What is ING Katana ?

29 June 2019 | 1432 Views | By Mint2Save

Bond traders around the world tend to rely on pricing decisions in order to realise their profits. In most cases, they do not have too much time to take a call and place an order. This is because even a minuscule delay in placing the order can have a negative impact on their profits. Such an environment can often lead them into making mistakes, and this can hamper their reputation to a great extent. There are many bonds available in the market, and a bond trader has to take the right call in order to maximise the wealth of his/her client. In recent years, technology-based solutions have become the need of the hour in the field of bond trading.
ING is one of those few companies that have come to the rescue of bond traders. In 2017, the company launched Katana, a bond trading tool that is based on artificial intelligence. Katana makes use of predictive analytics in order to help traders in choosing the right trade as well as the right price. Katana does this by analysing real-time as well as historical data from thousands of bonds. Traders can use Katana in order to decide the price that they quote while buying as well as selling the bonds on behalf of their clients.

The basic concept behind Katana is that the tool analyses all the past trades that have been conducted with regards to a bond. Thereafter, based on this analysis, the tool predicts the future movements of the bond prices as well as the trends in terms of buying and selling. The tool organises its predictions and displays them in such a manner that bond traders can make a quick decision based on the information. This helps them in saving time and also choosing the right trades at the right time.

It is important to note that Katana is not aimed at replacing the traders themselves. The tool is supposed to work in tandem with the traders and provide them with timely and accurate support. Katana has been designed in such a manner that it enables the trader to use his/her own knowledge, as well as benefit from predictive analytics that have been provided by the tool. The traders are expected to remain in control, and Katana is just a supporting act that helps them in carrying out their work more efficiently. They can work in combination with Katana to maximise the wealth of their clients.

The first batch of testing for the software indicated that it enabled faster trading decisions in over 90% of the cases. In addition to this, Katana also managed to reduce the trading costs by nearly 25%. These are highly significant numbers that can prove to be beneficial for any bond trader. Further, while testing the tool, it was determined that traders were able to offer the best price to their clients up to four times more frequently. This shows that Katana is not only a time-saving tool, but it also improves the accuracy of the trades.