ANNA establishes new Benchmarks Task Force

Inviting participation from global benchmark administrators to collaborate on the use of ISINs for identification of referential instruments

London, 17 October 2018 – The Association of National Numbering Agencies (ANNA), the organisation whose members are responsible for assigning ISIN, FISN & CFI codes, today announced a new Benchmarks Task Force to aid in understanding and developing the process for obtaining ISINs for referential instruments in particular, indices and reference rates.

Following application of the EU Benchmark Regulation on 1 January 2018, where benchmark administrators are required to provide an ISIN where available to identify their indices, there has been increased industry interest on the use of ISINs for identification of referential instruments. As the Registration Authority for the ISO 6166 ISIN standard, ANNA has a responsibility to ensure that both allocation and accessibility of ISINs meet the needs of the market.

The purpose of the Benchmarks Task Force is to enable collaboration between ANNA and global benchmark administrators to better understand their requirements, provide clarity where needed, explore any challenges in relation to the ISIN allocation practices and mutually determine the best way forward to assist the market. Output from the task force, where appropriate, will also feed into the ISO systematic review of the ISIN standard to assist in shaping how the standard should reflect the ISIN allocation requirements for referential instruments.

Emma Kalliomaki, Managing Director of ANNA, said, “ANNA as an organisation is constantly looking at ways to work with the industry in a collaborative manner to help address market needs. By working directly with benchmark administrators, we will be able to hear first-hand the challenges they face and help address some of the practical applications of the ISIN standard, as well as deliver the feedback received directly into the ISO 6166 revision process. We have had great interest in the task force already, and would welcome further participation from other benchmark administrators.”

Benchmark administrators interested in participating on the taskforce are welcome to join by emailing secretariat@anna-web.com.

ENDS

Media contact for ANNA
Lindsay Clarke
Streets Consulting
+44 (0)20 7959 2235
lindsay.clarke@streetsconsulting.com

About ANNA

Established in 1992 by 22 founding numbering agencies, ANNA is the membership organisation of national numbering agencies, which are operated by depositories, exchanges, government agencies, nationally central data vendors and other financial infrastructure organisations. ANNA also serves as the registration authority for the ISIN and FISN standards, under appointment by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

Under ANNA’s stewardship, the role of the ISIN in enabling global financial communications has been established worldwide. ISINs are issued today in more than 200 jurisdictions worldwide. In addition, ANNA has developed the Derivatives Service Bureau (DSB), a fully automated global numbering agency to meet the operational and regulatory requirements of the over-the-counter derivatives markets. The number of national numbering agencies and nations working to establish national numbering agencies continues to grow each year, now surpassing 120 jurisdictions globally.  For information about ANNA, its members and activities, please visit anna-web.org.

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