ISDA®                 

INTERNATIONAL SWAPS AND DERIVATIVES ASSOCIATION, INC.

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release Thursday, July 14,  2005

For More Information, Please Contact:

Louise Marshall, ISDA New York, 212-901-6000, lmarshall@isda.org

 

ISDA Releases FpML Version 4.1 Recommendation;

Launches New FpML Website

 

NEW YORK, THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2005 The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) today released a Recommendation for version 4.1 of its Financial products Markup Language (FpML). FpML is the XML-based, freely licensed, e-commerce standard supporting trading of privately negotiated financial derivatives.

 

Version 4.1 of the standard includes enhancements most notably to the equity derivatives and credit derivatives areas by supporting basket and index trading respectively. It builds on Version 4.0, the first version of the standard to cover interest rate, FX, credit and equity derivatives. The messaging framework and validation rules have been further expanded and additions have been made in the area of pricing and risk reporting.

 

“Ongoing enhancement of the FpML standard is testament to the ceaseless innovation in the derivatives industry,” said Robert Pickel, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, ISDA. “FpML plays a central role in the industry’s focus on increased automation in the post-trade space.”

 

Recommendation status is the final step in the development process of a version of the standard. It reflects consensus within the FpML community and bears the FpML Standards Committee stamp of approval. The FpML Standards Committee considers the ideas and technology specified by a Recommendation as appropriate for widespread deployment. Recommendation additionally means that feedback has been incorporated and users are actively implementing the version. The full text of the Recommendation is available at the FpML web site (www.fpml.org).

 

Work on version 4.2 has been initiated. A first working draft was published May 4, with additional support in the area of messaging, interest rate derivatives and credit derivatives. Future versions of FpML will support commodity and commodity derivatives trade.

 

ISDA has also launched a newly designed FpML web site, www.fpml.org. The new web site offers enhanced functionality and better access to the specifications. A bug tracking system has been integrated into the website and can be consulted by all users. The site uses modular and extensible plug-in architecture and is based on open source technology.

 

About FpML

FpML is the business information exchange standard for electronic dealing and processing of financial derivatives instruments. It establishes the industry protocol for sharing information on, and dealing in, financial swaps, derivatives and structured products over the Internet. It is based on XML (Extensible Markup Language), the standard meta-language for describing data shared between applications. Information about the FpML standard, the specifications and the different working groups can be found on the FpML web site: www.fpml.org.

 

About ISDA

ISDA is the global trade association representing leading participants in the privately negotiated derivatives industry. ISDA was chartered in 1985, and today has more than 650 member institutions from 47 countries on six continents. These members include most of the world's major institutions that deal in privately negotiated derivatives, as well as many of the businesses, governmental entities and other end users that rely on over-the-counter derivatives to manage efficiently the financial market risks inherent in their core economic activities. Information about ISDA and its activities is available on the Association's web site: www.isda.org.

 

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