CUSIP Global Services Reaches Agreement with the European Commission

NEW YORK, Nov. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- CUSIP Global Services (CGS), a leading provider of securities identifiers and other solutions that enable efficient trading, clearing and settlement in capital markets throughout the world, today announced it has reached an agreement with the European Commission (EC) to create and distribute a new data feed of US ISINs tailored specifically to the needs of certain market participants domiciled in the European Economic Area (EEA).  The agreement follows a formal EC investigation of how CGS licenses and charges financial institutions for use of the US ISIN identifier within the EEA during which the EC made no findings of infringement.

"We welcome the EC's decision to allow CGS to market a new US ISIN service designed for market participants in the EEA who have unique, regional requirements and therefore require less comprehensive security identifier data than has been previously made available," said Jim Taylor, Global Head, CUSIP Global Services.  "CUSIP Global Services is continually looking at market needs and for ways to better address local investor requirements."

Containing limited descriptive data for certain publicly traded US securities, the new data feed, called the US ISIN Basic Service, brings to conclusion nearly three years of dialogue between CGS and the EC. Within the next five months, CGS will offer the new feed on a cost-recovery basis for participants taking it directly from CGS.  If a market data vendor chooses to integrate the new feed on behalf of its EEA customers, the end customers of that vendor could use the ISIN data from the feed, with some reasonable restrictions, without incurring any additional fees from CGS.

Apart from implementing the new data feed CGS will continue to reinvest in and add value to the more comprehensive data products with which most global financial institutions are familiar, whether they consume them directly from CGS or via a market data vendor.  CGS will also continue to expand its asset classes; support other identification initiatives such as the push for a common legal entity identifier; and enrich the descriptive data upon which so many firms rely for efficient idea-generation, trading, clearing, and settlement.

EEA-domiciled institutions interested in gaining access to the new feed should contact CGS or their preferred market data vendor for availability.  Larger institutions with concerns about how the new Service and its limited descriptive data may impact global securities processing are encouraged to contact CGS for clarification or further discussion.  For more information, visit www.cusip.com.

About CUSIP Global Services

For 40 years CUSIP Global Services has provided a unique common language for identifying financial instruments across institutions, exchanges and nations, enabling financial services firms to benefit from improved operating efficiencies and substantially reduced administrative costs. CUSIP Global Services is operated by the CUSIP Service Bureau (CSB). CSB is managed on behalf of the American Bankers Association by Standard & Poor's. For more information, visit www.cusip.com.

SOURCE CUSIP Global Services