AsianFin -- Europe’s largest bank, HSBC, announced on Thursday that a pilot program using quantum computers to support bond trading has delivered promising results, marking a rare instance of a major financial institution finding tangible benefits from the emerging technology.

The trial, conducted in collaboration with IBM, demonstrated a 34% improvement in predicting the likelihood that a bond trade would be filled at a quoted price compared with conventional computing methods, HSBC said. This enhanced predictive capability could provide the bank with a competitive edge in trading operations, where speed and accuracy are critical.

Quantum computing, which leverages the principles of quantum mechanics to process complex calculations far faster than traditional computers, has long been seen as a potential game-changer for financial modeling, risk management, and optimization. However, practical applications in finance have remained limited due to technical challenges and high costs.