R3 banks use Intel distributed ledger technology for bond trading

Working under the R3 banner, a gang of eight banks have successfully tested a distributed ledger prototype for bond transactions using Intel technology. R3 and the banks – CIBC, ING, HSBC, Scotiabank, Societe Generale, State Street, UBS and UniCredit – used an implementation of Intel’s proprietary distributed ledger platform, Sawtooth Lake, for the trial. The…

CBOE to acquire Bats for $3.2 billion in cash and stocks

The Chicago Board Options Exchange has agreed a blockbuster deal to acquire Bats Global Markets for $3.2 billion using a mixture of cash and stocks. Bats shares soared late last week as speculation about a possible buy out swirled. The sale comes at a significant premium to Bats closing share price before the latest spike,…

Distributed ledger technology could damage financial market integration – ECB

A senior executive at the European Central Bank has spoken out about the potential damage to financial market integration from the haphazard uptake of distributed ledger technologies by the Bloc’s banks. Speaking at the annual Sibos event in Geneva, Yves Mersch, a member of the executive board of the ECB, acknowledged the potential of distributed…

New start-up targets SaaS opportunities in payments

Led by former Deutsche and Barclays, Swift, Barclaycard and Gain Capital Payments seniors, Form3 Financial Cloud is promising full payments and banking functionality through a single API platform on a pay-as-you-go basis. Operating a software as a service (SaaS) model, Form3 claims it will deliver comprehensive payment and core banking service, accessed through a single…

PayPal and Lenovo team on biometric authentication for laptops

PayPal is teaming up with electronics manufacturer Lenovo and chip maker Intel to let users authenticate payments on their PCs with a fingerprint. Working with biometrics specialist Synaptics, the partners aim to help owners of Lenovo computer-owners ditch passwords for PayPal and other Fido-enabled services. PayPal and Lenovo were among the firms that set up…