Working towards a common goal

August 27, 2020

Regulators globally are continuing to step up efforts to monitor for potential market abuse, with many active initiatives in play. Casting an eye over this landscape I can see plenty of common ground, but there is no united approach.

In Canada, the IIROC implementation of client identifiers is moving into a second phase, targeting July 2021. This large Canadian project introduces the use of client LEIs, and other designations, on orders sent to market. In the US, the phased rollout of the consolidated audit trail (CAT) gathers pace with each subsequent milestone through 2021 and beyond. The next stage adds additional linkages across the lifecycle of order events and is set to deliver more data to enhance the tracking toolset. Meanwhile in the East, the Hong Kong SFC is planning to introduce data standards for order life cycles in April 2021.

As expected, the drivers and desired outcomes are shared – protect the integrity of the markets; protect investors; provide relevant data for regulators to monitor and analyse behaviour. We are all working towards a common goal.

The technical requirements are however set locally. Among the many challenges for global investment firms and their service providers, is navigating the clashes in approach, to improve solution efficiency and reduce build effort.