About a-team Marketing Services
The knowledge platform for the financial technology industry
The knowledge platform for the financial technology industry

A-Team Insight Blogs

Andrew’s Blog – Joyeux Noel FISD Style

Subscribe to our newsletter

The FISD’s European Holiday Party last night was – as it always is – a fun affair, and a great way of doing the rounds of the market and reference data set before the Christmas Break. Less jolly was the General Meeting’ flagship regulation panel, which saw panellist after panellist express frustration, confusion and downright bewilderment at the ongoing discussions around MiFID 2.

Star of the show for me was Interactive Data’s Paul Kennedy, whose line by line analysis of the regulation as it now looks – or may look – was the most comprehensive I’ve heard. Paul is clearly on top of where MiFID 2 is headed, and I hope to talk him into a long conversation over lunch soon so we can capture all that data for posterity.

Elsewhere, Deutsche Bank’s Steve McGoldrick, who has been working within the banking community on its response to the EU initiatives, reiterated the industry’s need to put aside its commercial differences for the common good. His remarks were mostly aimed at the development of a consolidated tape, an area that is taking up much of his attention.

The industry’s failure to agree on how to institute this – outlined as a requirement under MiFID 1 but left to the industry to sort out itself – is indicative of the great difficulty involved in bringing about industry change that impacts individual entities’ commercial activities.

Elsewhere, Nomura’s Nigel Matthews – who leads the firm’s European reference data group – invoked regulation in general, and four specific regulations in particular, as the prime suspect in keeping him awake at night. Basel III, and specifically its IMM counterparty data requirement, is causing data management headaches. As will be Dodd-Frank and FATCA as they begin to bite in 2012. Finally, MiFID 2 is expected to have wide-ranging impacts on many facets of the reference data management process.

Happily, despite the regulatory morass that threatens to swamp everyone next year, FISD’s Tom Davin, David Anderson, Nick Merritt and Liz Cummings succeeded in creating a festive atmosphere. We were amazed to watch the lines gather for a full Christmas dinner as we enjoyed the hospitality of Thomson Reuters, which hosted the party.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Related content

WEBINAR

Upcoming Webinar: Unlocking value: Harnessing modern data platforms for data integration, advanced investment analytics, visualisation and reporting

4 September 2025 10:00am ET | 3:00pm London | 4:00pm CET Duration: 50 Minutes Modern data platforms are bringing efficiencies, scalability and powerful new capabilities to institutions and their data pipelines. They are enabling the use of new automation and analytical technologies that are also helping firms to derive more value from their data and...

BLOG

Overcoming Data Challenges of Rapidly Evolving ESG Space: ESG Data and Tech Briefing Preview

The rapid maturation of ESG data integration and utilisation within financial institutions has forced them to invest in new technology and data management processes. The rate of change, however, has been a challenge for some organisations, which have struggled to put in place the necessary capabilities to absorb, order and deploy such large volumes of...

EVENT

Buy AND Build: The Future of Capital Markets Technology

Buy AND Build: The Future of Capital Markets Technology London examines the latest changes and innovations in trading technology and explores how technology is being deployed to create an edge in sell side and buy side capital markets financial institutions.

GUIDE

AI in Capital Markets: Practical Insight for a Transforming Industry – Free Handbook

AI is no longer on the horizon – it’s embedded in the infrastructure of modern capital markets. But separating real impact from inflated promises requires a grounded, practical understanding. The AI in Capital Markets Handbook 2025 provides exactly that. Designed for data-driven professionals across the trade life-cycle, compliance, infrastructure, and strategy, this handbook goes beyond...