Users: Regulation to be ‘Primary Driver’ for Ref Data Investment in 2011

User firms expect regulatory requirements to continue to impact data management projects, particularly in the entity data space and markets where regulation is currently changing, according to findings from interviews conducted by Inside Reference Data.

New York-based Paolo Mittiga, director of IT, Credit Suisse investment banking, who is working on a project aimed at rebuilding the reference data infrastructure, says client data is a critical area to address this year, and anti-money laundering and know-your-customer regulation are driving investment in data management projects.

"We are also rebuilding the client on-boarding platform that will address those specific regulatory requirements and will improve the timing of the contractual agreements, credit terms and collateral management," he says.

In the US, the set-up of the Office of Financial Research is a key topic of discussion. The new Office, which has been highlighted as a buzzword in 2011, will collect data from firms, and users expect to see more details on requirements this year. This is also an area where regulation could have an impact on data management projects.

"Additional reporting requirements will have a moderate influence on the firm's overall data management project portfolio," says New York-based Norman Brower, executive director, reference data solutions, Morgan Stanley.

The same is true in other parts of the world. The increased focus on regulation aimed at improving transparency and mitigating risk are in general affecting investment plans, and will continue to do so in 2011.

Amsterdam-based Jop Boonstra, senior business analyst, market reference data - IT & OPS integration program, ABN Amro Bank, says regulatory requirements "will put more pressure on improving the processes, the data quality and transparancy."

In Australia and New Zealand, regulators have also zoomed in on how this is done in relation to client data. Melbourne-based Mark Bands, head of global customer reference data, ANZ Institutional Bank, says the Australian regulatory requirements, particularly in relation to KYC, are established, but there are likely to be more developments in New Zealand, which is "gazetting KYC regulations and implementing reporting obligations through 2011 and 2012. This will see some focus on the compliance aspects of data management for Trans Tasman business in the months ahead."

The full report on what data consumers expect to see in 2011 will appear in the January issue of Inside Reference Data.