finQbit joined the HSBC–Global Credit Data Conference for Credit and Financial Risk in Kraków to share its research on quantum computing for derivatives pricing and explore the technology’s longer-term potential in risk management.
Our presentation, “Derivative Pricing on Quantum Computers: From NISQ to Quantum Monte Carlo,” addressed a practical question for financial institutions: what can quantum computers realistically do for quantitative finance today, and where could they create significant value in the future?
From today’s quantum hardware to future applications
The presentation brought together two distinct time horizons.
In the near term, we shared finQbit’s work on Quantum Neural Networks for derivatives pricing, including results obtained on real quantum processors. These experiments explore how quantum methods can be applied to financial problems using hardware available today.
Looking further ahead, we discussed Quantum Monte Carlo based on Quantum Amplitude Estimation (QAE). In principle, QAE can provide a quadratic speed-up over classical Monte Carlo, potentially opening the door to more computationally demanding pricing and risk calculations as quantum technology matures.
The distinction between these horizons is central to finQbit’s approach: evaluating practical applications today while developing capabilities for the opportunities ahead.
Connecting quantum research with risk management challenges
The broader conference programme provided valuable context for this work, bringing together perspectives on credit risk, stress testing, model risk, tail risk and AI.
Katarzyna Budnik’s presentation on the evolution of stress testing highlighted the increasing complexity of realistic scenarios as financial institutions account for new risks, deep uncertainty and banks’ own responses to changing conditions. This connects directly with the longer-term potential of quantum computing: as the number of scenarios, dimensions and dependencies grows, computational efficiency becomes increasingly important.
Philippe De Brouwer’s presentation on ethics in AI offered a complementary perspective, emphasising the importance of human judgement, accountability and transparency as technology takes a greater role in financial decision-making.
For finQbit, these discussions underlined the importance of connecting quantum research with concrete challenges faced by financial institutions—and assessing emerging technologies in the context of the problems they are intended to solve.
We thank Philippe De Brouwer, Dr Jakub Tomczyk and the entire organising team for the invitation, and all speakers and participants for the thoughtful discussions both on stage and between sessions.
