EDM Council Gears up for OFR Implementation

Industry association EDM Council has taken an active role in the regulatory debate, following the introduction of the Wall Street Reform Act and the announced set-up of the data collection and analysis center the Office of Financial Research (OFR).

The EDM Council is looking at supporting the US Treasury with the set-up of the new OFR. Washington, DC-based Mike Atkin, managing director of the EDM Council, says the group can help with research and industry contacts, and "our goal is simply to support the process."

So far, the EDM Council has created a road map with details of where the industry is with standards-setting and development. "We in the industry have been looking at these things for a long time," he says, adding that the EDM Council aims to "explain to the regulators everything we know."

The group has also been asked to research data sources for entity relationships and counterparty risk. "They have to do new functions, and new functions require new data," says Atkin.

To help the regulators address the new requirements, the EDM Council is also offering assistance in identifying the right people to talk to. "We're setting up and facilitating introductions between [regulators and] both vendors and financial institutions," he says, explaining that "it's all being done fairly wisely."

In fact, the feedback from EDM Council members has been "extremely positive," according to Atkin. The regulators are expected to partner with the industry to address gaps in data availability and standards. "Everyone understands the need for data comparability, and they understand the challenge of data sharing. They are all thinking about it," he says.

For the user community, the fact that regulators are talking about data helps improve the business case for data management projects. "We have waited a long time for data to be in vogue," says Atkin, adding that this is a "nirvana from a data management perspective."