Data Over Documents

FATCA, Dodd Frank, MiFID, EMIR, MiFIR, LIBOR - the avalanche of regulatory change over the last decade has left capital markets participants in a constant state of process re-engineering, client refresh, and organizational change. Response to regulatory developments is often the same - collect more documents from clients and counterparties. Then comes the manual review or transcribing of relevant data in the documents. In some cases, this is unavoidable. Increasingly, market participants are realizing that the documents are often just a means to an end - data for decisions.

We need the data, but not the documents

An "outcome based" approach has always been the rule in theory, but the scale driven by the latest requirements has forced firms to rethink processes to increase efficiency. Many firms are focusing on how to feed data into their decision/analysis processes without storing the underlying source documents. Do I need to report this transaction? Does this client require an off-cycle KYC review? Which counterparties can participate in this deal?

The data for such decisions can often be found in public sources e.g. GLEIF and data repositories. To prepare for this brave new world of data where documents are replaced by flags, status updates, and delta changes received electronically, firms are creating consolidated client databases that can communicate both internally and externally via API. These databases act as data aggregators that collect from various sources and deliver it to the end point where business, trading, and compliance decisions are made.

So much data… what next?

The key to realizing these efficiencies comes down to having the right solutions in place to be able to consume data via APIs for onboarding, KYC, and tax validation without necessarily downloading the underlying documents. Tapping into this library of data coupled with the most up to date certificates such as Qualified Institutional Buyer (QIB) and FINRA 2111, as well as support for regulatory capital calculations and a range of pricing valuation adjustments, means firms can be confident that a client is "ready to trade".

For more information on solutions that can help your business stay on top of the evolving regulatory landscape, contact us at sales-leads@ihsmarkit.com.

Definition of terms

FATCA = Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act; MiFID = Markets in Financial Instruments Directive; EMIR = European Market Infrastructure Regulation; MiFIR = Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation; LIBOR = London Inter-bank Offered Rate; KYC = Know Your Client; GLEIF = Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation

S&P Global provides industry-leading data, software and technology platforms and managed services to tackle some of the most difficult challenges in financial markets. We help our customers better understand complicated markets, reduce risk, operate more efficiently and comply with financial regulation.

This article was published by S&P Global Market Intelligence and not by S&P Global Ratings, which is a separately managed division of S&P Global.