Uniform Symbology

Uniform Symbology, in the context of European financial markets, refers to a recent (started Oct. 2008) effort by European markets to adopt a common scheme to refer to securities ("symbols"). The original announcement reads as follows:

In order to facilitate orderly and efficient trading of securities across multiple markets, the founders of the Committee on Uniform Symbology (BATS Europe, Chi-X Europe and NASDAQ OMX Europe) agreed to create and adopt a common securities symbology to uniformly identify securities traded across Europe. A committee was formed for the purpose of which was to create, maintain and modify as necessary the uniform methodology for securities symbology (Uniform Symbology) to be applied to the securities and to develop and use the Uniform Symbology in furtherance of the committee’s aims and objectives. Since the founding of the Committee on Uniform Symbology other members have joined including: Turquoise, NYSE Euronext and QUOTE MTF.

(See links to some of the market's press releases in the External links section below.)

Symbology Algorithm

The Uniform Symbology Algorithm is designed to be human readable, fit into 6 characters, have no symbol clashes and where possible, be derivable from another, freely available code.

It will consist of a stock code followed by a single, lower case letter designating the primary listing exchange.

The stock code will be derived from the “local code” published by the primary exchange. These will be truncated where necessary.

If the local code contains a single letter class designator of A through Z (e.g. “STE A”) then the single letter class designator shall be retained and the code will be truncated to a maximum of 4 characters, plus the single letter class (A through Z) designator. For some Nordic stocks the share designator will be prefixed with “SDB” (e.g. “SDBA”). In this case the “SDB” should be removed and the single letter class (A through Z) designator will be retained.

Any codes containing spaces, periods, underscores or second words (other than the single letter class (A through Z) described above) will be truncated at the space, period, etc.

All remaining non-alphanumeric characters should be removed.

Stock Code Truncation Examples

Local Code Truncated Local Code Notes
VGAS SDB VGAS “ SDB” Removed.
NDA SEK NDA “ SEK” Removed.
MAERSK B MAERB “MAERSK” Truncated to “MAER”, “B” retained.
ASSA B ASSAB “ ” removed, “B” retained.
ATCO A ATCOA “ ” removed, “A” retained.
ATCO B ATCOB A/B share distinction retained.
BP. BP “.” Removed.
BT.A BT “.A” Truncated.
F&C FC “&” removed
Y&Z B YZB “&” removed, “ “ removed, “B” retained
TWW SDBB TWWB “ “ removed, “SDB” removed, “B” retained

Market codes by market centre (including examples)

Note that in some cases a market code suffix is shared by multiple listing markets. For example, the letter "y" is used for stocks listed on the Athens, Cyprus and Malta exchanges.

Market Centre MIC[1] Market Code Sample Local Code Sample Uniform Symbology Code Sample Company Name RIC Suffix[2]
Copenhagen Stock ExchangeXCSEcDANSKDANSKcDanske Bank OrdCO
Deutsche Borse/GermanyXETRdEXS1EXS1diShares DAX ETFDE
Euronext AmsterdamXAMSaHEIAHEIAaHeinekenAS
Euronext BrusselsXBRUbINBINBbINBEVBR
Euronext ParisXPARpRNORNOpRenaultPA
Euronext Lisbon/PortugalXLISuALTRALTRuALTRI SGPSLS
Bucharest Stock Exchange XBSEfAMOAMOfAmonil SA
Bulgaria Stock Exchange XBULf5BT5BTfVivacom
NASDAQ OMX Vilnius/Lithuania XLITfAGP1LAGP1LfAlita Group AB
NASDAQ OMX Riga/Latvia XRISfGRZ1RGRZ1RfGrobina
NASDAQ OMX Tallinn/Estonia XTALfPRF1TPRF1TfPremia Foods AS
Helsinki Stock ExchangeXHELhNOK1VNOK1VhNokiaHE
Irish Stock ExchangeXDUBiGNCGNCiGreencore Group plcI
Prague Stock ExchangeXPRAkBOREYBOREYBorealis Exploration
London Stock ExchangeXLONlVODVODlVodafone Group OrdL
Madrid/Spain (Espana)XMCEeCOLCOLeINMOB ColonialMC
Borsa Italiana/MilanXMILmSPMSPMmSaipemMI
USA Securities/New YorknQQQQQQQQnPowershares QQQ
Oslo Stock ExchangeXOSLoNHYNHYoNorsk HydroOL
PLUS-SX Stock Exchange/LondonXPLUqAFCAFCqArsenal Holdings plc
Reykjavik, IcelandXICErOSSROSSRrOssur Ord
Stockholm Stock ExchangeXSTOsVOLBVOLBsVolvo B OrdST
Budapest Stock ExchangeXBUDtOTPOTPtOTP Bank PLC
Ljubljana Stock Exchange/SloveniaXLJUtABKNABKNtAbanka Vipa DD
Bratislava Stock Exchange/SlovakiaXBRAt1PRV001E1SEA0tSemat AS
Vienna Stock ExchangeXWBOvVIGVIGvVienna Insurance GroupVI
Warsaw Stock ExchangeXWARwTPETPEwTAURON PEWA
BATS Chi-X Europe RIECHIXxIEEMIEEMliShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETFCHI
Luxembourg Stock ExchangeXLUXxBIPBIPxBIP Investment Partners
Athens Stock Exchange XATHyINTETINTETyIntertech SA
Cyprus Stock Exchange XCYSySEASSEASySea Star Capital
Malta Stock Exchange XMALyHSBHSByHSBC Bank Malta PLC
Swiss Exchange/Zurich(blue chip)XVTXzUBSNUBSNzUBS N OrdVX
Swiss Exchange/Zurich(non-blue chip)XSWXzACINACINzAcino Holding AGS

References

  1. "ISO 10383". ISO 10383 - Market Identifier Codes. S.W.I.F.T. SCRL. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
  2. "Exchange Codes". FIX Trading Community. FIX Protocol Ltd. Retrieved 27 May 2015.

Turquoise Technical specifications, version 1.1 (May 2009)

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