During April 2011, the five regional CSD associations announced the formation of the World Forum of CSDs (WFC) in order to further enhance inter-association communications. Since then, significant progress has been made under the various WFC initiatives to meet the objectives of the industry forum.
The WFC formed a Task Force in May 2012 to look at the possibility of devising a harmonised disclosure-reporting format for the CSD industry. This would enable CSDs globally to efficiently and comprehensively respond to the multiple assessments and questionnaires that they typically complete annually, via a single consolidated source, since these questionnaires contain substantially overlapping information and reporting requirements.
Included in the initial phase of this initiative were the Association of Global Custodians (AGC) questionnaire and the CPSS-IOSCO Disclosure Framework. While the Task Force fully recognised the differing scope and objectives of these two questionnaires, the preliminary work that they carried out revealed that many of the questions cover similar ground. Given the considerable resources that CSDs dedicate to these disclosures, the potential to consolidate the AGC and CPSS-IOSCO Disclosure Framework requirements into a Single Disclosure adds considerable benefits for CSDs (simplified and more efficient data collection process) and regulators (enhanced level of disclosure).
Over recent months, the Task Force has spent substantial time mapping the CPSS-IOSCO Disclosure Framework (using key elements and Assessment Methodology questions) against the AGC Questionnaire, with tangible and successful results. This work was formally presented to CPSS-IOSCO Drafting Committee representative, Daniela Russo, and AGC representatives, Rudy Gandenz and Ulf Noren, at the WFC Board Meeting on 20 May 2014.
Moving forward, the Task Force will look to procure a suitable online tool for the WFC’s Single Disclosure Questionnaire project. It aims to implement the solution in 2015.
