Biss Research, the exclusive research company offering the elite industry accreditation of systems & services for the financial services sector, today announced that it has taken a majority stake in TLC Certification (TLC) a new company created to build a message testing capability for the full transaction lifecycle for vendors and financial institutions in global financial markets.
TLC will establish a unique service that will create a library of certifications for standardised electronic messages that will lead to certifications for systems that achieve the benchmark tests, established in association with international testing companies. The tests will be electronically conducted and the results will be included in a report that will be published by TLC and made available to the vendors for marketing purposes and prospective buyers. Financial services firms can use the report as a feature in both internal and external audits. B.I.S.S. Research will continue to operate its own Accreditation services via its well established benchmarking process, but will, when required, incorporate the TLC electronic message testing.
Gary Wright, C.E.O., B.I.S.S. Research and creator of the B.I.S.S. Accreditation said "We have been working to establish TLC, after a request was made to establish a certification capability by vendors in the market, at the end of last year. We felt that the new Certification, although complementary to B.I.S.S. Accreditation involves a very different process, therefore for clarity, a new company should be created. Market research undertaken over the year has indicated a very positive feedback from many of the industry's leading experts in messaging and this has encouraged us to invest in this new certification business created for the needs of the 21st century. Further stakeholders In TLC will be announced in due course. We have exciting plans to develop TLC into a unique business providing tangible benefits not only to its clients, but more importantly to the industry as a whole."
Nigel Woodward, Director, Industry Relations for TLC said "There is no doubt that all sides of the financial marketplace seek independent certification - be it technology or service levels. By encouraging community based collaboration to build a critical mass of evidence, TLC will establish a source for verification, which will aid the functions of message based communication between counterparties across the trade lifecycle. As the market restructures and electronic connectivity increase, it will become ever more critical to achieve this as a means of reducing risk in processes. "