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Well I declare! Reporting to market data exchanges & vendors can be hassle-free

Ask market data professionals at any financial firm what keeps them awake at night and declaring their data usage to stock exchanges and other vendors is probably high on the list.

The task is time-consuming and growing in complexity. Getting it wrong can add to managers’ data costs and lead to unwelcome audits.

outsourced solution for exchange and vendor reporting

Save 8% on market data spend

Wouldn’t it be nice if the stress could be taken out of this vital process? And what if handing over the hassle could save up to 8% of a firm’s annual market data spend?

ADS is a scalable service which can apply to different sized financial firms. This is a story and just one example of how TRG Screen’s ADS product helped a tier 1 bank with more than 200,000 employees handle its exchange reporting and save money.

Wasting time manually submitting exchange/vendor reports?

The bank said that its reporting process was very labour-heavy and that it did not have the skills to automate the process.

“This meant hours were wasted manually submitting the exchange/vendor reports”, it said.

The challenges faced by the bank, which offers corporate and investment banking as well as wealth management and trading, typify difficulties encountered by many financial institutions – large and small.

No Uniformity

For example, there is no uniformity in what exchanges want reported or in how they want it. Nor is it simple to count users. It’s hard to interpret how complex licensing rules apply to an individual firm. Adding complexity, exchange policies are changing, especially in the area of non-display and derived data, and of data-consuming apps. Keeping track of these changes is a headache.

Faced with all this, the bank decided to outsource its exchange reporting and move away from manual processes. It turned to ADS.

ADS offers outsourced management of data declaration. Processes are automated but overseen by expert market data analysts. They advise clients when exchanges amend policies or introduce new ones, helping to reduce the risk of an audit. ADS also runs a cost benefit analysis if a netting program offers a potential opportunity to save money.

Managed Service

“The savings created through netting were not achieved until we moved to a managed service”, said the market data manager at the bank.

The bank was concerned that it could over-pay due to duplicate reporting given the global spread of its operations. Not to worry. ADS allots a specific reporting account for each user, removing the potential for duplication.

Another concern was that some exchanges demand reporting and licensing be based on legal entities. This can be challenging for a firm with multiple affiliates. ADS is across that too and checks from the start if legal entities are to be included. If the rules change, ADS ensures licensing and reporting remains compliant.

Many exchanges want to see reports in specific formats. With ADS, reports are automatically submitted in the required format.

Audit Risk

The bank was also worried that if it was audited by an exchange, it could face time-consuming queries about how its declarations were compiled. ADS maintains an audit trail and can provide a detailed breakdown of users for the declarations and applications under non-display and derived data licenses. It also checks any audit report, including for errors, and offers advice on how to answer queries.

Finally, the bank was wary of the different billing models for exchange licensing, which can be based on function, number of users or applications, or on an enterprise-wide model. However, ADS analysts determine which model is most cost-effective.

“TRG Screen’s knowledge of our accounts helps with quick responses regarding any of our billing issues”, the client said.

Savings

Savings can vary but TRG Screen says clients can save 6%-8% of their market data spend through natural person netting programs and reduced administration fees, among other factors.

Another benefit is that staff are freed to focus on higher-value tasks.

“Time saving was a key value add when moving to a managed service. The team are no longer doing low value, time-consuming manual work”, said the client.

Want to learn how our Declaration Service (ADS) can add value to your business?

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