Anna Service Bureau upgrade aims to evolve with emerging data landscape

The ongoing, two-phase modernization of the Anna Service Bureau (ASB) presents an opportunity to improve the service in the future by adding analytics and adapting to new technologies, says Stephan Dreyer, managing director of the Association of National Numbering Agencies (NNAs).

“The additional transparency in the data analytics functionality is particularly important in understanding how we can introduce or revise certain processes, and in working with standards bodies such as ISO [the International Organization for Standardization], report back effectively and provide more transparency to the market,” Dreyer says. “As we look at upgrading the Anna website over the coming year, we want to introduce more data analytics and transparency on what is happening with the International Securities Identification Number (Isin).” 

Financial services firms are adopting emerging technologies such as blockchain, which is transforming how financial instruments are issued, Dreyer says. “And that may require looking at capturing new types of data attributes that may be useful or interesting for the market, or even in ESG [environmental, social and governance] investing. That’s [where] we’re at now to understand the implications and ensure the ASB framework is adaptable as technology and finance evolves,” he says.

Anna is the co-ordinating organization of the 117 NNAs that distribute information related to ISO standard identifiers, including the Isin, the Classification of Financial Instruments code, and the Financial Instrument Short Name. Anna runs the ASB, a central database that serves as the golden record of these codes, in partnership with Six Financial Services and Cusip Global Services. Operating under a federated model, the NNAs submit new Isins and CFIs to the ASB, as well as updates to existing codes.

In addition to serving as a hub for the NNAs, the ASB also offers a free look-up service and subscription data services. 

Several factors lay behind the decision to upgrade the ASB infrastructure, says Darren Purcell, senior director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Cusip Global Services. Apart from the increased focus on data quality in the wake of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, previous problems with the ASB included timeliness of publishing data to the service, missing attributes, and inconsistent data.

“Anna decided that with the increased spotlight on data quality, global distribution and the importance of Isin data, the ASB needed to move to this new technology platform based on cloud, API technology, an updated user interface, and validation in terms of preventative measures,” Purcell says. “So, for example, each of the NNAs can test their data to validate it before uploading. This avoids a situation where they are uploading, finding a mistake, and then having to redo it.”

The upgrade includes the migration of the platform to a cloud-based infrastructure, which Anna says will allow for reduced latency and additional security, and a new user interface that features an integrated data quality dashboard.  

The look-up and subscription services are also being enhanced. The ASB will make a service available that will allow users to extract customized data for a specific portfolio of financial instruments.

“Anna is a large database to which NNA clients and users can connect via a desktop product. We also had a bulk distribution solution. But we were missing a more agile way for ‘inbetween’ users, who don’t necessarily want to do the individual look-up, but also didn’t want to download millions of Isin records,” Purcell says. “With the API technology, we have created a flexible portfolio solution where you run your list of Isins against the ASB database, instead of having to manually type those in or download millions of records.” 

Marcus Muntener, head of customer and data operations at Six Financial Information, says one major advantage of the upgrade has been a more fluid interaction between the federated NNAs and the service bureau. “The old infrastructure was a kind of unidirectional process where the NNAs provided the data then the ASB normalized and standardized it and made sure the key elements had been covered. Then the data was distributed to the users. With the new platform, it’s multidirectional—NNAs enter the data, the data can be challenged by any other participant and it goes back to the responsible NNA,” he says.

Isin revision incoming

Anna is implementing the upgrade in two phases. The first was completed in September and includes the infrastructure enhancements, such as cloud migration and APIs. The next phase is planned for 2022 and will introduce new data elements resulting from ISO’s latest revision of the Isin code. All ISO standards have a revision cycle and the Isin is reviewed every five years. Anna’s decision to upgrade the ASB coincided with this routine review.

“When we were planning the upgrade, the discussions around updating the Isin standard hadn’t been finalized,” Purcell says. “We had to update the infrastructure to improve data quality, to aid that community feel [between the NNAs] and communication among the federated model of members. Separately, though, we had to act to include four extra fields of data in the Isin record, and we couldn’t implement that until the Isin standard was published.”

The new Isin data elements—which include call/put, underlying instrument name, head office Legal Entity Identifier, and old Isin/new Isin for changes resulting from a corporate action—will be incorporated into the subscription and look-up services. 

“In a perfect world the Isin would have been updated first, then we could have planned with it. In terms of updating the new record, it doesn’t just impact the ASB, it impacts every numbering agency because they all have to update their systems to be able to collect the data in relation to the revised Isin standards, with those additional fields and changes,” Purcell says. “And Anna needs to co-ordinate the timing for that kind of transition from old Isin record to new Isin record with the ASB and all its membership.”