Six months after its first draft, SWIFT has released on behalf of the Independent Advisory Group (IAG) the final recommendation for the communication protocol designed to eliminate Giovannini Barrier 1 in the European securities Clearing & Settlement market.
In its 2003 report, the Giovannini Group, identified 15 barriers to efficient EU cross-border clearing and settlement and invited Swift to define a solution to eliminate Barrier 1, which cites national differences in information technology and interfaces used by clearing and settlement providers.
The Brussels-based co-operative’s initial proposal in October 2005 was met with industry-wide approval that the draft protocol, based on the ISO 15022 and 20022 standards, would eliminate Barrier 1. The project will now move into the implementation phase with the proposed creation of an infrastructure roadmap showing how compliance will be achieved.
“Direct input has been received from market infrastructures, financial institutions, industry associations, regulators and many other players from across the European Union as well as from markets outside the European Union,” says Andrew Douglas, manager of market reform initiatives at SWIFT who was responsible for reviewing the responses against the draft and preparing the final version of the protocol for publication. “The level of support and contribution made to the communication protocol released today, ensures that it is an industry designed solution.”