Data has started to be converted from a commodity to a currency in the last few years, as the final session of ASIC's annual forum yesterday made clear, with examples from large banks and minnows.A discussion panel tackled the big topic of big data - in particular, its risks and benefits, and the need to build consumer trust. The aim must be to use information more effectively in a way that is meaningful, while consumers need to know what are the implications for use of their personal data, noted Grace Brasington, vice president of global banking and financial markets at IBM. "People will trade privacy for convenience [but] if you don't have transparency, you don't have trust - and trust has to be the cornerstone of everything," she said. While discussion of the topic remained largely generic and anecdotal, comments made at the recent inquiry into Australia's major banks by the House of Representatives Economics Committee proved too hard for moderator Richard Gluyas to ignore. The statement by Shayne Elliott, chief executive officer of ANZ, that one quarter of the attacks on his bank related to data, led to discussion that, for some people, data is more valuable than money. The CEOs of the Big Four banks demonstrated a similar approach when asked by the committee chairman if they agreed with sharing of open data. The basic answer was "Yes… but ... ", followed by exceptions and carve-outs that left almost no content. The panel was more encouraging."It was an interesting debate," said Productivity Commission chairman Peter Harris. "It's rare for an executive to congratulate the Parliament for creating a forum for such an exchange." According to Timothy Pilgrim, Australian Privacy Commissioner and Australian Information Commissioner, "there's little doubt this is an undiscovered area of high engage engagement potential for engagement." Brasington was quick to assert that companies which learn to use their data more effectively have a competitive advantage."From the standpoint of a bank, risk and compliance are some examples, but also top line growth, in terms of knowing who your customers are [in order] to sell them more product and services," she said.