May 15, 2023 - The LSTA, the trade association for the corporate loan market in the United States, today announced the launch of a new initiative to improve the connectivity of loan identifiers and data across the broadly syndicated loan market. Working in partnership with major vendors who issue loan identifiers, the LSTA plans to offer its loan identifier cross reference product later this year.
The LSTA will operate a single source mapping service which will allow for the synchronized assignment and ongoing maintenance of loan identifiers across vendors. The LSTA, in its unique capacity as the industry association, will work with vendors and agent banks to ensure the accurate creation and mapping of loan identifiers through the adherence to LSTA guidelines for identifier change management.
LSTA Executive Director Lee Shaiman said, “With the increased focus on the digitalization of the loan market, the importance of being able to connect data accurately across systems has never been greater. We are confident this new product will deliver upon that need.”
Front and back-office personnel often struggle with manually mapping and maintaining the correct loan identifiers in their systems. This new mapping product will allow market participants to accurately update and synchronize their systems automatically and in unison while increasing operational efficiency and effectiveness across the entire loan ecosystem.
The service will provide a cross-reference loan identifier file which will map loan identifiers to each other and allow them to be more easily maintained across systems. The service will not issue any new identifiers. Clients of the service will need to provide verification of a license agreement with each vendor in order to receive their respective identifiers in the file.
The LSTA has partnered with Coefficient Markets, a leading financial technology provider for leveraged loans, to build and operate the cross-reference service. Coefficient develops in partnership with Etrading Software (ETS), a London-based technology and managed services firm.
About LSTA:
The LSTA is a not-for-profit trade association made up of a broad and diverse membership involved in the origination, syndication, and trade of corporate loans. The 600-plus members of the LSTA include commercial banks, investment banks, broker-dealers, hedge funds, mutual funds, insurance companies, fund managers, and other institutional lenders, as well as service providers and vendors. The LSTA undertakes a wide variety of activities to foster the development of policies and market practices designed to promote just and equitable marketplace principles and to encourage cooperation and coordination with firms facilitating transactions in loans. Since 1995, the LSTA has developed standardized practices, procedures, and documentation to enhance market efficiency, transparency, and certainty. For more information, visit www.lsta.org.
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Media contacts:
Rich Myers, Jackie Loose: lsta@profileadvisors.com
