The Industry Standardisation for Institutional Trade Communication (ISITS), a working committee that advocates standards for straight through processing, has issued an electronic trade confirmation (ETC) code of best practice it says will bring the securities industry closer to STP. The document provides standardised working practices for brokers and investment managers in equities and fixed income and applies from execution through to positive affirmation, the final step in the ETC process.
All procedures listed in the document apply equally to users of ETC irrespective of their supplier. The document replaces a best practice outline produced in 1996 but now out of date. Due to rapid progress in the quest for STP, the document is adaptable. “More and more markets are joining the ETC community so it’s designed as a document that is fluid enough to be expanded and developed,” says Denise Farrell, director of benchmarks at Thomson Financial ESG who facilitated the agreement.
Says Terry Drewett, chair of the ISITC working group: “the document forms the basis with which participants can begin to measure themselves and their counterparties against industry guidelines, helping to ensure that their firm’s processes are in line with industry expectations. It therefore paves the way for bringing the industry closer to achieving more efficient global STP.”
ISITC, whose members include Deutsche Bank, ABN Amro, Chase Manhattan and Credit Suisse First Boston was created in 1991 to promote straight through processing for securities.

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