HSBC and IBM have achieved a significant breakthrough in algorithmic bond trading by successfully conducting the world’s first known trial using quantum computing within the European corporate bond market.
Through the trial, HSBC used multiple IBM quantum computers, including the Heron quantum processor, in combination with classical computing resources to analyse real and production-scale bond trading data.
The bank reports an improvement of up to 34% in predicting how likely a trade would be filled at a quoted price, compared to common classical techniques.
“The results show the value quantum computers could offer when integrated into the dynamic problems facing the financial services industry, and how they could potentially offer superior solutions over standard methods which use classical computers alone,” HSBC said in a statement.
Philip Intallura, group head of quantum technologies at HSBC, says the project with IBM delivered “a tangible example of how today’s quantum computers could solve a real-world business problem at scale and offer a competitive edge”.
Intallura adds that the bank now has “great confidence we are on the cusp of a new frontier of computing in financial services, rather than something that is far away in the future”.
HSBC and IBM are also currently engaged in a working group with AP+ and PayPal, under the initiative of the Emerging Payments Association Asia, to explore the use of cryptography as a means of keeping the bank communications secure against the possible threats posed by advanced quantum computers.
Intallura previously pinpointed operational enhancement, financial simulation, and machine learning as the three core focus areas for HSBC’s activities around quantum testing during an interview with FinTech Futures back in December.
Source: https://www.fintechfutures.com/
