Blockchain, Cybersecurity Top ISITC Member Concerns

Blockchain and cybersecurity concerns will drive technology investment by operations departments of financial services firms this year and next, according to the results of an annual survey by financial industry operations group ISITC (the International Securities Association for Institutional Trade Communication).

The survey of 45 ISITC member firms, including investment managers, broker-dealers, custodians and solution providers, found that 62% saw technology investment as their top focus because of blockchain and cybersecurity issues, that 55% of firms are either monitoring, researching or developing solutions for blockchain, and 74% have plans to invest to improve cybersecurity.

Additionally, 62% of firms said investment in infrastructure would be a focus this year, 80% said cost reduction was their biggest challenge and 63% measure operations success based on risk and cost reduction. The move to a T+2 settlement cycle for trading in 2017, another concern that ISITC is addressing, was of less concern to survey respondents, as 82% said they expect no operational issues from the change.

"New and emerging technologies have taken the financial services industry by storm," says Jeff Zoller, chair of ISITC and a vice president at T. Rowe Price. "The results of our annual member survey confirm this sentiment, as firms plan increased investment in blockchain and cybersecurity technologies, as a method for combating long-term risk and cost."

ISITC will host its largest event, its 22nd Annual Industry Forum and Vendor Show, in Boston on March 20–23.