Overview
ISO 15022-2:1999 defines the governance and maintenance framework for the Data Field Dictionary (DD) and the Catalogue of Messages (CM) used in securities messaging. Part 2 of ISO 15022 specifies the roles, contracts and procedures that ensure the DD and CM remain current, interoperable and publicly available. It establishes the responsibilities of the operating authority (the Registration Authority, RA) and its supervisory body (the Registration Management Group, RMG), plus rules for service levels, appeals, complaints and data ownership.
Key topics and requirements
- Governance and contract
- A contract between ISO and the organization acting as the RA (initial two-year term, termination/renewal conditions).
- A Service Level Agreement (SLA) detailing RA responsibilities and performance monitoring.
- Registration Authority (RA) duties
- Maintain and publish the Data Field Dictionary and Catalogue of Messages in electronic and paper form.
- Process requests for additions, changes and deletions; assist requesters; respond timely and document actions.
- Keep records of requests and changes for a minimum period (three years).
- Maintain confidentiality between RA operations and other organization functions.
- Liaise with UN/EDIFACT finance body (EEG04) to register EDIFACT elements where applicable.
- Registration Management Group (RMG)
- Governing body composed of industry and syntax experts from multiple countries; monitors RA performance and approves procedural changes.
- Handles appeals and complaints related to RA decisions; voting rules require a two‑thirds majority.
- Procedural controls
- Appeals process and escalation to ISO/TC 68/SC 4.
- Complaints handled separately from appeals with defined response targets.
- Ownership: DD and CM data are ISO property placed in the public domain; RA must supply a full copy on contract termination.
Applications and who uses it
ISO 15022-2 is essential for organizations implementing and operating securities messaging standards:
- Securities firms, custodians, brokers and exchanges
- Clearing houses and central securities depositories (CSDs)
- Market infrastructure operators and financial message service providers
- Software vendors, systems integrators and middleware providers implementing STP (straight‑through processing)
- Standards bodies and industry working groups designing or registering new message types
By providing a formal maintenance and registration process for message fields and message types, ISO 15022-2 supports interoperability, controlled evolution of message formats and migration paths (including EDIFACT) across global securities markets.
Related standards
Keywords: ISO 15022-2, Data Field Dictionary, Catalogue of Messages, Registration Authority, Registration Management Group, securities messaging, EDIFACT, service level agreement, message maintenance.