Annual Report 2004

use of SWIFTNet Single Window 9
now also facilitates liquidity management
in real time and the secure
transmission of data files on top of financial
transaction messaging.
After the Electronic Banking
Communication system EBK 10 had
been replaced by SWIFTNet FIN in
November 2003, the number of messages
processed by the OeNB more
than quadrupled. In 2004, AustriaÕs
transaction growth rate of 32.4%
was the highest worldwide. In terms
of total messaging volume, Austria
is ranked 18 th in an international comparison.
TARGET2 — Austria in
Favor of Standardization of
Large-Value Payments
In 2002, the Governing Council of
the ECB laid the foundation for todayÕs
integration via an interlinking
system of the RTGS systems operated
by national central banks in the
EU. Compared with the existing
TARGET system, the next generation,
TARGET2, will offer an extended
core service that has been
harmonized across Europe as well as
a single price structure for national
and cross-border payments effected
in the entire Eurosystem. Connecting
the most important European ancillary
systems to TARGET2 via two
real-time and four batch-processing
models is another milestone in the
harmonization and integration of payments
in the euro area.
In December 2004, the Governing
Council of the ECB approved
the establishment of a Single Shared
Platform (SSP) for TARGET2 on
Integration of Payment Services in Europe and Consolidation
of Cash Distribution Structures in Austria
the basis of the joint offer made by
the Deutsche Bundesbank, the Banca
dÕItalia and the Banque de France.
The OeNB expressed its interest in
participating to the ECB as early as
August 2003 and notified the ECB in
January 2005 of its intent to use the
coreserviceoftheSSP.TheOeNB
anticipates that TARGET2 will process
large-value euro payments in real
time more efficiently compared with
todayÕs (decentralized) TARGET system.
In 2004, the TARGET2 project
team focused on the identification
of the systemÕs functionality in cooperation
with the European financial
sector as well as on the technical development
of the SSP. The Governing
Council adopted the General Functional
Specifications (GFS) for TAR-
GET2 in July 2004. The User Detailed
Functional Specifications
(UDFS) are likely to be finalized in
April 2005.
TARGET2 will offer comprehensive
liquidity management functions
that allow banks operating in several
European countries to better control
9 Unlike in the past, when differing data formats, interfaces, security models and telecommunication networks
were used to communicate between different counterparties and market infrastructures, financial market
participants today may exchange information via a standardized (uniform) network using a single
communication window.
10 Proprietary Austrian system for the transfer of payment orders.
Single Shared
Platform for
TARGET2
Functional TARGET2
specifications
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