Results of the 2012 survey show that investment in automation of corporate actions processes have continued at a rapid rate since 2008. SWIFT was rated more highly than any other organisation for its contribution to improving data quality and STP in the corporate actions space.

90% of the respondents say that their organisations have automated or expanded automation since 2008, while almost as many organisations (85%) will continue doing so in the near future. The need to reduce costs remains the primary motivation behind automation, closely followed by risk reduction, with quality of service moving higher up the list of drivers compared to 2008.

The results also show that organisations particularly value the importance of data quality and standardisation. Most respondents strongly believe that market practice guidelines are critical for achieving STP and that measuring market practice compliance is taking an increasing importance. SWIFT was rated more highly than any other organisation for its contribution to improving data quality and STP in the corporate actions space.

Organisations also strongly believe that the data quality problem of corporate actions is to a large extent related to the difficulties with interpreting information received from the issuers.
Fabian Vandenreydt, Head of Securities Markets, SWIFT said: "We have worked hard in collaboration with our clients around the world to meet their demands for further automation. This global survey confirms that our efforts are paying off, with our clients benefiting from improved data quality and Straight Through Processing."

"We believe that the size of the survey, its geographical reach and the range of organisations that took part, give us a useful insight into what is happening in the corporate actions marketplace today" commented Paul Wiltshire; Director at CityIQ. "Clearly automation on its own is only part of the story; standardisation is what makes it worth doing"