Business Continuity
What is Business Continuity?
Business Continuity refers to all the measures taken (organisational, technical and personnel) to ensure that in case of emergency or in a crisis the payment and settlement systems will continue to operate smoothly or in the case of interruption the time needed to restart operations will not significantly affect the market and the economy.
A Glossary of business continuity terms developed by the ESCB is attached.
The importance of Business Continuity
Business Continuity is of high importance because in ensuring the smooth operation of payment and settlement systems, the financial stability within and outside national borders is also ensured. This is of particular importance since some systems transcend the borders of Eurosystem and/or EU countries.
Sharing of information
The exchange of information on Business Continuity is crucial for the preparedness and efficiency in emergencies or crisis situations. The reaction and the way of handling a problem that arose in an economy and the way of dealing with it could help another economy in being prepared to deal with a similar situation. Furthermore, as already stated, systems and subsequently crises, as evidenced in the recent financial turmoil, transcend national borders.
Business Continuity in payment, clearing and settlement systems
The Business Continuity requirements relating to systems in Cyprus are included in the following documents:
"BC standards for payment systems" and "Securities settlement BC standards".
More information on Business Continuity for market infrastructures can be found on the ECB website.