The first such enhancement is due for implementation in September 2003. Details have already been published and the enhancement concerns the implementation of an ISO issuance message for money market instruments in CREST. Details of this message can be found in the Enhancing CREST: July 2003 - Money Market Instruments in CREST white book and a technical description within the ISO Data Exchange Manual (version 3.2). Both documents are currently available on the CREST website. This implementation is based on CRESTCo's policy of introducing ISO 15022-style messages relating to all new functionality wherever possible. Unfortunately, producing ISO 15022 messages is not always possible due to either the specialised nature of CREST functionality or the lack of agreed messages in a particular area.
In addition to this enhancement, CRESTCo will continue to ensure that the ISO messages used via the ISO standard interface remain compliant with SWIFT standards. As a result, on Monday, 17 November 2003, CRESTCo will be updating the ISO messages used across the ISO standard interface to comply with the SWIFT 2003 message standards.
To provide details to members of these changes, CRESTCo intends to publish updated versions of the ISO Data Exchange Manual and ISO Standard Interface Service Description. These documents will be made available to members on the CRESTCo website in the forthcoming months and confirmation of their availability will be included within an operational bulletin.
In 2004, CRESTCo is looking to expand the ISO standard interface to cover other areas of the CREST system that are not currently available via this interface. In order to determine which areas CRESTCo should focus on, a future Newsletter will include a more detailed consultation article discussing the various areas and requesting views from the market.
