SINGAPORE – Northern Trust (Nasdaq: NTRS), the National University of Singapore’s School of Computing (NUS Computing) and Asian Institute of Digital Finance (NUS AIDF) today announced a series of research and industry development initiatives that will advance efforts to define the future of blockchain for institutional investors.

The strategic partnership between Northern Trust, NUS Computing, and NUS AIDF includes:

• A joint research project on “Custody in the age of digital assets”. The project investigates different methods for maintaining control and possession of digital assets on third-party blockchains, and ways for clients to achieve a real-time view of assets across digital and traditional markets. The research is part of the Singapore Blockchain Innovation Programme (SBIP), a national-level partnership anchored at NUS Computing to explore institutional use of blockchain and the translation of new technology for the banking industry.
  
• A memorandum of understanding (MoU) with NUS AIDF, a university-level institute in NUS. The MoU signifies Northern Trust’s commitment to growing the Fintech ecosystem in Singapore. Northern Trust is currently providing mentorship to Insightic, a RegTech start-up incubated at AIDF, with a distinct focus on risk assessment for Web 3.0-based virtual asset service providers. Leveraging our expertise in blockchain, Northern Trust is helping them to refine their product-market fit and go-to-market strategies.
  
• An agreement between Northern Trust and NUS Computing to provide an industry-linked internship opportunity to a student in the Master of Digital Fintech program. The five-month program will expose the intern to critical market advocacy and digital development work that Northern Trust is spearheading in the Asia-Pacific region.

Justin Chapman, global head of Digital Assets and Financial Markets, Northern Trust said: “The financial markets will continue to evolve rapidly as we embrace technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence. Our partnership with NUS is an important step in our strategy to provide thought leadership and develop future leaders who will shape the industry. I believe this is only the starting point of a productive collaboration between the two organizations”.

Professor Ooi Beng Chin, Lee Kong Chian Centennial Professor and faculty member at NUS Computing, and Programme Lead of SBIP, said: “The multifaceted approach taken by Northern Trust and NUS Computing demonstrates the potential for business and academic institutions to join forces and drive the development of new digital marketplaces and blockchain solutions for the industry.”

Northern Trust’s Digital Assets and Financial Markets is the bank’s single group unifying digital and traditional market functions focused on helping clients navigate the fast-developing digital markets and challenges of investing in digital assets alongside allocations to more traditional asset classes. This global group helps provide access to market-leading expertise, industry insights and continued innovations, and keeps Northern Trust clients at the forefront of change.

Northern Trust has offices across Asia Pacific in Beijing, Bengaluru, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Melbourne, Pune, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo. It has strong relationships with some of the region’s largest central banks, sovereign wealth funds, government agencies and corporations.

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 a global presence with offices in 25 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., and across 23 locations in Canada, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region. As of March 31, 2023, Northern Trust had assets under custody/administration of US$14.2 trillion, and assets under management of US$1.3 trillion. For more than 130 years, Northern Trust has earned distinction as an industry leader for exceptional service, financial expertise, integrity and innovation. Visit us on northerntrust.com. Follow us on Twitter @NorthernTrust or Northern Trust Corporation on LinkedIn.

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/terms-and-conditions.