The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) has adopted the ISO 15022 international messaging standard for its Global Corporate Action (GCA) Validation Service, in the hope of increasing international interest in the service.
DTCC says several corporate action system vendors have certified their interoperability with ISO 15022 GCA Validation Service output. They include Checkfree, Information Mosaic, Mondas, N Tier, Vermeg, and Xcitek.
The GCA Validation Service aims to provide a centralised source of “scrubbed” information about corporate actions, including tender offers, conversions, stock splits, and nearly 100 other types of events for equities and fixed-income instruments traded in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas. The service is provided through Global Asset Solutions LLC, a DTCC subsidiary.
“The implementation of ISO 15022 addresses the growing interest among financial services firms worldwide for a central source of global corporate action announcements,” says James Femia, DTCC managing director and head of the Global Corporate Action business. “Our service centres in New York, London and Shanghai make the GCA Validation Service the most comprehensive corporate actions resource available in the global marketplace.”
“Many European and Asian firms use the ISO 15022 messaging format,” adds Steven Cotton, DTCC’s GCA European Relationship Manager based in London. “Expanding access to the GCA Validation Service with 15022 will make it easier for any firm – whether a bank, broker, investment manager, hedge fund or insurance company, no matter where they are located – to begin using the GCA Validation Service. And by partnering with these corporate action solutions providers, we’re striving to give our customers the greatest level of flexibility in how they access the service.”
The ISO 15022 format is being offered in addition to the GCA Validation proprietary format, which is now used by a number of global customers of the service. “We also offer a real-time Web browser application for GCA Validation, making it easier for both front-office traders and back-office professionals to access GCA announcements from their desktops.”
The GCA Validation Service created 900,000 announcement records in 2004, its first full year of operation. Close to 30 per cent of these announcements involved securities outside the US. Last year, a custodian verification feature was also added to the service with the aim of improving the quality of information and eliminating customers’ handling of custodian notifications. Today, the GCA Validation Service processes data from more than 80 custodians worldwide.