FISD and ARFI Form Partnership to Promote Financial Information Industry Data Worldwide

WASHINGTON, May 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today the Financial Information Services Division of the Software & Information Industry Association (FISD/SIIA) and Financial Communications and Investor Relations Association - Russia (ARFI) have signed the Memorandum of Understanding in order to promote and increase communications related to the dissemination, management, administration and use of financial information for the local community, as well as to make the specifics of local financial information market more transparent to global community. This document outlines the steps and conditions that both FISD/SIIA and ARFI will take and use to achieve the mutual goals in exchanging knowledge and experience of the global and the local financial information industry participants.

FISD/SIIA and ARFI agree to join efforts and work together to ensure the global industry and local community have access to an educational and networking opportunity by arranging and conducting special events such as local meetings, seminars, conferences, etc. The first such event has been conducted on May 30, 2008 in Moscow in the form of Local Meeting and hosted by MICEX. Points of Understanding also include access to membership benefits to one staff representative at ARFI and FISD/SIIA correspondingly.

Tom Davin, FISD/SIIA's Managing Director comments:

"FISD is pleased to enter into this cooperative arrangement with ARFI. This is a significant step in FISD's drive to promote policy and practice standardization among the various members of the international financial information community. I think that this relationship will grow in value along with the prominence of Russian financial industry players, and as global markets become increasingly inter-connected."

Olga Rink, ARFI's Executive Director adds:

"We feel it absolutely up to date and more than relevant to unify FISD/SIIA and ARFI networking facilities in order to make the Russian financial market more transparent and accessible for global players and to coordinate standards developments for the benefit of our investors and service providers. Both Associations have in their frames the leaders of international and Russian financial communities who can get from the collaboration real instruments of free communications in professional areas including Market Data. The MoU between ARFI and FISD/SIIA is an important document that verifies similarity of trends and tasks inherent in the Russian and global market community. During several years ARFI took up the initiatives of FISD/SIIA as a benchmark for our domestic activities. Today we have seen that the experience of ARFI, for example in IR profession qualification, might be recognized also internationally."

Background

The mission of Financial Information Services Division (FISD) is to provide a neutral forum for exchanges, third-party providers, market data vendors, brokerage firms, asset managers, and banks to address and resolve issues related to the dissemination, management, administration and use of financial information. Members participate in FISD to exchange ideas, establish new levels of mutual understanding, and improve the business climate associated with the worldwide flow of financial information. FISD was founded in 1985 and is governed by a 27-member Executive Committee consisting of equal numbers of exchanges, vendors and market data consumer firms.

The mission of Financial Communications and Investor Relations Association - Russia (ARFI) is to improve the informational transparency and the investment attractiveness of the Russian financial market and creating appropriate conditions for fair competition in the market of financial information. The Association was established in 2000 and recently was renamed from AFBID (Association of Financial and Business Information Distributors). It is comprised of companies working in the area of financial communications, investor relations services, market data and business information. Today, the Association includes Russia's leading exchanges, information and analytical agencies as well as consultants (16 full members and 2 associated members).

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Source: FISD/SIIA

CONTACT: Bill Nichols of FISD, bnichols@siia.net; or Eileen Bramlet of
SIIA Communications, +1-703-927-2022, ebramlet@siia.net

2008-05-28 18:41:02 0372296 PRNEWSWIRE