FT Interactive Data's full detail EUSD service provides an exceptional depth of data to help understand the effect of the Directive on individual securities, assisting organisations to report information or withhold tax across different jurisdictions. Fund administrators using the detailed EUSD service will also be able to receive information indicating asset compositions of funds. FT Interactive Data's basic service, which provides information enabling customers to identify instruments captured by the Directive, has been available for several months. Both levels of service take a global approach and can be delivered directly into the client's existing system.

The Directive, scheduled to be implemented from 1 July 2005 to prevent cross border tax evasion, intends to capture tax on interest payments made to individual European Union members who are resident for tax purposes in another country from where the payment is made. Under the terms of the Directive, financial institutions that act as paying agents have a legal obligation to either report information or withhold tax.

Yann Adams, senior European product specialist responsible for the research and definition of requirements for FT Interactive Data's project on the EUSD, said: "We believe fund managers should ensure that information regarding their funds is made available to the industry. FT Interactive Data is facilitating this by providing fund managers with distribution channels for EUSD data on their funds. Without this information the knock on effect might be unfavourable for the end investor. Paying agents might be left with no choice but to assume that funds are captured by the Directive, and fund administrators for funds of funds, including umbrella funds, might not be able to calculate fund asset compositions."