A joint report from SWIFT and the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) shows an increase in fund processing and standardisation among trading agents (TAs) in Luxembourg and Ireland.
The report aimed to track industry progress in evolving automation rates of fund orders received, and assessed progress made in the first six months of 2014.
In total, the number of automated processing orders increased 2.5 percent to 12.2 million, compared to 11.9 million in the same period in 2013.
In Q2 2014, the automation rate of processed orders of cross-border funds was 78.2 percent, compared to 78.7 percent in Q4 2013, and use of ISO messaging standards increased by 4.7 percent.
Of the respondents in Luxembourg, use of ISO messaging standards increased to 59.6 percent in Q2 2014, from 57.7 percent in Q4 2013. Use of propriety FTP decreased to 16.5 percent in Q2 2014, compared to 17.6 percent in Q4 2013.
In Ireland, use of ISO increased to 27.5 percent in Q2 2014, compared to 20.9 percent Q4 2013. Use of FTP decreased to 55.7 percent in Q2 2014 from 64.7 percent in Q4 2013.
The total use of ISO standards increased to 50 percent in Q2 2014, an increase from 45.3 percent in Q4 2013.
Peter De Proft, director general of EFAMA, said: “We welcome the fact that the use of ISO messaging standards in the processing of fund orders of cross-border funds in Luxembourg and Ireland has reached the 50% threshold for the first time. This is an important contribution to the objective of strengthening efficiency in fund-back office activities for the ultimate benefit of end investors.”
The report is part of an EFAMA and SWIFT campaign to communicate more on the advancement of automation and standardisation rates.
Fabian Vandenreydt, head of securities markets and core business development at SWIFT, said: “We applaud the continuous progress towards ISO adoption. Together with EFAMA, we are continuously encouraging the industry to alleviate the high costs and inefficiencies associated with manual processing by supporting initiatives that foster automation and standardisation for the funds industry, and we should not give up there.”
The survey was taken by 32 TAs, representing 80 percent of the Ireland and Luxembourg markets.
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