While more firms are looking at squeezing costs, projects aimed at improving standard settlement instructions data quality and increasing automation are climbing the agenda. Tine Thoresen explores how firms can secure funding and reduce costs. The following synopsis lists some of the quotes from GoldenSource spokespeople.

Previously, the lack of standardized SSI data has also been linked to the lack of automation. "It has been difficult to make a proactive decision to automate because the basis for automation has been patchy data," says London-based Gert Raeves, vice-president business solutions at GoldenSource. But market players are now adopting the ISITC standard and adding new functionality expected to improve the potential for automation.

The most beneficial projects, however, are still often seen as the ones that incorporate SSI automation in entity data-focused enterprise data management initiatives. This is the area many firms want to expand into. Daiwa Securities Europe, which has previously completed a project to unblock back-office bottle-necks, has included SSI data as part of an initiative to improve data management on the operational side of counterparty data, explains Raeves, who has worked with the firm.

Still, most firms do not link SSI and counterparty data, "I think the really smart projects have integrated those data sets", says Raeves. From an EDM point of view, it is beneficial to have all data about a counterparty, including bank details, for example, in the same place to enable users to see who the counterparty is from a risk, legal and settlement perspective.