A group of banks, exchanges and clearing houses working on blockchain technology in the post-trade space has hired a team of external advisors.

Ernst & Young and Norton Rose Fulbright have both been drafted in to provide consulting and legal support to the Post-Trade Distributed Ledger group, PTDL for short.

The working body is looking at how blockchain can transform the way securities are traded, cleared, settled and reported.

Citigate Dewe Rogerson has also been hired to handle PTDL’s public relations.

Nearly 40 members make up PTDL which is chaired by Brian Mcnulty, a London-based partner in trading consultancy DBFS.

The group now has an organising committee of representatives from CME Group, State Street, HSBC, UniCredit, Euroclear and London Stock Exchange.

“The potential impact of blockchain and distributed ledger technology on the post-trade industry is huge, and as with all pioneering developments, there is great excitement but also uncertainty,” said CME Group’s Sandra Ro, who is also an organising committee member of PTDL.

“Through PTDL, we are connecting post trade practitioners, regulated exchanges, regulators and central banks on this issue to see how best it could benefit the post-trade industry.

"To do this effectively, we need external partners with specific specialisms, and we are delighted to be working with EY, Norton Rose Fulbright and Citigate Dewe Rogerson.”