First and b-next Develop Sentiment Analysis Prototype

The First project consortium and compliance vendor b-next have announced the development of a market surveillance prototype that analyzes social media sentiment.

The module itself uses information analyzed in real-time from Twitter and other social media channels to support decision-making in the fields of market surveillance and reputational risk, along with retail brokerage. The market surveillance aspect attempts to combat price manipulation via the deliberate release of false information through social networks, as well as detecting insider trading.

"This project is about using unstructured information to generate patterns which can further enhance the user's overview of the market," says Wolfgang Fabisch, CEO at b-next. "In today's world of rapidly changing and evolving financial markets, the sentiment of market participants can be tremendously valuable to detect and predict financial market events. Recent news has made it clear that colleagues communicate their knowledge and opinion via email, chat rooms and forums. As channels of communication continue to expand it is very possible that sensitive information could also be communicated via social mediums. We are pleased to be engaging with a group of intelligent and innovative professionals on a project which could have significant impact on the banking industry."

An early prototype is expected by September 2012, with a final version scheduled for September 2013.

The market surveillance aspect attempts to combat price manipulation via the deliberate release of false information through social networks.