Mizuho Financial Group, one of the largest financial institutions in the world, and Cognizant, a provider of information technology, consulting, and business process outsourcing services, have announced a strategic agreement to develop a blockchain solution for secure record-keeping of documents among Mizuho Financial Group companies around the world.

This agreement marks the beginning of a strategic program at Mizuho to leverage blockchain technology for building new work processes..

Initially developed for the Bitcoin currency and payment network, blockchain technology utilises a system of distributed ledgers, i.e. a list of transactions that is shared among a number of computers, rather than being stored on a central server

Cognizant aims to design and develop a blockchain solution for Mizuho’s customers, counterparties, and group companies to exchange and sign sensitive documents in a secure and transparent manner, resulting in faster, more efficient processing and multi-party verification. This engagement will initially focus on New York and Tokyo, where most Mizuho group companies are based. There are Mizuho branches in Sydney, Hong Kong and Singapore.

“Blockchain technology is a game-changer for the financial services industry,” said Prasad Chintamaneni, President, Banking and Financial Services, Cognizant.

“We continue to invest in our blockchain capabilities and are going beyond cryptocurrencies into newer areas such as smart contracts and P2P transactions.

"This agreement will pave the way for increased adoption of Blockchain technology at Mizuho Financial Group to minimise counterparty risks, speed up settlements, improve contractual performance, and enhance regulatory reporting.”