B.I.S.S. Research today announced the 2008 Benchmarking of Corporate Actions systems will focus on compliance with regulations and client protection capability.
“As we begin the 2008 benchmarking of corporate actions the financial services market is under increasing pressure from new regulations and in a climate of extreme market volatility. With the markets in mayhem and the economic outlook unstable the investors will suffer increased exposure to operational risks, as well as those in the market. It is during times like this, that financial services firms rely heavily on their systems to make sure their clients are protected and this is particularly important in the case in the corporate actions department where errors can have a devastating cost.
“Software vendors who have developed the best systems bringing efficiencies in the market have been involved in the B.I.S.S. Benchmarking over the last six years. In that time we have seen the corporate actions software market consolidate to just a few. We are currently concluding our invitations to corporate actions software vendors to participate with the window closing at the end of January. We have already received a number of confirmations from the leading software vendors with announcements to be made shortly.
“All corporate actions vendors have now been contacted but we do not expect any increase on last years list highlighted in the 2007 report. However, some new vendors have entered their systems into an internal benchmarking. As in previous years we advise vendors against entering their systems into the public benchmarking unless they are sure of their systems ability to achieve the accreditation,” says Gary Wright, CEO, B.I.S.S. Research and creator of the B.I.S.S. business benchmarking concept.