The Fundamental Concepts are the key to understanding FIB-DM design and content.

All Fundamental concepts are ultimate supertypes in the FIBO data model. 90% of FIB-DM entities have a Fundamental Concept as their ultimate supertype. The Object Management Group’s (OMG) Commons Ontology Library defines most fundamental concepts. FIBO imports the OMG Commons ontologies, and the FIB-DM Commons packages are transformed from the latest OMG Commons version 1.3 beta, released in December 2025.

Concept Maps are a tool for data modelers and ontologist to communicate and refine their design with Business Users. The standardized FIB-CM (Financial Industry Business Concept Maps) uses 15 icons and acronyms.

755 Associative Entities define relationships in the FIBO Data Model. They define a standardized vocabulary for naming relationships between concepts (the labels on the arrows in a concept map).

For every concept, the Gallery has a diagram of its most significant associations with other concepts.

Minor concepts can be used as needed to supplement the design

The FIB-DM Education Unit, Semantics for Finance Users, is an in-depth treatment of the Fundamental Concepts and FIB-CM.

Here is a brief explanation, with examples, of the associations shown in the diagrams.

Situation (SIT)

• The contract parties, lender, borrower, and guarantor,  are roles.
• Various Aspects, classifications, and codes may apply.
• The (payment) schedule is a Collection
• A designation identifies the contract (loan number, ID)
• Contractual Elements, a Constituent, define terms.
• Situations relate to Other Situations: A loan may have a guaranty agreement, and many Financial Instruments have underliers.

Role (R)

• The Functional Entity manages its Legal Entity.
• Registration and license numbers identify the Role.
• A Role will relate to another Role. For example, Collateral is Collateralized by Asset.
• The Identifiers, in turn, identify other Functional Entities or Service Providers.

Designation (D)

• A Person or Business has a Name.
• ID or Number identifies Contract, Account, and Transactions.
• A Registrar issues registration numbers, which are registered in a Registry. E.g., in the U.S., the FDIC issues Certificate Numbers for licensed Depository Institutions.

Constituent(CST)

• The Registry, a Collection subtype, comprises Registry Entries.
• Agreements, under the Situation concept, have Contractual Elements and may apply to a Party Role.
• A Contractual Element often specifies Date and Amount. For example, a Loan Agreement Contractual Element would specify principal and due date. 

Collection (COL)

• The Collection has Members, typically identifiers. E.g., ZIP codes are postal identifiers within the ZIP Code Scheme.
• Agreements have Schedules, such as the payment schedule for a Loan.
• A Functional entity manages the Collection (Registrar, Portfolio Manager)
• The Schedule has Occurrences, the dated events. For example, a Payment Schedule includes dates and Amounts to be paid.

Agent (A)

• IDs identify the Agent, e.g., the Passport identifies a Person.
• The Agent has Addresses; the corporation is Domiciled in some Geopolitical Entity
• A Corporation has a Date of Incorporation, and a Person has a Date of Birth.
• The Functional Entity manages its Legal Entity.
• Agents own other Agents: The hierarchy of subsidiaries.

Aspect (ASP)

• A Functional Entity may govern the Aspect.
• Aspects classify other concepts, for example, the Type of a Legal Entity.
• A Classification Scheme (Arrangement concept) defines the Classifier Aspect 
• The Lifecycle Status has a Stage (an Occurrence)
• A Lifecyle State precedes another.

Specification (SP)

• The Specification may play a Role as an object.
• Its value can be expressed as a Scalar Quantity.
• Elaborate Specifications describe Derivatives, for example, the Strike Rate of an Option.
• Contractual Elements have Specifications, such as the Accrual Basis of a Loan.
• A Formula has one or more Expressions.

Arrangement (ARR)

• Arrangements define Identifiers, which in turn comply with the Arrangement.
• Arrangement defines Aspect, and the Collection may have an Arrangement.
• Various things, like Products have a Lifecycle.
• The Lifecycle has a Stage, an Occurrence.

Measure (M)

• Many Measures apply to Derivatives ( a subtype of the Situation)
• Some Bonds are Based On Economic Indicators (Inflation-Linked Bond).
• The actual number of the Measure is a Quantitaty Value.
• Measures can have dates and intervals.
• Economic indicators have a release date.

Occurrence (OCC)

• Many Occurrences apply to Contracts (their lifecycle).
• Securities may specify an Occurrence, for example, an Interest Rate Reset.
• An Aspect may classify the Occurrence.
• Calculation Occurrences have an Expression; the result of the calculation is a Scalar Quantity Value.
• A Schedule (Collection) has Occurrences.
• The Default Event applies to a Legal Person (Agent concept)

Temporal Entity (TE)

• A Person has a Date of Birth, and a Corporation has a Registration Date.
• The Consituent includes various dates that specify the terms of a contract or Financial Instrument.
• Documents have expiration dates (cards, identity documents, and offerings).
• A contract usually has an effective date.
• A Reference Interest Rate has a Tenor.

Document (DOC)

• An Identity Document identifies a Person.
• The plastic Credit Card applies to a Credit Card Account.
• A Contract Document applies to an Agreement.
• The Publisher (a Role) publishes the Publication.
• A Document has an Expiration Date.
• The Transaction is registered in the Transaction Record.

Scalar Quantity (SQ)

• The Expression has a Scalar Quantity Value as an Argument.
• The Security, a Situation, has a Closing Price.
• The Account has a Balance.
• Debt Terms, a constituent, govern the Payment of Interest.
• The Appraised Value, an Aspect, has an Estimated Value, the Market Value.

Legal Construct (LC)

• A Legal person has Contractual Capability or Regulatory Capacity.
• An Agreement confers a Contractual Right.
• De Jure Control is Conferred On a Party. 
• A Contractual Right may imply a Legal Obligation.
• A [contract] Constituent can mandate a Legal Obligation.
• The Payment event fulfills the Payment Obligation.

Reference (REF)

• The Measurement Unit has a Factor, the Unit Power Factor, which is an Aspect.
• The Address is an Index to the Physical Location.
• A Regulatory Report has a Reporting Period and is Submitted to a Regulator.
• A Financial Instrument is Dominated in a Currency.
• A Party has both a Physical and an Electronic Mail Address.

Facility (FAC)

• The Exchange has Financial Service Providers as Members.
• A Market Identifier identifies the Exchange.
• The Facility registers Registration Identifiers.
• The Exchange publishes Listing Terms and lists Securities.

Product (PRD)

• A Buyer (the customer) buys the product, and the Seller (our FI) sells it.
• The Product uses a Currency (a reference concept).
• A Catalog (or other Document) describes the Product.
• The Financial Service Provider provides the Financial Product.
• The Credit Card Account exemplifies the Credit Card Product, and the Credit Card Agreement applies to it.
• The Packaged Financial Product comprises other Financial Products.

Account (AC)

• The Financial Institution provides the Account.
• It has a Balance, which is a Scalar Value.
• An Account Identifier or Number Identifies the Account.
• Individual Transactions apply to the Account.
• The Customer, and sometimes an Escrow Agent or a Custodian, holds the Account.
• The Loan has a Corresponding Account.
• The Account has Open, Close, and other dates associated.
• The Account may exemplify a Product.

Location (LOC)

• A Person has a Place of Birth, and a Birth Certificate or Identity Document serves as Evidence of it.
• The Physical Address, a Reference, is an Index To the Physical Location.
• A Household (a role concept) has a Location.

Service (SVC)

• Things in Role provide services.
• The Account realizes the service.
• An agreement may specify services; for example, a Listing Service may list Securities and Agreements.
• A Payment Service involves a Payment Obligation, which is a Commitment.
• Some Legal Constructs apply to Services.