Little progress has been made in standardising reference data and inconsistencies continue to pose a significant challenge for securities firms around the globe, according to a new TowerGroup report.
A collaborative solution is required to address the redundancies and costs caused by reference data discrepancies, says TowerGroup.
Securities identifications and corporate actions represent two of the most pressing reference data challenges and are areas that have been failed by the current model, says the report.
At least 20 unique security identifiers issued by around 65 numbering agencies are in use today around the world, says TowerGroup. But in order to standardise reference data it is critical for the industry to collaborate in introducing centrally-issued identifiers for all types of reference data.
TowerGroup says a centrally issued, unique identifier for corporate action events should be a top priority, given the positive impact this would have on eliminating wasted reconciliation efforts and costs.