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

Thomson Reuters Returns to the EC with Revised Offer on RICs

Subscribe to our newsletter

Thomson Reuters has returned to the negotiation table at the European Commission with a revised offer on how it will ease licensing policies for Reuters Instrument Codes (RICs). The issue of access to security and other identifiers will be discussed in a panel session at A-Team’s forthcoming Data Management Summit in London on May 22 (find out more here).

Thomson Reuters’ latest approach follows the company’s inability to avert an antitrust investigation of its policies in December 2011 when it proposed commitments that would offer some concessions to users of RICs. This proposal was market tested by the Commission, but found to fall short of its requirements, leaving Thomson Reuters in breach of European competition rules.

The Commission confirmed receipt of another tranche of commitments from Thomson Reuters on RICs late last week, but declined to detail their content.

Similarly, Thomson Reuters is giving nothing away, stating only: “After reviewing the feedback from the European Commission’s market test, Thomson Reuters submitted a revised offer to the EC which is aimed at addressing the comments of our customers. It is premature to comment further or discuss those details, but we are continuing to cooperate fully with the EC and look forward to resolving this matter.”

While there is no definitive timescale to resolve the issue, the Commission is likely to run out of patience if settlement is drawn out for too much longer. Thomson Reuters could then face financial penalties if it remains in breach of the competition rules.

After the unsuccessful market test using the concessions proposed by Thomson Reuters in December, Joaquin Almunia, vice president of the Commission responsible for competition, told delegates at the March 8 2012 European Competition and Consumer Day in Copenhagen: “We have concerns that Thomson Reuters has potentially abused a dominant market position by restricting the usage of its identification codes, RICs, thereby limiting the ability of its customers to switch to competing data providers. Recently, we have unsuccessfully market tested a solution offered by Thomson Reuters to facilitate switching. We have now reached a critical stage in this investigation. If no effective solution can be agreed upon, then we will have to draw the adequate conclusions.”

Subscribe to our newsletter

Related content

WEBINAR

Recorded Webinar: New opportunities to scale data operations

Faced with tough competition and ongoing pressure on margins, many firms are reviewing their operating models and assessing whether they can reallocate more resources to high-value projects by outsourcing commoditised processes including data operations. This webinar will explore the different approaches that buy-side and sell-side firms are adopting to scale their data operations, including market...

BLOG

ESG Data. A New Master?

By Mark Davies, Partner, element22. Master data management has long been an unsung hero. Understood by a handful of technologists and passionate data evangelists, while delivering consistency and control across complex organisations. Regardless of industry, those organisations that invest in mastering the data that really matters to their organisation reap substantial ongoing dividends. It is...

EVENT

ESG Data & Tech Briefing APAC

Join us in one of the greenest cities in the world as we bring together thought leading ESG specialists to explore how financial institutions are adapting to the evolving ESG regulatory and market infrastructure.

GUIDE

ESG Handbook 2023

The ESG Handbook 2023 edition is the essential guide to everything you need to know about ESG and how to manage requirements if you work in financial data and technology. Download your free copy to understand: What ESG Covers: The scope and definition of ESG Regulations: The evolution of global regulations, especially in the UK...