Here is the latest from XBT provider:
"We are seeing accelerated research into blockchain technology by the major financial institutions. Now, almost all major banks have announced either their own blockchain projects or co-operations together with blockchain focused startups in an effort to create new ways to transfer value.
Looking at the key innovation that blockchain technology brings, we are inherently sceptical towards projects trying to use blockchain technology to create improvements in centralised models.
You can easily build something centralised, like a bank, on top of a decentralised platform. For example, you can build a bank that follows customer protection laws, on top of bitcoin. However, you cannot take something centralised, like a bank's database, and build something decentralised on top of it.
This results in a situation where bitcoin can be used as the backbone for a global financial infrastructure where centralised solutions built on top can provide the needed legal security to satisfy both regulators and consumers. However, just rebuilding databases with blockchain technology while still adhere to the regulatory requirements of a financial services provider does not provide the same benefit since the backbone is still centralised."