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Barely a day goes by without a fresh announcement about how banks are seeking to use blockchain technology to transform sizeable chunks of their business.

Combining shared databases and cryptography, blockchain technology allows multiple parties to have simultaneous access to a constantly updated digital ledger that cannot be altered.

The technology, which underpins cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, was initially treated with scepticism by banks. However, this has changed dramatically. Blockchain is the hottest buzzword in the sector, even if the recent flurry of cryptocurrency fundraisings via "initial coin offerings" is attracting intense regulatory scrutiny.

Blockchain firms raised more than $240m of venture capital money in the first six months of 2017, much of it from banks, including $107m raised by R3, the New York firm owned by 40 of the world's biggest lenders. That follows an almost doubling of venture capital investment in blockchain firms last year to $367m, according to KPMG's Pulse of Fintech Q2 report.

Many of the new ventures by banks involve them setting up a consortium of like-minded companies or carrying out a "proof of concept" to test the potential of the new technology. In almost all cases there is little to show in terms of commercial significance.

So which the areas of banking stand a serious chance of being transformed by blockchain? The Financial Times has spoken to almost a dozen bankers, consultants and analysts to come up with five areas of the industry most likely to see an effect.

https://www.ft.com/content/615b3bd8-97a9-11e7-a652-cde3f882dd7b

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