SIBOS
Lygon destined for the world
Lygon is set to go global, with the successful guarantees-based technology targeting new markets in new countries – and according to Nigel Dobson, Banking Services Lead at ANZ, it’s all because Lygon is a real solution with an identifiable problem it can solve.
Speaking on podcast ahead of the Sibos 2020 financial services conference, along with Hari Janakiraman, creator of the Lygon concept and Head of Trade Product, Institutional at ANZ, Dobson said Lygon’s clear mandate was behind its ongoing success.
“The reason Lygon has been successful and will continue to grow at scale… is the problem it is solving is substantial and meaningful,” Dobson said.
“Not just for the beneficiary client, but for all three parties in the transaction. Everybody benefited from the implementation of a digitised instrument on the Lygon platform.”
Dobson said as the project had refined its capability it has seen clear opportunities to scale to help users.
“I think the most-important [opportunity] was to realise this problem around data guarantees is a global one,” he said. “We talked to colleagues in New Zealand, Singapore, the US and Europe, and they all say ‘we've got exactly the same archaic paper-based processes’.”
You can listen to an edited version of the conversation on podcast below.
Earlier in September, ANZ announced Lygon was moving to the next stage of its development, looking to expand to digitised guarantees outside the retail property sector it focussed on in pilot.
The platform, which will open to the general public in early 2021, also plans to explore expansion into markets outside Australia, offering unprecedented assistance to trade companies that work with complex cross-border guarantees.
Dobson said Lygon was particularly targeting a foothold in New Zealand where it felt it could expand “quite rapidly”.
“We're already building alternative guarantee types into the platform,” he said. “And we're already in quite significant discussions across a number of geographies.”
“The most obvious one [is] New Zealand, where the footprint from a banking point of view is very similar [to Australia].”
Janakiraman said the platform was constructed in a manner that made such transitions relatively smooth.
“The platform has been built in such a way – not just the actual workflow but the underlying technical architecture - that it is easy to deploy in different locations using multiple models,” he said.
“We kept an open mind in terms of how it can be used in other geographies by other financial institutions. The underlying technical architecture is quite flexible.”
Sibos like you’ve never seen it
The Sibos financial services conference will look a little different to normal in 2020, but you can rely on ANZ Institutional for the market-leading insights and thought leadership you have come to expect.
From October 5 to 8, the annual finance conference is going digital, with an online schedule offering insights into the trends which will shape the financial services sector into 2021 and beyond.
In the lead up to the event ANZ Institutional will offer a wide range of coverage on those trends, offering you a sneak peek at the ideas set to dominate the conference from ANZ’s industry experts.
Dobson said the potential application of Lygon’s guarantee solution was wide, spanning from “commercial lease guarantees, environmental guarantees for a large projects, performance guarantee for a range of business and commercial uses [and] financial guarantees for other types of contracts”.
“There are [also] specialised guarantees we've been working with [in] a number of industries with very specialised types of guarantee instruments, which could easily be digitised, coded and standardised for their own benefit,” he said.
Arun Kayal is Associate Director, Communications & Shane White is Content Manager, ANZ Institutional
This publication is published by Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited ABN 11 005 357 522 (“ANZBGL”) in Australia. This publication is intended as thought-leadership material. It is not published with the intention of providing any direct or indirect recommendations relating to any financial product, asset class or trading strategy. The information in this publication is not intended to influence any person to make a decision in relation to a financial product or class of financial products. It is general in nature and does not take account of the circumstances of any individual or class of individuals. Nothing in this publication constitutes a recommendation, solicitation or offer by ANZBGL or its branches or subsidiaries (collectively “ANZ”) to you to acquire a product or service, or an offer by ANZ to provide you with other products or services. All information contained in this publication is based on information available at the time of publication. While this publication has been prepared in good faith, no representation, warranty, assurance or undertaking is or will be made, and no responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by ANZ in relation to the accuracy or completeness of this publication or the use of information contained in this publication. ANZ does not provide any financial, investment, legal or taxation advice in connection with this publication.