Nine of the largest investment banks are planning to develop common standards for blockchain technology in an effort to broaden its use across financial services, The Financial Times reports.

The banks – Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Credit Suisse, Barclays, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, State Street, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), BBVA and UBS – will fund a startup called R3, formed by a New York-based group of trading and technology executives.

The banks will jointly contribute several millions of dollars, according to a person familiar with the talks. The funds are expected to go to a forthcoming Series A capital raising for R3.

The project will be led by R3 Founder and Managing Partner David Rutter, who served as CEO of electronic broking at ICAP, the world's largest interdealer broker, from 2010 to 2013. Prior to ICAP, Rutter was co-owner of Prebon Yamane, last serving as chief executive officer for the Americas.