Expert Opinion on Standards in Global Financial Markets

This paper reports the outcome of a small scale ‘Delphi' survey of standards professionals, focusing on the business and economic benefits of standardization in global financial markets and the barriers to standardization. Despite its small scale this survey points to clear conclusions. There are wide ranging and substantial perceived benefits of standardization, but achievement of these benefits has been held back by fragmentation of standards, failures of co-ordination and failure to overcome short-term vested interests. Underlying causes for this lack of standardization are inadequate pan-industry institutional arrangements and lack of resources for developing and promoting standards. Effectively addressing these underlying causes may regulators to play a leading role, working together with industry to to develop more effective institutional arrangements for standardization that will operate in the interests of both business and policy makers