ISO/TR 21797:2019

TECHNICAL ISO/TR
REPORT 21797
First edition
2019-04
Reference data for financial
services — Overview of identification
of financial instruments
Données de référence pour les services financiers — Identification des
instruments financiers
Reference number
ISO/TR 21797:2019(E)
©
ISO 2019

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ISO/TR 21797:2019(E)

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ISO/TR 21797:2019(E)

Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Process used in creation of overview . 2
5 Overview . 2
Annex A (informative) Identifier overview and glossary . 3
Bibliography . 4
© ISO 2019 – All rights reserved iii

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ISO/TR 21797:2019(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
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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
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.org/iso/foreword .html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 068, Financial services, Subcommittee
SC 08, Reference data for financial services.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www .iso .org/members .html.
iv © ISO 2019 – All rights reserved

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ISO/TR 21797:2019(E)

Introduction
The identification of financial instruments is a core component for properly functioning financial
markets. Both regulatory and operational issues influence the need for standard identifiers for financial
instruments. This identification is central to enabling increasingly complex markets, from individual
firms managing data internally, to communication between multiple parties concerning an asset, to
regulatory oversight and overall transparency.
As far back as 1998, industry reports such as those produced by the Giovannini Group, the G30, and the
G20 have recommended both harmonization and interoperability of financial instrument standards for
communication and identification purposes.
Regulation drives a significant amount of adoption and change, while innovation still comes from niche
areas of the financial industry (an example from 2016 being shared ledger technologies, e.g. Blockchain).
Potential frictions resulting from conflicting mandates by different or overlapping jurisdictions are
addressed by bodies trying to harmonize requirements. A major theme is the harmonization efforts
across asset classes and jurisdictions. This is occurring through specific requirements for the use
of specific standards, as well as guiding principles on how those standards should be utilized. Some
industry initiatives in many parts of the world are likewise relevant to instrument identifiers.
This document results from a study of identifiers of financial instruments across asset classes, which
extends beyond basic financial instruments and identifiers.
The accompanying overview represents an inventory of the current international, national, proprietary
and/or de facto standards in use globally and encompasses a broad constituency across the entire
instrument life cycle.
Understanding the universe of existing standards can lead to further investigation and understanding
of where, when and why specific standards are used. It can lead to efforts to either harmonize, where
appropriate, or identify at what points interoperability is best achieved.
There has been some success in the effort
...