On August 19, 2015, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) published a report titled Harmonisation of the Unique Transaction Identifier (UTI), which proposes a mechanism by which all over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives trades would be reported to global trade data repositories (TRs) with a unique identifier that would allow the aggregation of data across different TRs.

In 2009, in order to promote transparency, mitigate systemic risk and deter market abuse, leaders of the G-20 proposed that all OTC derivatives contracts be reported to a TR. Currently, there are roughly 26 TRs (including US swap data repositories (SDRs), created under Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act) across 16 jurisdictions to which data may be reported, with no required harmonization of data sets among them. Without harmonization, regulators cannot aggregate data across different TRs and lack a meaningful way to obtain a comprehensive view of the market as a whole. The proposed UTI system would provide regulators a way to track systemic risk and other important global developments in the swaps and derivatives markets.

This report provides suggestions and seeks public comment on how to address:

The report seeks comments and suggestions by September 30, 2015. These should be submitted to both CPMI and IOSCO.

For details on OTC derivatives trade reporting, see Practice Notes, US Derivatives Regulation: CFTC Swap Data Reporting and Recordkeeping Rules and EMIR: requirement to report trades in derivatives).