25 May 2017
- The new ecosystem will lay the groundwork for the actual use of blockchain in the financial sector
- Using this technology the Consortium will create the first applications with a real impact on the banking business
The wholesale bank Cecabank and professional services firm Grant Thornton have created the first blockchain banking consortium in Spain. The project is aimed at developing the potential of blockchain technology in the financial sector. The consortium, today accounting for 33% of the Spanish banking sector, finds itself in a groundbreaking position. Its members will be the first financial institutions to jointly create applications with a major impact on the banking business.
One of this consortium's first tools is intended to increase efficiency in the prevention of money laundering processes. The solution will also mean customers can be digitally identified, securely. This is thanks to the KYC (Know Your Customer) recognition system, based on blockchain technology. The consortium will also work on other proofs of concepts. These will all lead to the streamlining of normal banking processes, or even generate new business models.
These applications will be developed using blockchain technologies such as Ethereum or Hyperledger. The consortium also seeks to draw on existing knowledge of this technology in the banking sector. To do this, Cecabank and Grant Thornton have created a collaborative environment for blockchain development. It is dedicated to ongoing research into the most important advances in this technology. The focus on cooperative working will mean consortium member organisations will be able to put the latest discoveries to the test. They will also test those still in the proof of concept phase, and, together with Grant Thornton, assess their future viability in each of its businesses.
A consortium driven by professionals from different areas
Jaime Manzano, Head of Reporting Services, Operational Management and Banking Training at Cecabank gave his comments: "The new consortium gives us a privileged position on the market. We will be the first in effect to work with this technology, in a cross-sectoral and multidisciplinary environment. Employees across all our functional areas are going to gain an in-depth understanding of the technology, and all the new developments that emerge around it. This is indispensable given the constant evolution of blockchain". Similarly, Cecabank stresses that it is an "initiative that forms part of out strategic plan, in which the commitment to new technologies comprising an optimisation of costs, reduced risk and an improved customer experience is a key pillar to our roadmap".
Grant Thornton's commitment to Cecabank setting up the consortium is due to its emphasis on a collaborative model. It offers a combination of developers and lawyers with experience in the technology, together with experts in finance, cybersecurity, innovation, and consultancy, providing a cross-sectoral focus. According to promoters, this approach facilitates the creation of the consortium as well as coordination between all the interested parties. This will make it possible to realise the full potential of a technology as disruptive as blockchain, in the shortest possible time.
According to Luis Pastor, a Grant Thornton Technology and Innovation Partner, "we are going to work towards the consortium "manufacturing" the best, and most useful, blockchain banking applications. But we also want it to become a leading nucleus in Spain for developing technology. An epicentre which third parties from different sectors can join to maximise their profits. We intend to help Cecabank implement changes that will mean its banks are the first to reap the rewards of blockchain".
