Cross-border fund automation rises in H1 2009
28 October 2009
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.”
