Connecting the Dots in Capital Markets: AI, Murex Modernization, and The Rise of Composable Finance

Capital markets firms across EMEA are investing heavily in AI, cloud, and data platforms — but many are still missing the full return on those investments.

Why? The issue often isn’t innovation, it’s integration. Systems don't talk to each other. Pilots don’t scale. Platforms like Murex are rich with functionality but remain isolated from the broader enterprise stack. McKinsey’s 2024 State of Capital Markets report shows that only 30% of these initiatives deliver on their ROI targets. The gap isn’t innovation, it’s integration.

We see this gap firsthand as Bounteous works with leading banks and capital markets firms. The organizations that win are those that treat transformation as a platform, not a collection of pilots.

Fragmented Innovation, Real Costs

A familiar pattern plays out in many BFSI organizations:

• AI models piloted in labs but never deployed at scale
• Capital market platforms like Murex deliver trade and risk management strength but still operate in isolation
• Data strategies optimized for reporting, not real-time analytics or predictive decisions

At our MarketsTech event in London earlier this year, the majority of leaders cited this lack of orchestration as their top barrier. We have often heard, “We have the right tools, but they don’t talk to each other.”

Our recent AI research reinforces this disconnect. Over 80% of financial services firms report active AI use in fraud detection, risk monitoring, and personalization — yet nearly all of that activity remains embedded in isolated systems or siloed pilots. Ownership is often fragmented across CIOs and CTOs, with limited alignment across business and digital leadership. This lack of cross-functional governance prevents firms from scaling AI beyond efficiency wins.

To move from pilots to platforms, capital markets leaders need not only better integration but better alignment. Without a coordinated, enterprise-wide strategy, firms risk stalling their own progress before the real value of AI is realized.

Access our white paper for more insights: The AI Whitespace in Financial Services.

Composability: Moving from Pilots to Platforms

Composable architecture is gaining traction as the antidote to fragmentation. By breaking down systems into modular, API-driven components, firms can modernize without rip-and-replace.

Composability is cited as the most viable pathway for integrating legacy trading infrastructure with next-gen analytics.

When combined with AI and real-time data engineering, composability enables firms to:

• Integrate Murex with cloud-native analytics platforms for faster pricing and risk insights
• Create regulatory “adapters” that automate compliance workflows (e.g., EMIR Refit, Basel IV)
• Build reusable AI microservices for fraud detection, ESG scoring, or trade surveillance that scale across business lines

Proof in Action: Commerzbank and Beyond

Our work with Commerzbank illustrates what’s possible. By co-innovating on their FX landscape, we implemented real-time APIs and modular services that improved time-to-market while maintaining strict compliance controls. This transformation turned what was once a fixed trading stack into a flexible, composable platform.

Bounteous has partnered with EMEA and global capital markets clients to:

• Build streaming data pipelines to feed risk and pricing engines in near real-time
• Deploy AI-driven ESG scoring engines tied to sustainable finance reporting mandates
• Migrate Murex workloads to cloud-based environments, reducing infrastructure costs by up to 40%

What Capital Markets Leaders Can Do Now

To move from fragmented innovation to orchestrated transformation, consider these three steps:

1. Audit Your Technology Map

Identify overlapping AI pilots and siloed platforms. Start with a cross-system inventory — where are your integration chokepoints? This often uncovers redundant efforts between business units and reveals missed opportunities to reuse services. Documenting not just systems but data flows and dependencies helps prioritize integration efforts.

2. Invest in Real-Time Data Fabric

Static data lakes no longer meet market needs. Real-time systems help firms react faster to market changes, risks, and regulatory demands. By moving to real-time data flows, you can make faster decisions, reduce latency in trade processing, and stay ahead of compliance deadlines.

3. Adopt a Co-Innovation Model

Many firms face growing pressure to modernize but lack the in-house capacity to deliver at speed. Co-innovation bridges that gap. It brings external experts into your teams to move faster while building internal capability along the way.

As Finextra reports, a shortage of AI and machine learning talent is one of the biggest challenges facing financial services firms today. Co-innovation offers a practical way to scale without overextending internal teams. It’s not outsourcing, it’s building better, together.

Moving Forward with Confidence

Capital markets firms that scale AI, composability, and data integration are redefining competitiveness. Those that remain siloed risk slow adaptation, higher costs, and regulatory exposure.

At Bounteous, we’ve built deep BFSI expertise in EMEA through work with leaders like Commerzbank, along with a global library of solutions spanning Murex integration, AI operationalization, and real-time data engineering.

As you’re looking to bridge the gap between ambition and execution, consider how to avoid fragmented implementations that can bring delays and costs. Consider bringing in outside expertise, accelerators that can turn pilots into platforms, and focus on building real-time data capabilities that deliver measurable ROI.