28/10/2009
By Sophie Baker
The European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) and SWIFT have published a mid-year status report on the evolution of standardisation rates for the first half of 2009, finding that 69 per cent of cross-border fund orders are now automated.
The joint initiative was launched to inform the European Commission, the European Parliament and other interested stakeholders about industry progress towards greater standardisation and automation.
The total automation rate of orders that are processed by Luxembourg transfer agents grew by three percentage points to 69 per cent in Q4 2008, while the share of manual orders fell from 34 per cent in the same quarter to 31 per cent in the first half of 2009.
Automated orders based in the ISO messaging standard has remained steady in terms of volume at 41 per cent, which EFAMA said is expected to increase in the second half of 2009, with survey participants reporting 62 new ISO automated links.
"It is a priority of EFAMA to engage with all relevant stakeholders to find solutions to promote greater efficiency in the processing of cross-border funds," commented Peter De Proft, EFAMA director general.
Jean Sonneville, head of funds solutions at SIWFT, added: "The findings presented in this mid-year status update from SWIFT and EFAMA are very encouraging from the standardiser's perspective, in particular the rise in ISO automated links as opposed to proprietary file transfer links. It is clear that EFAMA's recommendation on the adoption of ISO standards is being taken very seriously by the funds distribution industry."
