Bloomberg and Accredited Standards Committee X9 announced the publication of a US National Standard called Financial Instrument Global Identifier (FIGI). It is an open data standard that provides guidelines for identifying and creating context-specific data models of financial instruments, and covers financial instruments globally and across asset classes, including common stock, derivatives, corporate and government bonds, as well as those that previously lacked standard identifiers, such as crypto assets and loans.
FIGI is supported by descriptive metadata that describes the financial instrument, including specific context such as an exchange or national jurisdiction where appropriate and is expected to help with transparency and consistency throughout the trade lifecycle and across institutions, including market participants, third-party data providers, exchanges and regulators.
“In today’s highly interconnected environment, identifiers for financial products have continued to multiply, requiring tools like FIGI that can link these systems together, and that utilize metadata to provide further granularity for asset class management and identification,” said Steven Meizanis, global head of Symbology and LEI Services at Bloomberg, in a statement. “FIGI serves as a non-changing, unique identifier that provides broad coverage of global financial instruments without performance and cost restraints. The use of FIGI as a national standard by the US market — a key player in the global economy — signals another step closer to secure cross-border interoperability among financial markets worldwide.”
FIGI is the first X9 data standard incorporating the MIT Open Source License, in which the data created and identified within the standard will be available to the public. FIGI IDs are available free of charge with no material impediments to their use. The codes can be used for research, trading and database mapping. Bloomberg, as the Registration Authority and Certified Provider, will continuously build, update and administer the FIGI to ensure accuracy and effectiveness.
The Accredited Standards Committee X9 is a non-profit organization accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to develop and maintain national and – through ISO – international standards for the financial services industry. Among the subjects of X9’s standards are: data security; corporate treasury functions; blockchain technology; financial transaction messaging (ISO 8583 and 20022); and quantum computing.