Managing reference data

Reference data is data, published by SWIFT, that includes information about:

Financial institutions
ISO currency codes
ISO country codes

SWIFT publishes reference data in directories as a series of compressed files, each of which is called a directory package. The name of the supported directory packages depends on the type of information it contains:

Information type	Directory package name	Support for XML packages
BICDirectory	BICDIR_BICDB_scope_yyyymmdd_TXT.zip	N/A
BIC Directory 2018	BICDIR2018_yyyymmdd_TXT.zip	no
BankDirectoryPlus	BANKDIRECTORYPLUS_yyyymmdd_TXT.zip	no

where:

scope

The scope of the directory package:

FULL: A full package contains a complete set of all reference data.
DELTA: A monthly delta package contains only that data that was added, deleted, or changed since the previous package, which was either a full or a delta package, was made available.

Note: The BankDirectoryPlus and BIC Directory 2018 packages contain both FULL and DELTA files.

yyyymmdd

The activation date of the contents of the package, that is, the date on which the data became or will become active in the SWIFT environment.

Note: For BankDirectoryPlus, this date is not necessarily the same as the activation date of all records. Some records in the file may specify their own activation date.

You can import reference data to the FTM SWIFT database, where it can be used by:

The MER Facility to create lists of BICs from which users can select the appropriate BIC
RMA to obtain information about the institution which belongs to the own or correspondent BIC of a relationship, or to identify stale authorisations
The message printing service to obtain additional information about a BIC, which it adds to the printed message
The message validation service to check the validity of currency and country entries. Without this information, the Message Validation Service checks only the syntax of currency and country entries.

To avoid the need for several identical copies of the reference data, this data can be shared among several instances. This is done by choosing the runtime database of one instance to serve as the source of all reference data for all other instances.

Each package contains, among other files, the following core data files, which are used by FTM SWIFT:

Scope	Directory package type	Core data file	File Type	Abbreviated as
FULL	BICDirectory Contains a complete set of BICDirectory, ISO currency, and ISO country data.	FI_yyyymmdd.txt	bank file	FI file
		CU_yyyymmdd.txt	currency file	CU file
		CT_yyyymmdd.txt	country file	CT file
	BankDirectoryPlus Contains a complete set of BankDirectoryPlus, ISO currency, and ISO country data.	BANKDIRECTORYPLUS_ V3_FULL_yyyymmdd.txt	bank file	B3 file
		CURRENCY_CODE_ yyyymmdd.txt	currency file	CU file
		COUNTRY_CODE_ yyyymmdd.txt	country file	CT file
	BIC Directory 2018 Contains a complete set of BIC Directory 2018, ISO currency, and ISO country data.	BICDIR2018_V1_FULL_ yyyymmdd.txt	bank file	FI file
		CURRENCY_CODE_ yyyymmdd.txt	currency file	CU file
		COUNTRY_CODE_ yyyymmdd.txt	country file	CT file
DELTA	BICDirectory Contains only that BICDirectory bank data that was added, deleted, or changed since the previous file was made available. Contains a complete set of ISO currency, and ISO country data.	FIDELTA_yyyymmdd.txt	bank delta file	FI delta file
		CU_yyyymmdd.txt	currency file	CU file
		CT_yyyymmdd.txt	country file	CT file
	BankDirectoryPlus Contains only that BankDirectoryPlus bank data that was added, deleted, or changed since the previous file was made available. Contains a complete set of ISO currency, and ISO country data.	BANKDIRECTORYPLUS_ V3_DELTA_yyyymmdd.txt	bank delta file	B3 file
		CURRENCY_CODE_ yyyymmdd.txt	currency file	CU file
		COUNTRY_CODE_ yyyymmdd.txt	country file	CT file
	BIC Directory 2018 Contains only BIC Directory 2018 bank data that was added, deleted, or changed since the previous file was made available. Contains a complete set of ISO currency, and ISO country data.	BICDIR2018_V1_DELTA_ yyyymmdd.txt	bank delta file	FI delta file
		CURRENCY_CODE_ yyyymmdd.txt	currency file	CU file
		COUNTRY_CODE_ yyyymmdd.txt	country file	CT file

Note: Delta files only exist for bank files. Currency and country files always contain all data. The Reference Data Utility supports only monthly delta files.

Use the Reference Data Utility (RDU) to import reference data to the FTM SWIFT database. Initially, you must import data from a full package. Afterward, you can update your reference data by importing data from monthly delta packages that were issued after the full package. Because each monthly delta package contains only those changes relative to the previous package, you cannot skip delta packages. However, if you miss a delta package, you can always obtain the most current data by importing the most recent full package.

The Reference Data component in the Administration and Operations (AO) application can be used to display and modify reference data after it has been imported to the FTM SWIFT database. For more information, see Managing reference data.