CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Northern Trust (Nasdaq: NTRS) announced today that it has been awarded two U.S. Patents for distributed ledger technology inventions for a range of fund administration activities – part of its continued innovation in delivering the industry’s first commercial blockchain solution for the private equity fund administration market in 2017.
Northern Trust has submitted a number of patent applications to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for inventions it developed to support the efficient, secure and transparent management of lifecycle events within private equity fund administration. The USPTO has issued patents for two of Northern Trust’s technology inventions:
- Digital Identity Management – Systems and Methods for Digital Identity Management and Permission Controls Within Distributed Network Nodes, U.S. Patent No. 9,992,022.
- Digital Meeting Management – Systems and Methods for Generating and Maintaining Immutable Digital Meeting Records with Distributed Network Nodes, U.S. Patent No. 9,990,504.
Northern Trust’s blockchain development is part of a broader digital strategy for asset servicing which includes robotic processing, artificial intelligence and the proactive deployment of emerging technologies. The strategy is underpinned by Northern Trust’s global market advocacy and innovation network and strong industry and regulatory collaboration activities.
“It is really exciting for a custodian to be leading the way with technology innovation,” said Pete Cherecwich, president of Corporate & Institutional Services at Northern Trust. “Researching and identifying new ways to leverage emerging technologies to deliver new and innovative solutions to our clients is critical to our collective success. Blockchain technology in particular has the potential to drive major industry-wide improvements and could significantly change how financial transactions are conducted.”
Justin Chapman, Global Head of Market Advocacy & Innovation Research at Northern Trust, said: “We have developed a number of blockchain innovations that may be applied to multiple business activities and product offerings, with private equity fund administration being only one example of many potential use cases. Our solutions are designed with the intention of increasing value for our clients by promoting asset safety, reducing transactional friction, increasing transparency and driving efficiency in the investment lifecycle.”
Forward-looking Statements
This release includes forward-looking statements concerning Northern Trust innovations in connection with blockchain technology, including expectations regarding the impact of such innovations on the private equity market. The statements are based on assumptions about many important factors, including the following, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements: the ability of the company to develop and commercialize additional enhancements to the distributed ledger solution; the ability of the company to identify and execute on opportunities to use blockchain technology in the private equity market on a timely basis; applicable market and industry conditions; actions of regulatory bodies and other governmental authorities; changes in laws and regulations; and other risks identified in Northern Trust’s most recent filing on Form 10-K and other SEC filings, all of which are available on its website. Northern Trust does not undertake to update its forward-looking statements.
About Northern Trust
Northern Trust Corporation (Nasdaq: NTRS) is a leading provider of wealth management, asset servicing, asset management and banking to corporations, institutions, affluent families and individuals. Founded in Chicago in 1889, Northern Trust has offices in the United States in 19 states and Washington, D.C., and 23 international locations in Canada, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region. As of March 31, 2018, Northern Trust had assets under custody/administration of US$10.8 trillion, and assets under management of US$1.2 trillion. For more than 125 years, Northern Trust has earned distinction as an industry leader for exceptional service, financial expertise, integrity and innovation. Visit northerntrust.com or follow us on Twitter @NorthernTrust.
Northern Trust Corporation, Head Office: 50 South La Salle Street, Chicago, Illinois 60603 U.S.A., incorporated with limited liability in the U.S. Global legal and regulatory information can be found at https://www.northerntrust.com/disclosures.
