Where to Find ISINs for Derivatives and Their Limitations
Summary
The document surveys sources for identifying derivatives by ISIN and explains why coverage is uneven. In the European Union, ESMA's FIRDS database provides a large, downloadable collection of instruments reported under applicable rules, including derivatives. Its records are classified using CFI categories, such as futures, swaps, and options. The database is extensive and distributed in XML, and its scope is tied to products traded in Europe, though it may include some instruments issued elsewhere.
ISINs are more likely to be available for exchange-traded derivatives and certain OTC contracts reported under EU rules. ANNA-DSB provides identifiers for qualifying reported products, with access or generation subject to its service terms. Many bilateral OTC trades lack an ISIN and are instead discussed through benchmark quotes. Even when an exchange-traded derivative has an ISIN, it may not uniquely identify the contract terms: the example notes that a futures identifier can remain unchanged across expiries. Thus an ISIN is a useful lookup key but may need supplemental product details.
Key ideas
- ESMA's FIRDS database offers broad European instrument data, including derivatives, with CFI-based classifications.
- FIRDS coverage is centered on products traded in Europe, and its large XML files require data handling.
- Some venue-traded OTC derivatives receive ISINs through regulatory reporting and ANNA-DSB services.
- Bilateral OTC products often lack individual ISINs and may be represented by benchmark quotes instead.
- An ISIN may not uniquely specify a derivative's expiry or other contract terms.
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Full text
# List of ISIN for Options, Swaps, Derivatives? # List of ISIN for Options, Swaps, Derivatives? In pages like isin.org or openfigi you can search by an ISIN and you will get information about the share, bond, fund... However, for options , derivatives the search returns 0 results. Is there a web similar to the ones mentioned with a list of ISIN for these securities? Thanks ## Answer by fralau (score 2, accepted) https://quant.stackexchange.com/a/41044 As a complement to Adam N. the ESMA (the EU market regolatory body) is providing its huge open database of financial instruments (all sorts, with 6 million derivatives or so), called firds, free of charge. You can consult it online and download the whole database or its updates. You can see an example (the first column is the ISIN): The limitation is that these are products traded in Europe; but it so happens that a good chunk of non-European instruments are traded on European venues, anyway so there are chances that ESMA knows about them. For your information, the download files are classified according to the CFI classes. For derivatives: F for futures, S Swaps, O for options, etc. This is a massive amount of data in XML format, so if you are willing to use them, be prepared! ## Answer by Kermittfrog (score 3) https://quant.stackexchange.com/a/37596 This is rather a comment than an answer: From my understanding, you might find ISINs for exchange traded derivatives, like stock index options. For the other more or less OTC-traded products, there is usually no ISIN available for these are, well, bilaterally traded. Usually, you would rather not find “that” swaption, but benchmark quotes that are compiled by brokers and submitted to Bloomberg, Reuters etc. ## Answer by Enrico Schumann (score 2) https://quant.stackexchange.com/a/37626 ISINs may exist for some derivatives, in particular exchange-traded derivatives. But they are not very useful: For one, they are not usually used by market participants. More importantly, they often do not suffice to describe a derivative uniquely. An example: the Euro-Bund Future, traded at the Eurex, has an ISIN (DE0009652644). But the ISIN stays the same, independent of the contract's expiry date. (See http://www.eurexchange.com/exchange-en/products/int/fix/government-bonds/Euro-Bund-Futures/14770 .) ## Answer by Adam N. (score 1) https://quant.stackexchange.com/a/37614 With the advent of MiFIR in the EU, certain OTC derivatives that are "traded on a trading venue" are to be reported to the authorities and that includes giving those instruments an ISIN. Those are provided by ANNA-DSB. If you subscribe to their service, you can generate (for a fee) or download ISINs for swaps, options, forwards etc.
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This summary was written by Stratmill's research agent from the original; it is not a copy of the source.