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

Standards: Speaking the Same Language Worldwide By Frank Träxler, international sales manager, WM Datenservice

Subscribe to our newsletter

Due to the increasing complexity of its fields of activity and the relevant regulatory framework, the financial industry is faced with ever greater challenges in managing its systems, processes, data and information. The international environment, subject to diverse regulations (for example, EU Prospectus Directive, EU Savings Tax Directive, EU Transparency Directive, and MiFID), is fraught with inefficiency. It is now up to the financial industry to ensure the legally stipulated transparency on a sustainable basis.

The gain in cross border transactions is often at odds with individual national barriers. Although there is a large spectrum of solutions on the market in the form of software, hardware, and other methods, all-purpose remedies in respect of content, data and information are rare. The degree of specification in the data sector is also on the rise, making the integration of data streams from various providers the rule and not the exception in the international financial industry. To facilitate this type of ‘data picking’ and to offer compatible data for every link in the production chain on a competitive basis, WM Datenservice has been involved in the creation and provision of international standards for many years, with organisations such as ISO, DIN, Swift, EFAMA, FISD, and ISSA. This has led to such international standards as ISIN, CFI, IBEI, FISN, MIC and FPP, which reduce interfaces, simplify IT processes, facilitate outsourcing and enable core business concentration – while being increasingly prescribed by regulatory agencies.

In short, standards allow financial market participants to ‘speak the same language’, and are a precondition for international securities trading. As such, standards allow collated and qualified master data, issuer information, and corporate actions data to be provided on an integrated, worldwide basis.

In addition to standards as the prerequisite for entry into the international markets, the transparent depiction of financial instruments and the timely availability of such information are now the deciding factors. It has thus come down to providing the market with data as promptly as possible, and in the adequate measure, so that investors are comprehensively informed of the features and risks of their investments. WM Datenservice is in a position to depict complex financial instruments and provide reference data for order and trading systems and for risk management on a near-time basis. The time to market between the issue and the trading of structured products, for instance, is only a few hours.

Depending on the data content and the degree of automation required by international customers, WM Datenservice recommends its plug and work internet solution WM-DatenOnline, which requires no integration on the customer side, provides real world data profiles or comprehensive, customer oriented data feeds for straight through processing.

Even in the area of issuer services, transparency and standards are in demand on the international level, an example being the Fund Processing Passport (FPP) defined by the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) and the Bundesverband Investment und Asset Management (BVI) in cooperation with WM Datenservice. The FPP is a uniform information profile with slightly more than 100 data fields, covering all information required for trading and settlement. The resulting transparency improvements can optimise transaction bank processing and fund company sales efforts. Capital investment companies subscribing to this service can publicise their fund data on the WM website at www.wmdaten.com, with WM Datenservice providing access to the FPP data free of charge to market participants worldwide.

Within the scope of the Fund Reporting Service (FRS) package, the FPP Service represents a coherent, overall concept. Through the FRS, WM Datenservice is forging closer relationships with international fund companies, as experience has shown that the comprehensive and timely provision of data to the important financial markets – those with a high demand for financial instruments – is crucial. And that corresponds to the location of WM Datenservice: in the heart of Europe.

The FRS includes up to date templates for data reporting as per all regulations (such as the German flat tax rate in 2009), WM-DatenOnline for monitoring own issues, extended quality checks on fund data reported to and distributed by WM Datenservice, free processing of urgent announcements and data corrections and complete tax support, as well as the FPP Service mentioned above.

Hence, it is standards and standardised products as well as services that facilitate faster and more efficient task completion – and increasing the competitiveness of our customers is our objective.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Related content

WEBINAR

Recorded Webinar: How to simplify and modernize data architecture to unleash data value and innovation

The data needs of financial institutions are growing at pace as new formats and greater volumes of information are integrated into their systems. With this has come greater complexity in managing and governing that data, amplifying pain points along data pipelines. In response, innovative new streamlined and flexible architectures have emerged that can absorb and...

BLOG

Navigating the Regulatory Data Labyrinth: Foundations, Collaboration, and the Pursuit of Trust

Regulatory reporting remains a significant challenge for financial institutions, driven by ever-evolving requirements and the sheer volume and complexity of data involved. A recent webinar, hosted by A-Team Group and co-sponsored by Nice Actimize and Derivative Service Bureau, brought together industry experts to discuss best practices in data management for regulatory reporting, offering valuable insights...

EVENT

AI in Capital Markets Summit New York

The AI in Capital Markets Summit will explore current and emerging trends in AI, the potential of Generative AI and LLMs and how AI can be applied for efficiencies and business value across a number of use cases, in the front and back office of financial institutions. The agenda will explore the risks and challenges of adopting AI and the foundational technologies and data management capabilities that underpin successful deployment.

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...