The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation says it will shut off corporate actions processing for all legacy file formats in 2015, as it begins testing of new ISO 20022 announcement messages with five user firms.
BNY Mellon, Brown Brothers Harriman, Investment Technology Group (ITG), JPMorgan Chase and National Financial Services will participate in the phased programme using a newly-developed browser-based platform.
Steve Sloan, asset servicing product manager, JPMorgan Worldwide Securities Services, says: "The shift from proprietary files to ISO 20022 standard messages is significant. The ability to utilise market standard event types and follow the industry standard event interpretation grid concerning dates, rates, periods and prices will provide our clients greater ability to electronically process corporate action announcements."
The browser will initially handle announcement messages for the test pilot firms covering all event types. The pilot runs through November 2011 and will incorporate the annual Swift standards update issued that month.
Distributions and redemptions will be added in 2012 and reorganisations in 2013.
Customers will be able to transition to the new platform and start sending live traffic over the Swift network at the conclusion of the pilot.
Because of the size and complexity of the re-enginerring initiative, DTCC says it will give market participants a three-year window to migrate to the new standard before retiring all legacy file formats on or before 2015