The eight and a half-hour test, which was organized by the FIA's Information Technology Division, was designed so that futures industry brokerage firms, known as futures commission merchants, could test the connectivity between their back-up sites and the exchanges’ back-up sites. Preparation began this April, and continued with weekly conference calls with all sectors of the industry as well as two pre-test briefings in New York and Chicago.
Six exchanges, five clearinghouses, several key service providers and more than 80 firms participated in the test, representing approximately 96% of U.S. trading volume. Such a high level of participation is a clear indication that the futures industry views disaster recovery as a critical priority, and also indicates the strength of the working relationship between firms and exchanges.
During the Oct. 9 test, firms were able to test the connectivity between their back-up sites and the exchanges’ back-up sites. In addition, a small but meaningful sample of orders was submitted to the exchanges and clearinghouses for processing. Feedback from the participants indicated that the test provided a valuable opportunity to identify specific points of failure and to improve the industry's readiness for future disasters. As a next step, the FIA will finalize a summary of the test results, survey firms and exchanges for feedback, and determine a test plan for 2005.
“I commend the members of the futures industry for their commitment to disaster recovery and business continuity,” said FIA President John Damgard. “One of the most important lessons we have learned from the September 11 attacks in 2001, the massive power outage of 2003, and other disasters is that all of us in this industry have to rely on each other at times of crisis. That's why it is so important to test the lines of communication that link the firms to the exchanges to make sure that we can continue doing business in case of emergency. I am very pleased that the FIA was able to play a leading role in organizing and coordinating this industry-wide effort, and I thank all the exchanges, firms and service providers for their support and participation.”
FIA is the national trade organization for the futures industry. Its membership includes more than 40 of the largest futures commission merchants. FIA estimates that its members are responsible for more than 90 percent of all public customer business executed on U.S. contract markets.
Click here to view the Disaster Recovery Factsheet.
