BNY Mellon Depositary Receipts Will Take Part in Pilot Program Using XBRL for Corporate Actions

Posted on Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Program to Evaluate Straight-Through Processing Efficiencies, Shareholder Benefits using Depositary Receipts

New York, NY September 20, 2011 – The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), SWIFT and XBRL US have announced an expansion of the XBRL pilot program to research the costs and benefits of transforming corporate actions processing. BNY Mellon’s Depositary Receipts business will join the Issuer to Investor: Corporate Actions initiative launched in 2009 to improve data quality and reduce processing cost and time. As part of this pilot, BNY Mellon will publish corporate actions announcements about Depositary Receipts (DRs), for which it is the depositary, in XBRL format for downstream processing by stock exchanges, brokerage firms and investors. XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) is a technology standard that makes business information computer-readable and more easily consumed.

DRs are negotiable U.S. securities issued by depositary banks, such as BNY Mellon, that represent a non-U.S. company’s publicly traded equity. Corporate messages about DRs, such as dividend announcements, are sent from depositary banks to stock exchanges, investors and other intermediaries. These messages are often communicated as text, which requires re-keying by the various recipients, lengthening the process and raising the chance of inaccuracy.

“Enabling straight-through-processing of corporate actions announcements can improve timeliness, reduce costs, and streamline processing for investors,” said Chris Kearns, deputy CEO and global product management head of BNY Mellon Depositary Receipts. “DRs have long been a convenient, cost effective way for U.S. investors to add international exposure to their portfolio. We look forward to taking part in this XBRL pilot program for corporate actions which can bring even greater value and transparency to the DR marketplace.”

The pilot will use the XBRL Corporate Actions taxonomy that is aligned with the ISO 20022 standard and was finalized and published in June 2011.BNY Mellon Asset Servicing is already participating in a DTCC pilot program for the ISO 20022 corporate actions standard. The XBRL Corporate Actions taxonomy covers 94 corporate actions events.A new release of the taxonomy will be published in early 2012.

About BNY Mellon Depositary Receipts
BNY Mellon acts as depositary for more than 2,100 American and global depositary receipt programs, acting in partnership with leading companies from 67 countries. With an unrivaled commitment to helping securities issuers succeed in the world’s rapidly evolving financial markets, the company delivers the industry’s most comprehensive suite of integrated depositary receipt, corporate trust and stock transfer services. Learn more at www.bnymellon.com/dr.

About DTCC
DTCC, through its subsidiaries, provides clearance, settlement and information services for equities, corporate and municipal bonds, government and mortgage-backed securities, money market instruments and over-the-counter derivatives. In addition, DTCC is a leading processor of mutual funds and insurance transactions, linking funds and carriers with their distribution networks. DTCC’s depository provides custody and asset servicing for more than 3.6 million securities issues from the United States and 121 other countries and territories, valued at US$33.9 trillion. In 2009, DTCC settled nearly US$1.48 quadrillion in securities transactions. DTCC has operating facilities and data centers in multiple locations in the United States and overseas. For more information, visit www.dtcc.com.

About SWIFT
SWIFT is a member-owned cooperative that provides the communications platform, products and services to connect over 9,000 banking organizations, securities institutions and corporate customers in 209 countries. SWIFT enables its users to exchange automated, standardized financial information securely and reliably, thereby lowering costs, reducing operational risk and eliminating operational inefficiencies. SWIFT also brings the financial community together to work collaboratively to shape market practice, define standards and debate issues of mutual interest. For more information, please refer to our website www.swift.com

About XBRL US
XBRL US is the non-profit consortium for XBRL business reporting standards in the U.S. and it represents the business information supply chain. Its mission is to support the implementation of XBRL business reporting standards through the development of taxonomies for use by U.S. public and private sectors, with a goal of interoperability between sectors, and by promoting XBRL adoption through marketplace collaboration. XBRL US has developed taxonomies for U.S. GAAP, credit rating and mutual fund reporting under contract with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and has developed a taxonomy for corporate actions. For more information, go to xbrl.us.