NIF Petition on Data-Related Issues
The EDM Council has endorsed and is participating in a coalition of industry, academia, and other interested parties to create an agency within the US Federal Government to deliver the data and analytic tools needed to manage systemic risk. The objective of the National Institute of Finance (NIF) is to collect reference and positions data, implement critical content standards and provide neutral analytical capabilities to the agencies involved in providing systemic oversight over the financial system.
A new petition has been posted to their website (www.ce-nif.org) calling for the creation of the NIF. The petition is used to demonstrate support for the objective within the US Congress. It is also used to extend the coalition to other interested individuals and groups. Collecting signatures of support is an essential tactic for providing visibility to the importance of this critical requirement.
We encourage all interested to sign the online petition and help reinforce the message that systemic oversight is not possible unless regulators have access to consistent and comparable data.
If you have questions about NIF or this initiative, please feel free to contact me directly. The Council is an active contributor and has been fortunate in being able to play a core role in drafting their rationale, data requirements and legislative documents.
The good news is that the NIF is gaining serious traction among legislators and key regulators. The EDM Council is contributing to this initiative in order to maximize our collective effectiveness in the competition for the ear of Congress as it debates the make-up of the new regulatory environment.
The better news is that the US Congress won't act on financial regulatory reform until after the August recess. That gives us time to continue our education efforts. The core messages should be familiar to everyone:
- Oversight over systemic vulnerability is not just about re-organizing the structure of the regulatory environment and adding new regulation. In addition to new legal mechanisms, regulators must have improved data capabilities in order to understand the interconnections and dependencies that characterize how the financial system really operates.
- We have to stop building the data "Tower of Babel." Data needs to be comparable . tagged from the point of issuance . using consistent semantics and standard identifiers. Oversight is not possible if we're all speaking different languages. [And yes our Semantics Repository is figuring prominently in demonstrating the viability of the concept]
- Take the data issues out of the political realm. EDM is separate from discussions about regulation or regulatory restructure. Regardless of who owns systemic oversight - they will need data that is precisely tagged so that it can be compared, linked, analyzed and modeled in multiple ways across lots of financial institutions. In essence, please don't fall into the same trap as the industry by creating multiple repositories of data within every regulatory agency.
And yes - we do have our fingers in the dike of reality. We recognize this is a broad initiative and that politics is an inexact and unpredictable business. But based on the NIF's recent outreach, exposure and engagement, I believe this effort has gained significant momentum. That's why I'm bringing it to your attention. This crisis is shining the legislative light on data issues - but this opportunity won't last for long. We have a good shot to make some essential points. Let's not blow it. Sign the petition.
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