Securities Market Infrastructures

Today, SWIFT is the messaging hub for many clearing and settlement systems in payments, securities, foreign exchange and derivatives. Especially in clearing and settlement, SWIFT is an established force in the Securities Market Infrastructures space.

Clearing and settlement infrastructures

A Market Infrastructure is a system administered by a public organisation (for example, a central bank) or other public instrumentality, or a private and regulated association or entity, that provides services to the financial industry for trading, clearing and settlement, matching of financial transactions, and depository functions. A market infrastructure encompasses a set of business rules and obligations, admission rules, operating rules, business communication flows, and related communication channels.

A Securities Market Infrastructure (SMI) is an institution (frequently operating effectively as a commercial ‘monopoly’) providing utility services to participants in the securities markets. The mission of each Securities Market Infrastructure is to facilitate the efficient processing of securities transactions.

For many of the leading Securities Market Infrastructure systems worldwide, SWIFT, ISO 15022 and ISO 20022 standards are central to their communications model. While the infrastructures themselves benefit from improved productivity and operational efficiencies, all participants gain from the reduction in risk and reduced costs for domestic and cross-border transactions.

While most Securities Market Infrastructures use the FIN messaging service to exchange financial data securely, cost effectively and reliably, a range of Securities Market Infrastructures offer inter-active or file transfer services using InterAct, FileAct and / or Browse.

Securities Market Infrastructures can be divided into the following segments:

  • Exchanges
  • Matching Utilities
  • Clearing Houses / Central Counterparties (CCPs)
  • Central Securities Depositories (CSDs)
  • Regulators / Financial Authorities

Specific Securities Market Infrastructures and SWIFTSolutions will be relevant for specific types of Securities institutions


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