Safe, Secure, Setting New Standards: A Report to the Industry on Business Continuity Planning

Since the events of September 11, 2001, the need to protect the global financial system has brought heightened attention to business continuity planning, both in the United States and in markets worldwide. The need is particularly acute for The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), the largest post-trade financial services infrastructure company in the world. Safeguarding DTCC’s ability to support its critical clearing, settlement and asset servicing roles, as well as the highly specialized knowledge of its employees, is acknowledged by the industry and regulators alike to be essential to sustaining the safety and soundness of U.S. financial markets.

Contingency and continuity planning goes back many years at DTCC. Over the past several years, however, DTCC has moved aggressively—as have other companies in the industry—to upgrade its continuity plans and expand its resources in order to strengthen the resiliency of its business operations against the possibility of wide-scale disruption. DTCC continues to be a leader in the securities industry in the efficiency and effectiveness of its business continuity planning and facilities. DTCC’s own resiliency, however, is only part of the story. The resiliency of DTCC’s industry partners and participants, and of key infrastructures on which all of us rely, is equally important to assuring the ability of the financial markets to continue in the face of extreme events. Recognizing this, we believe it is important to share DTCC’s experience and the practical knowledge it has gained to encourage wider and more informed discussion and focus on business continuity planning throughout the industry.

Download the White Paper: Safe, Secure, Setting New Standards: A Report to the Industry on Business Continuity Planning