New research undertaken by JWG-IT Group (JWG-IT), a think-tank for EU-driven IT change in the financial services industry, has found that there are significant gaps in financial institutions’ infrastructure that need to be plugged if they are to meet key MiFID challenges.
Sixty-four percent of investment firms still have significant work to do to be ready for MiFID's record-keeping requirements, says the think-tank. "Whilst more senior management are aware of the need for record-keeping change, it has not yet moved to the top of their 'to-do' list," comments Nigel Woodward, Intel.
This news follows on from the outcome of a seminar hosted by JWG-IT and the Investment Banking Records Management Forum on 20 September, which found that overcoming key risks will require significant upgrades, not only in the way that records are captured, but also how they are stored, linked and accessed at the required time.
Competitive pressures, however, are forcing some firms to make MiFID's record-keeping requirements a higher priority. "There is pressure building as those who have invested in data management infrastructure are aiming for competitive advantage by offering superior services," explains Woodward.
MiFID introduces a minimum of 55 new requirements for record keeping, under which financial institutions are accountable for storing and retrieving both structured and unstructured data in the context in which it was created.
"It is now up to each firm to define its operational targets and steer its course to where it would like to be when the customer or regulator calls," remarks Ivan Fernandez, head of Global Industries Group, EMC. "There is no magic bullet," he adds.
The findings are drawn from empirical research conducted over a two-year period, and appear in a whitepaper entitled, 'MiFID Record Keeping: raising the heat'.