For my purposes today, I want to construe "financial infrastructure" very broadly, to include not only the "hardware" components of that infrastructure--the physical systems on which market participants rely for the quick and accurate execution, clearing, and settlement of transactions--but also the associated "software, " including the statutory, regulatory, and contractual frameworks and the business practices that govern the actions and obligations of market participants on both sides of each transaction.

FORBES: Reducing Systemic Risk