ISO 18774:2015

INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 18774
First edition
2015-11-01
Securities and related financial
instruments — Financial Instrument
Short Name (FISN)
Valeurs mobilières et instruments financiers connexes — Nom court
de l’instrument financier (FISN)
Reference number
ISO 18774:2015(E)
©
ISO 2015

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ISO 18774:2015(E)

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© ISO 2015, Published in Switzerland
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ISO 18774:2015(E)

Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Conventions and principles . 1
5 Structures of the instrument description . 2
5.1 General . 2
5.2 Debt . 2
5.3 Equity . 3
5.4 Entitlements . 3
5.5 Derivatives . 3
5.6 Structured Products . 4
5.7 Referential Instruments . 4
5.8 Others . 4
6 Responsibilities of the Registration Authority (RA). 5
6.1 General . 5
6.2 Allocation of Financial Instrument Short Names . 5
6.3 Application for FISN . 5
6.4 Service provision . 5
7 Information and enquiries . 5
Annex A (informative) Examples of Financial Instrument Short Names . 6
Bibliography .12
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ISO 18774:2015(E)

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical
committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work.
ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of
any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or
on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www.iso.org/patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation on the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions related to conformity
assessment, as well as information about ISO’s adherence to the WTO principles in the Technical
Barriers to Trade (TBT), see the following URL: Foreword — Supplementary information.
The committee responsible for this document is ISO/TC 68, Financial services, SC 4, Securities and related
financial instruments.
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ISO 18774:2015(E)

Introduction
The Financial Instrument Short Name (FISN) code has been developed to provide a consistent and
uniform approach to standardize short descriptions for financial instruments. It aims to harmonize
existing market practices which are in use on a national and individual entity level.
With the growth of cross-border trading, the requirement to improve communication of information
among market participants has become critical. A worldwide implementation of Straight Through
Processing in the securities business requires the use of complementary standardized data elements.
For instance, ISO 6166 (ISIN) and ISO 10962 (CFI) are key information elements for identifying and
classifying financial instruments, and FISN aids human-readability.
The market players of the securities industry usually report on securities transactions by using short
descriptions of the involved financial instruments. Currently, market data vendors, banks and securities
exchanges describe financial instruments in their databases using their own short names. The names
vary in length and also with regard to the attributes composing them and their sequence. The fact that
they are defined in local languages limits their use to the local area.
Besides the requirements of Straight Through Processing there are other developments which make
the use of standardized short names an urgent issue such as the internet technology which has
allowed the growth of e-issuing, e-trading and e-settlements. The prices reported on websites are
usually accompanied by short names of the involved securities. Screens limit the space available for
the different data elements displayed and especially for short names. Therefore, a standardization of
the short name’s length, structure and contents will be a benefit for communication and processing
purposes. In addition, the retail investor is more likely to identify his securities by using the instrument
short name, rather than any identification number.
The solution envisaged consists of using a standard maximum length as well as a standardized
structure of the field. The issuer short name which builds the first element (beginning from the left) is
followed by a set of characteristics of the financial instrument.
The development of these codes will encourage market participants to take advantage of other ISO
standards, particularly ISINs (ISO 6166) and Securities Messages to simplify the communication process
among market participants and increase the efficiency, reliability, data consistency and transparency
of financial services transactions and reference data. Describing financial instruments in a structured
and standardized way could also be beneficial for regulatory reporting.
The improved identification of financial instruments will lead to a better understanding by investors,
giving them more confidence to make investment decisions and leading to more active markets. This, in
turn, will result in improved market liquidity.
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INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 18774:2015(E)
Securities and related financial instruments — Financial
Instrument Short Name (FISN)
1 Scope
This International Standard defines and describes rules for an internationally valid system for building
short names of any kind of financial instrument within a defined structure.
This International Standard is intended for use in any application in the trading and administration of
securities globally.
The FISN has been developed after taking into account the need of human-readability as well as
interoperability with existing standards and systems.
2 Normative references
The following documents, in whole or in part, are normatively referenced in this document and are
indispensable for its application. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated
references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO/IEC 8859-1, Information technology — 8-bit single-byte coded graphic character sets — Part 1: Latin
alphabet No. 1
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
3.1
issuer short name
abbreviation of the official issuer name, limited to a maximum of 15 alphanumeric characters
3.2
abbreviation of securities terms
short version of terms used in the securities business processes, specifically in bank reports, pricing,
instructions, event notifications, etc.
3.3
instrument description
collection of characteristics and attributes defining a financial instrument
4 Conventions and principles
The FISN has a maximum length of 35 alphanumeric characters as specified in ISO 8859-1. In order
to create FISNs that fit into the defined maximum length, certain terms need to be abbreviated. Rules
and guidelines are provided to specify the data elements, sequence, delimiters and punctuation related
to the FISN. It consists of abbreviations of securities terms and issuer names which are necessary
components of the FISN structure. The Registration Authority (RA) for this International Standard is
responsible for the allocation and maintenance of the abbreviations list.
The FISN is composed of the following:
— issuer short name with a maximum length of 15 alphanumeric characters. In the case of collective
investment vehicles and derivatives, the issuer short name can be extended beyond 15 alphanumeric
characters up to the maximum length of the FISN (see 5.3 and 5.5);
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ISO 18774:2015(E)

— “/” as the delimiter between the issuer short name and the instrument description, abbreviations
forming the FISN must be separated by blanks where required;
— instrument description with a maximum length up to 19 alphanumeric characters, assuming that
the available length of the issuer short name has been fully used including the delimiter (“/”). In the
event that all characters have not been used in the issuer short name, the remaining space may be
used to describe the characteristics of the financial instrument.
In the event that only preliminary information is available, the abbreviation shall be distributed and
updated as more complete information becomes available.
EXAMPLE News America Inc. — 7.3 % Debenture 1998–30.4.2028 Guaranteed Senior, ISIN US652482AJ95.
Delimiter between the issuer short name and the instrument description
Issuer short name Instrument description
(max. 35)
News Amer/7.3 Deb 20280430 Sr Gtd
Interest rate/Type + Abbreviated instrument type description + Maturity date + Rank +
Pool number + Class + Series + Tranche + Trust + Program + Guarantee + Restrictions
Separative blanks
Figure 1 — FISN example
5 Structures of the instrument description
5.1 General
For the purposes of this International Standard, the following structures reflect all possible attributes
as being potential components per type of financial instrument. In most cases, not all of them will apply
to the same instrument. However, the indicated sequence shall be applied.
5.2 Debt
For debt groups the sequence of the components considered critical will be as follows:
Interest rate/Type + Abbreviated instrument type description + Maturity date + Rank + Pool number +
Class + Series + Tranche + Trust + Program + Guarantee + Restrictions.
EXAMPLE If the security type description has two characters left, and the next component in the sequence
is “Rank”, then this component is incorporated within the financial security short name structure to allocate
a maximum of 35 characters. If the information relating to “Rank” does not exist, then “Pool number” will be
used accordingly.
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ISO 18774:2015(E)

Interest rate/Type will consist of the interest rate, which could be either numeric or alphanumeric. The
percent sign will not be included. The decimal point will be used in the interest rate.
The abbreviated instrument type description will be in accordance with the abbreviations list.
Maturity date will consist of eight characters, which will include YYYYMMDD. In the event that the
security is perpetual, the associated abbreviation will be used.
5.3 Equity
Equity groups shall have the following structure and sequence of components that are critical for
equity securities:
Shares: Abbreviated instrument type description + Non-voting + Class + Series + Partly paid +
Restrictions + Par value.
Depository receipts: Abbreviated instrument type description [e.g. S (for Sponsored) ADR (American
Depository Receipt), G
...