BNY Mellon Asset Servicing, is taking a leading role in a new pilot programme being launched as part of an industry initiative to solve industry challenges with corporate actions processing.
The latest phase in the "Issuer to Investor: Corporate Actions" pilot programme will enable financial institutions using the SWIFT network to automatically receive information about corporate action announcements - in ISO 20022 formats - from the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC). The pilot is expected to commence in early 2011 and will run until late in the year.
Chris Church, chief executive - Americas and global head of securities at SWIFT, said: "Strong industry support and early commitment from financial institutions like BNY Mellon will help ensure the success of ISO 20022 adoption for corporate actions. BNY Mellon have been involved from the beginning in helping shape the message suite and provide input and advise on the pilot messaging solution. We look forward to their continuing commitment."
In addition, BNY Mellon is one of the founding members of this industry initiative, which was launched last year by DTCC, SWIFT and the XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) U.S. consortium. Issuer to Investor: Corporate Actions seeks to improve corporate actions processing by encouraging issuers to tag corporate actions announcements - prospectuses, press releases, regulatory filings - using XBRL data tagging technology.
The initiative also encourages intermediaries, such as the DTCC, to disseminate information about corporate actions announcements seamlessly and without manipulation via ISO 20022 messages.
Tim Keaney, chief executive officer of BNY Mellon Asset Servicing, said: "The approach taken by DTCC, SWIFT and XBRL US is to be applauded. Corporate actions processing is a perennial and expensive problem, and one that the industry has yet to resolve. By engaging key stakeholders from across the industry the group has taken an important step forward in establishing new levels of automation and standardisation for corporate actions processing. This in turn will lead to reduced costs and greater efficiencies for the industry."
Patrick Kirby, DTCC managing director, asset services, noted: "DTCC is committed to improving the automation and straight-through processing of corporate actions in the U.S. and elsewhere. BNY Mellon has demonstrated its leadership in this effort by being an early adopter of ISO 20022 and supporting the efforts to have issuers move to using XBRL tagging. We look forward to working with them on the ISO 20022 pilot as we continue our efforts to fundamentally change how corporate actions are announced and processed."
