The Office of Financial Research (OFR) Expands Its Financial Instrument Reference Database (FIRD) to Help Identify Inconsistencies in Financial Terms

The FIRD now shows how three data standards – ISO 20022, ACTUS, and FIX – provide metadata definitions for each of the five asset classes. Excerpt from the OFR press release (below):

"The FIRD, a Dodd-Frank Act requirement, helps to identify where reference data is standardized and where there are inconsistencies. The FIRD’s foundational version, launched in December 2020, leveraged ISO 20022, an international data standard for financial messages, to provide the terms and definitions for five commonly used asset classes: equities, debt, options, warrants, and futures.

In 2021, the ACTUS Financial Research Foundation’s data dictionary was added, and today, the OFR added data elements from the FIX Protocol, a messaging standard used by financial market participants for the electronic communication of indications, orders, and executions.

​

The FIRD now shows how three data standards–ISO 20022, ACTUS, and FIX–provide metadata definitions for each of the five asset classes. This allows users to compare definitions used in the financial sector and identify where there are inconsistencies. The format, design, and functionality make the text searchable, and the definitional relationships and properties clear."