Driven by the globalization of the capital markets and industry-wide IT innovation, Bank of Japan set out to upgrade its computer system, which processes settlements of Japanese government bonds, in two phases. The first phase of the BOJ-NET upgrade went live on January 6, 2014 and implemented changes to the Japanese Government Bonds delivery-versus-payment (DVP) operations. The second phase, which is expected to go live by the end of 2015, requires the adoption of ISO20022 standards, which will extend operation hours and modifications for settlement operations.

Having already implemented BOJ-NET’s phase one requirements, NRI has added new functionalities to its I-STAR/LC platform to comply with phase two. These additional upgrades include: universal financial industry message format (ISO20022), the extension of operating hours, and message transfer with advanced date. Additional user support upgrades include a dashboard for real-time updates on settlements and account balances, English-Japanese bi-lingual language support, and heightened availability as a result of enhanced system operation.

“As market practices and financial governance continues to rapidly evolve, it’s essential for industry firms to have a partner it can trust for long-term solutions,” said Minoru Yokote, Senior Managing Director of NRI. “By utilizing ASP settlement solutions like I-STAR/LC, our clients can conduct their businesses accurately and efficiently, while reducing the costs of developing in-house systems that respond to new changes.”

NRI’s I-STAR/LC is used by nearly half of the Japanese financial firms connected to BOJ-NET. NRI is dedicated to responding to additional regulatory changes, including T+1 for outright transactions, while continuing to improve the quality of operations and reducing the regulatory cost burden for financial institutions.