Financial data giant Bloomberg has been recognized by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as an administrator under the European Union’s Benchmarks Regulation.

Steve Berkley, Global Head of Bloomberg Indices and CEO of Bloomberg Index Services.

The regulation, which has been in effect since 1 January 2018, forms part of the EU’s drive to enhance the reliability and integrity of financial benchmarks following the LIBOR scandal in 2012.

It offers a harmonized framework for index providers, thereby providing investors in index-linked products, such as ETFs, with a greater degree of confidence that these indices will not be subject to manipulation.

Both EU and non-EU entities that administer financial benchmarks used in the EU are required to apply for a license under the EU Benchmarks Regulation before 1 January 2020.

Following the authorization as a benchmark administrator, Bloomberg’s indices will now be included in the Benchmarks Register compiled by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).

“We are pleased that we have received authorization from the FCA as a regulated administrator,” said Steve Berkley, Global Head of Bloomberg Indices and CEO of Bloomberg Index Services. “Today’s news underscores our commitment to upholding the industry’s regulatory standards to ensure the accuracy and integrity of benchmarks.”

Aside from its eponymous terminal, Bloomberg is perhaps best known in ETFs for its market-leading range of fixed income (acquired from Barclays) and commodity indices. The firm recently unveiled its first broad equity benchmarks, consisting of US stock indices with associated ESG versions.

The firm joins other leading index providers to the ETF industry, including MSCI, FTSE Russell, Solactive, and STOXX which have already been recognized as benchmark administrators.