{
  "id": 14612016,
  "title": "40 years on, the next Big Bang is happening behind the scenes instead of on the trading floor",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/40-years-on-the-next-big-bang-is-happening-behind-the-scenes-instead",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-15T04:04:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "City AM",
    "slug": "city-am",
    "url": "https://www.cityam.com/40-years-on-the-next-big-bang-is-happening-behind-the-scenes-instead-of-on-the-trading-floor/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Forty years have passed since the Big Bang reforms transformed the City of London into a global electronic marketplace, but another seismic structural shift is underway behind the scenes. Instead of occurring on trading floors, the revolution is taking place within the infrastructure that keeps the financial world functioning. In the years since the Big Bang legislation, investment banks have largely taken ownership of their own post-trade operations, such as settlements, reconciliations, confirmations, and regulatory reporting. However, managing these increasingly complex operations across multiple parts of the world and the limitations of outdated infrastructure have made this model unsustainable. The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) has pushed these banks to rethink their approach. While AI promises to improve productivity in well-governed environments, many investment banks still operate with heavily customized operational estates due to past acquisitions, leaving them ill-equipped to handle AI. In response, capital markets are beginning to move towards Big Bang 2.0, a shared infrastructure model where banks collaborate to create systems that benefit everyone. This team effort aims to reduce operational complexity and make fixed costs more variable. As banks increasingly rely on external service providers for post-trade activities, such as OTC derivatives, the lines between internal bank operations and external services are blurring. The investment banks of the future will be built around this invisible infrastructure, enabling smooth operations and innovation in critical areas. Joe Channer, CEO of Delta Capita, highlights the importance of striking a balance between maintaining stability and embracing innovation to succeed in the evolving capital markets landscape.",
  "summary": "Capital markets are undergoing a structural shift as investment banks move away from legacy, self-operated back office functions toward shared, collaborative systems capable of supporting AI, says Joe Channer The Thatcher government’s Big Bang reforms transformed the City of London from an old boys’ club into a global electronic marketplace 40 years ago this month. [...]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}