for Ireland’s fund managers and service providers, along with industry firms Northern Trust, State Street, Metzler and Deloitte, are among those collaborating to find a blockchain “proof of concept” for reporting compliance information to regulators.
Irish Funds said the project focuses on blockchain and “smart contract technology” with the aim of creating a platform for regulatory reporting that would be accessible to both the reporting entity and regulator.
Smart contracts are software that help execute the conditions of an agreement and record whether terms have been met. They also record any changes in the underlying conditions, bringing various efficiencies to contract counterparties.
The project will test the application of blockchain for enhanced compliance, including increased transparency and costs cost benefits.
Pat Lardner, CEO of Irish Funds, put the project partly within the context of Ireland’s fintech ambitions.
“Regulatory reporting is a key obligation for our members and an area of priority focus for the Central Bank of Ireland in 2017. This project and the development of the proof of concept with Deloitte will benefit industry, the regulator and demonstrates how Ireland is actively embracing fintech.”
David Dalton, head of financial services at Deloitte Ireland and sponsor of Deloitte’s EMEA Grid Blockchain Hub, said blockchain technology has “huge potential in financial services to reduce the cost and improve efficiency”.
The project, he said, was “an important step in bringing this to reality”.
©2017 funds europe
