30 Years in Fintech: Lessons from Building the Future of Trading Technology with Ashok Mittal
Podcast: Ashok Mittal, CEO of Fintech Global Center, on replacing Bloomberg TOMS, low-risk migration, AI in fixed income trading and regulation.
Published June 14, 2026 on Alex Saltout
About this conversation
Ashok Mittal, CEO and founder of Fintech Global Center, joins Alex Saltout to talk about 30 years of building trading systems for the global financial industry, and about FGC TMS, the fixed income trading and trade management system that has replaced Bloomberg TOMS for several broker-dealers.
He describes fintech as delivering products "faster, better and cheaper", which he says is possible because of the team's long experience with these markets and its R&D center in India. FGC TMS is offered as software as a service, so clients avoid capital expense; Ashok says it cuts their operating costs by at least 50% while adding efficiency through customizable workflows.
On winning the trust of broker-dealers, he points to trust, integrity, proven capability and cost. Migration runs the new system in parallel with the old one until the client is comfortable, typically within about three months.
He explains why fixed income trading has changed: higher interest rates have shifted retirement portfolios towards bonds, transaction volumes have risen, and bid-offer spreads have compressed, cutting some desks' profitability by 30% to 60%.
He also covers how FGC TMS uses AI, for on-the-fly research into a security and for an agentic process that watches low-touch trades against a trader's inventory, price band and urgency. Other topics include how regulators approach AI ("say what you do, and do what you say"), handling different regulatory regimes by geography, and why he plans six months to two years ahead. His advice to business leaders: "be afraid every day".
Watch the full conversation on Alex Saltout's YouTube channel.