Thomson Financial Media says it is to sponsor a global summit to discuss the creation of a .FIN domain name.
TFM says its proposed summit would bring together financial service regulators, associations, and institutions, as well as representatives of consumers and other interested parties from around the world, to discuss the creation of a new financial domain name and build a global consensus on the policies it would follow and the decision-making structure it would employ.
TFM's initiative follows the recent vote by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann) to select new top level domain names (TLDs). The Icann Board did not select a proposal from a Banking Association based in Monaco for a financial domain, on the basis that the proposal was insufficiently representative of the global banking sector.
"A new domain name would permit global financial institutions to consolidate efforts to promote safety, security and reliability of Internet-based transactions," says TFM president and CEO, Richard Burns. "We believe this would provide significant public benefits. In addition, a financial domain name would create a standard identification for institutions within the financial services industry and would thus provide consumers with greater certainty in conducting electronic transactions over the Internet."
In public comments, Christie Sciacca, bank technology group director for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, states that "a .FIN TLD has the potential to provide real benefits to the public in identifying legitimate regulated financial industry participants".
He adds: "The FDIC strongly believes such a gTLD should be sponsored by a group of internationally recognised regulators under a clear set of criteria for registrants."