ISO 20022 standards to speed up securities record-keeping
The Bank of Russia has published a concept to reform its securities record-keeping infrastructure by introducing unified ISO 20022 electronic messaging formats. The phased transition across depositories and registrars will take at least five years.
Replacing the patchwork of protocols
The Bank of Russia intends to fundamentally reform the interaction system across institutions comprising the national record-keeping infrastructure.
Under the new draft concept, depositories and registrars will be legally obliged to process securities using standardized electronic message formats rather than maintaining disparate bilateral exchange channels.
Currently, financial market infrastructure entities interact on a fragmented one-to-one basis using various data formats, custom documentation requirements, and conflicting protocols.
This technological heterogeneity severely slows down critical business processes, increases operating expenditures, and ultimately hampers the overall quality and speed of customer services across the financial system.
Five years to ISO 20022
To eliminate operational friction, the central bank is developing albums of unified message formats based on the international ISO 20022 standard.
This work will be conducted in close consultation with market participants, self-regulatory organizations, and financial software developers.
Following the recent implementation of fast securities transfer rules, this standardization represents the next major step.
Once fully integrated into daily operations, depositories and registrars will achieve near real-time data exchange and settlement.
The phased industry-wide transition is expected to span at least five years.
A long overdue operational overhaul
Shifting to unified ISO 20022 messaging is an essential modernization for Russia's fragmented financial market.
Yet, a five-year timeline highlights significant technical inertia and legacy software challenges across market participants.
Real-time settlement will remain out of reach until full adoption is strictly enforced.