How a market infrastructure is developing in a competitive environment: Can new technologies be a differentiator?

Abstract

The new operational and regulatory framework has had a direct impact on financial market infrastructures (FMIs) with the need to be a more client-oriented organisation, able to cope with increasing competition, and to take advantage of new opportunities to grow. This paper describes the journey that Monte Titoli is charting as a central securities depository (CSD) and the opportunity to leverage on new technologies to differentiate itself from the competition and be closer to clients. The introduction of new technologies has to be carefully planned holistically and requires a change of culture and behaviour. The first challenge is to disseminate a new culture and develop a bottom-up approach throughout the entire organisation. Technology is effective if it supports the business model, and that is what Monte Titoli has been addressing with the development of a three-year plan to introduce robotic process automation (RPA) for process excellence, to enhance efficiency, become volume insensitive and minimise operational risk and digitalisation in order to make better use of data.