Financial messaging network Swift has outlined proposals for a standardised communication protocol for European clearing and settlement.
The Brussels-based co-operative has published a consultation paper outlining the proposed framework, which has been developed in response to the Giovannini Group report to improve efficiency of EU cross border clearing and settlement.
In its 2003 report, the Giovannini Group, identified 15 barriers to efficient EU cross-border clearing and settlement and invited Swift to define a solution to eliminate Barrier 1, which cites national differences in information technology and interfaces used by clearing and settlement providers.
The Swift paper has been published after two years of research with European infrastructures, key institutional participants and a significant number of representative organisations. The consultation period will last from 5 January until 15 April 2005.
Alberto Giovannini, CEO of Unifortune, welcomed the initiative: "It is very much in the spirit of the reform process that we have outlined for clearing and settlement.”
Swift anticipates that the final protocol definition and implementation road-map will be published in 2006.