Innovation resonates deeply at DTCC and across our industry. And while “innovation” and “purpose” can feel overused for a mission-driven organization like DTCC, they are central to everything we do.
Related: Discover More From the 2022 DTCC Forum
Our purpose is to protect the stability and integrity of the global financial system. We do that by focusing on our core responsibilities of seamlessly processing securities transactions—a record $2.37 quadrillion in 2021—and by innovating to adapt to rapidly changing external and internal environments. This dual focus has been fundamental to our success for nearly 50 years.
As we look to the future, DTCC remains deeply committed to innovation as we lead some of the most significant, technology-driven initiatives in the industry, including our Digital Securities Management platform for the private markets.
Client Centric Purpose
The financial industry is becoming more technology driven and data intensive. The convergence of technology advancements is quickening the already rapid pace of change, enabling products, services and business models that deliver better automation, insights and distribution of data. Navigating this environment requires a purposeful client centric approach, as clients seek solutions that are faster, better and less expensive to address immediate needs.
It’s easy to believe that a single piece of emerging technology can be the magic bullet but the truth is the combination of product development, infrastructure and process optimization can drive a greater value to clients.
Innovation with Intention
Innovation is guiding the rapid pace of change and the evolution of new ecosystems in our industry, which have changed dramatically in recent years. At DTCC, innovation cuts across the organization and is part of our everyday interactions. This culture of innovation, where ideas can flourish at all levels of an organization, is critical to achieving success. We innovate with intention and purpose because any change we make to a system or process must be coordinated across multiple parts of the financial ecosystem and, in some cases, may require regulatory approval.
Finding the Right Solution
Sometimes that means finding faster, smaller solutions—or a “bolt-on” to existing technology—to deliver value. At other times, it can include larger initiatives meant to transform market structure to bring greater efficiencies and cost savings to industry participants. This also includes shifting our focus to partnering with other firms for a faster market solution.
Regardless of how we get there, our goal is to collapse time to market by addressing specific client pain points, driving forward with cost-effective solutions and either finding success or failing fast to explore other options.
And in other cases, it’s a matter of waiting until the time is right. When blockchain first emerged, it was seen as a panacea to all industry challenges. But most firms weren’t ready to move to DLT then—which largely remains true today—and it didn’t make sense to move processes without a strong business rationale.
Ultimately, I believe that innovation means finding solutions that can improve the client experience, lead to new business models and create networks that enable technology stacks to remain flexible, agile and serve a broad set of clients. We explored these ideas during our 2022 DTCC Forum as we continue to find ways to drive innovation with purpose.