Abstract

This article describes the fifteen fundamental concepts of the Financial Industry Business Data Model.

• For Data Architects, the concepts are key to understanding, scoping, and customizing FIB-DM.
• Business Users and Subject Matter Experts find FIB Concept Maps less complex and easier to work with than data model diagrams and ontology graphs.
• Ontologists new to the FIBO face the challenges as the data modeler and can easily leverage this article for their FIBO work.

The business concepts, with their icons, shorthand, definitions, and overview diagrams, are the central theme of FIB-DM training and education PowerPoints, Videos, and on-site classes.

FIB-DM / FIBO on one page

The conceptual diagram with the Aspect (ASP) on top resembles a house.

At the center stands the Situation (SIT), which relates to a Role (R) played by an Agent (A). In a Loan Agreement, for example, a person plays the Role of the borrower. Like the principal, various Scalar Values (SV) pertain to the Loan. Some values have a Specification (SP); the Loan to Value Ratio, for example, is an expression. The Loan has a payment schedule defined in Constituent (CST). An Account (ACT) keeps track of the Loan balance and payments.

The Temporal Element (TE) holds dates about the Account and the Person and Loan Agreement. The Account has a number and a Designation (D) in the FIBO and FIB-DM. Examples of Documents (DOC) are the identification (e.g., a Driver’s License) of the person taking out the loan. The signed paper copy of the Loan Agreement is also a Document. The Aspect (ASP) classifies various other concepts in the FIBO and its data model. Arrangements define a set of Aspects. Occurrences (OCC) are also known as events; the default, for example, is a loan event. The Collection (COL) group Constituents. For example, our Loan ends up in a Pool for securitization. At the bottom of the diagram, “in the basement,” are the less frequently used concepts: Product (PRD), Service (SVC), Legal Construct (LC), Location (LOC), and Facility (FAC).

Significance for data model and ontology

A gigantic, 3075-entity data model is hard to comprehend, even for senior data modelers. The FIB-DM education course and data model resources teach the model from two angles: The 220 packages (a.k.a subject areas) and this structural approach examining the deep entity hierarchies.

All concepts are Ultimate Supertype Entities in the FIBO Data Model. In other words, they are not subtypes (a.k.a. inheritance or generalization) of any other data model entity. They are also the 15 ultimate supertypes with the most subtypes—the most extensive hierarchies. The concept entities also have the most relationships with Associative Entities, which connects them to other model entities. The first concept, the Situation (SIT), has 11 hierarchy levels and a total of 745 subtypes that connect to 792 other data model entities.

Once the data modeler is familiar with the concepts and associative entity design patterns, she can easily understand an unfamiliar entity and navigate or scope its related content.

Many FIBO ontologists prefer FIB-DM diagrams to graphs because data modeling tools are more potent than ontology editors.
An isomorphism exists between a subset of Ontology Web Language (OWL) and the Entity-Relationship Model (ERM). FIB-DM is an ontology-derived data model, and the patented (US120389039) process fully transforms FIBO classes, properties, and class restrictions.

Hence, the concept approach fully applies to studying the FIBO, and the data model terminology translates to RDF/OWL: FIB-DM base entities derive from FIBO classes, associative entities from object properties, and packages from ontologies. The Situation (S) concept is a FIBO class (cmns-pts:Situation), which is only a subclass of the Thing.

History and version

The FIB-DM July version, derived from FIBO 2024/Q2, is the basis for the concept analysis and counts of subtypes and associations.

In 2023, the Object Management Group (OMG) released the Commons Ontology Library in close collaboration with the EDM Council. Commons is an upper ontology that defines fundamental classes for agents and parties, classifications, codes, measures, quantities, and documents. The FIBO imports the Commons ontology, and in significant refactoring, OMG Commons replaced generic FIBO Foundation classes and properties.

More than a mere renaming, OMG Commons is a new conceptualization and redesign of the FIBO: 63 classes and 50 object properties are deprecated in the latest version. This means the derived data model entities are no longer used and will disappear from the data model and ontology in future releases. The Situation (SIT), Constituent (CST), Designation (D), Collection (COL), and Aspect (ASP) are new concepts and new ultimate supertypes in the data model. The Reference concept is deprecated and its 235 subtypes have moved to Designation and other concepts.

Concept Definitions and descriptions

The table has five rows for each concept. The first column shows the concept icon, its 1-3 letter shorthand, name, and code in the data model. The second and third columns describe facets of concept:

1. The data model package (with a link to the package diagram) and FIBO definition.
2. Business Context is a more practical description of the concept.
3. Hierarchy lists the most important subtypes of the concept.
4. Associations describe the most frequent relations to other entities.
5. The history of the concept before OMG Commons – whether the concept is new, unchanged, renamed, or replaces a deprecated concept.

#	Icon, shorthand, name, and code	Facet	Definition and Description
1		OMG Commons Parties and Situations	Setting, state of being, or relationship that is relatively stable for some period of time.
	SIT	Business Context	The Situation is the largest concept in the FIBO and data model. The word in this context means a state or relationship that Agents and Parties have agreed on.
	Situation	Hierarchy	The Situation is the largest concept in the FIBO and data model. In this context, the word means a state or relationship that Agents and Parties have agreed on.
	cmns-pts:Situation	Associations	Most associations support the definitions of Financial Instruments: has Underlier, has Leg, issues, has Dividend… Situation subtypes have many “classifies” associations to Aspects, Designations, and Products. The association “has Contractual Element” breaks down the contract.
		New	The Situation is a “super concept” on top of previously ultimate supertypes of Agreement, Commitment, and Ownership.
2		OMG Commons Roles and Compositions	Named specific behavior of something participating in a particular context
	R	Business Context	The most significant concept in the data model has 745 subtypes. Agreement and Commitment with their subtypes of Contracts, Debt, Guaranties, and Payment Obligations are Situations. Other subtypes are the FIBO concept of Ownership and control and the Membership supertype for Employment. Finally, Financial Instruments, Trade, and Transactions are Situations.
	Role	Hierarchy	With 333 subtype entities, the thing in Role forms the most extensive hierarchy in the Financial Industry Business Data Model. •Agent in Role is Client, Contract/Controlling/Reporting Party, Obligor, and Manager. •Assets are things of value in the context of Financial Assets or Collateral. •Functional Entity has rich Government and (Financial) Service Providers taxonomies. •Pool and Basket Constituents model indices and pooled investments. •Facilities and Venues cover financial marketplaces.
	cmns-rlcmp:Role	Associations	The Role has almost 500 associations with other FIBO Data Model entities: •As a Services Provider and Functional entity, the TIR provides Products and Services. •It is a Party in Role or Contract Party in Agreements. •The TIR issues Documents and, as a Registry or Agency, issues Identifiers. •The Identifiers, in turn, identify other Functional Entities or Service Providers.
		Renamed	The Role is central to the House of Finance. In retail banking and investment services, a person – one record in Agent – can be a client of the Financial Institution (FI) and obligor, creditor, guarantor, beneficiary, or investor party to agreements. Furthermore, an employee of the FI can fulfill responsibilities like a relationship manager, corporate officer, or internal auditor. The person may be an employee or agent for a relevant external entity regulating the FI or providing services. For organizations and legal entities, the associations between agent roles have become many-to-many. The FI creates many Legal Entities to provide financial services. Likewise, the legal entity may support several functional roles. The Role is not limited to Legal Persons and Organizations. A financial instrument, for example, can be an Underlier for a derivative or constituent in a basket or index. As a Regulatory Agency, the Role governs a jurisdiction and subtype of Location. The Thing in Role has the identity of an Agent; it issues documents. The Financial Institution provides Products and services and is a party to Agreements.
3		OMG Commons Collections	Component of a collection or combination of things
	CST	Business Context	As the OMG definition states, the Constituent works in tandem with the Collection. In other words, the Collection is the list, and the constituent is a list item. The pattern is widely used to model FIBO Securities and Derivatives.
	Constituent	Hierarchy	The Role originates from fibo-fnd-pty-rl:ThingInRole, which has been deprecated.
	cmns-col:Constituent	Associations	The Constituents and subtypes have 276 associations; most are specializations of Collections like Baskets and Pools with the “has Constituent” associative entity. Another important pattern is Lifecycles, a subtype of Aspect. Lifecycle stages and events comprise Constituents. A Designation subtype Identifier may identify the constituent. Situation subtypes of Agreement often comprise of Constituents.
		New	The FIBO had a Collection Constituent, a supertype for securities, pools, and baskets. However, the OMG Commons Constituent is much broader in scope and significance for the data model.
4		OMG Commons Designators	Representation for something, or for a conceptualization thereof, that denotes it in a domain or subject.
	D	Business Context	Codes, IDs, and names are Designations. Typical examples are ZIP Codes, Ticker Symbols, Bank Account Identifiers, Transaction IDs, Passport and Driver’s License numbers, a person or organization’s name.
	Designation	Hierarchy	Identifiers comprise the majority of Designation subtypes; hence, ID is their icon. Important Identifiers are a Person’s or Business Tax Registry Identifiers. Various Financial Instrument Identifiers are also Designations. Code Elements, like Industry Classifications and Address Elements, are Designations.
	cmns-dsg:Designation	Associations	Identifies, defines, comprises, and registers are among the 223 associations that connect how and where the Designation is used.
		New	Identifiers used to be subtypes of the now deprecated Reference Concept.
5		OMG Commons Collections	Grouping of things (may be zero) that have some shared significance
	COL	Business Context	We can view the Collection as a list, and Constituents are the list’s members.
	Collection	Hierarchy	The Constituent concept has 111 subtypes: Contractual Elements, Dated Collection Constituents, and Baskets. For now, contractual elements model securities concepts such as settlement and derivative terms and provisions. Notably, the Contractual Element and Contractual Commitment subtypes of Constituent have already moved to the FIBO Foundation. Hence, we can expect them to be reused to detail Banking Products.
	cmns-col:Collection	Associations	There are 118 subtypes of Collection, mainly paired with Constituent subtypes: Code Sets for Industry Classifications, Business Identifiers, and Addresses.Structured Collections include a weight or date, for example, in Baskets or Schedules.
		New
6		OMG Commons Classifiers	Characteristic or feature that can be used to dimensionalize, filter, or subset something
	ASP	Business Context	Most of the 206 Collection associations are parent to the Constituent: has Constituent, applies To, has Member. Arrangements, Aspects, and Documents apply to the Collection.A Situation (Agreement/Contract) may have a Schedule. Derivatives may have a Basket or Pool and an Underlier.
	Aspect	Hierarchy	Classifiers comprise the bulk of Aspect subtypes.
	cmns-cls:Aspect	Associations	Classifiers comprise the bulk of Aspect subtypes: Industry Sectors, Financial Instrument Classifiers, Lifecycle Stages, and Occurrence Kinds (a.k.a. event types). FIBO Foundation Address Components also became subtypes of the Aspect.
		New	Classifiers had been subtypes of the now deprecated FIBO Arrangement.
7		OMG Commons Documents	Explicit requirement or set of requirements to be satisfied by something, such as a product, material, model, process or system
	SP	Business Context	Most Specifications are Expressions, but the concept also includes Formulas and Technical Specification Documents. The CODT patent contains a Specification. Examples of Expressions are percentages, interest, exchange and market rates. Financial Instruments and Economic Indicators have Expressions for volatility, Mean, and average.
	Specification	Hierarchy	Most Specifications are Expressions, but the concept also includes subtypes for Technical Specification Documents and Formulas.
	cmns-doc:Specification	Associations	184 Associations precisely specify (hence the concept name) Collections and their Constituents, Measures, Occurrences, Roles, Scalar Quantities, and Specifications (here Financial Instruments).
		New	The Expression was a standalone ultimate supertype pre-OMG.
8		OMG Commons Dates and Times	Time interval or instant
	TE	Business Context	Aspects classifies 200 other concept subtypes in the FIBO and its data model. Some associations are role-named to comprise, define, apply to, or exemplify.
	Temporal Entity	Hierarchy	Dates, Time, Periods, and Intervals comprise 56 subtypes breaking down the Temporal Entity.
		Associations	Many entities in FIB-DM have temporal information. Duration, Start/End Time/Date, As of Date, Contact Duration, and Reference Periods are among the 182 associations.
		Replaces	The Temporal Entity concept refers to a point in time (Date, Datetime, Timestamp) or an interval (duration, period).
9		OMG Commons Parties and Situations	Something autonomous that can adapt to and interact with its environment
	A	Business Context	While temporal entities have existed in the FIBO and FIB-DM, adopting the OMG Commons unifies them under a common concept.
	Agent	Hierarchy	91 subtypes define Legal Entity and Organization. Person, Polity (e.g., a government entity), and various registered business forms are Legal Entities. Organizations break down a corporation into smaller units for management purposes. Note that some Organizations may have or be (multiple inheritance) a corresponding Legal Entity.
	cmns-pts:Agent	Associations	The Agent plays a Role. For example, a natural person may be an employee, borrower, or guarantor. The “has Part” association models Legal Entity and Organization hierarchies. 171 associations tie the Agent to other FIB-DM entities: The Designation identifies the Agent. Government entities govern, Partnerships have General Partners, organizations have members, etc.
		Renamed	The OMG Commons Agent replaces the deprecated FIBO Autonomous Agent.
10		OMG Commons Quantities and Units	Property of a phenomenon, body, or substance, where the property has a magnitude that can be expressed by means of a number and a reference
	SQ	Business Context	Prices and Values are Scalar Quantities in the FIBO and FIB-DM.
	Scalar Quantity	Hierarchy	The concept is a pair of two ultimate supertypes, the Scalar Quantity and its Quantity Value. Monetary Amounts (various Prices and Values) dominate the 48 subtypes. Interest, Rates, and other numeric values are less common in the model.
	cmns-qtu:ScalarQuantity	Associations	138 associations connect the Scalar Quantity Value to entities with a price or value. The associations are role-named as Argument applies To, different Prices, has Amount, and Underliers.
		Replaces	The Scalar Quantity unifies the deprecated FIBO Foundation Quantity Value and Price ultimate supertypes.
11		OMG Commons Documents	Unitary expression of some realization of an intellectual or artistic work
	DOC	Business Context	The OMG Document is the actual paper, plastic card, or PDF file related to a Situation (banking agreement), Designation (the Passport or Driver’s License number), Trade Confirmation, Account Statement, etc.
	Document	Hierarchy	The Agent defines an entity, and the related concept of Role describes what the entity does. For example, in retail banking and investment services, a person—one record in Agent—can be a client of the Financial Institution (FI) and an obligor, creditor, guarantor, beneficiary, or investor party to agreements. Likewise, a Legal Entity can fulfill many Roles. A Financial Institution using FIB-DM creates records in Agent subtypes for all its subsidiaries and defines the hierarchy with Ownership associations. AI systems can also be agents, instantiated as OMG Commons Software Agent and FIBO Foundation Automated System.
	cmns-doc:Document	Associations	The subtypes comprise Legal Documents, Certificates, Records, Publications, and Reports. They may be divided into Birth/Death Certificates, Passports, Insurance Policies, Statements, and plastic Debit/Credit Cards.
		Replaces	The OMG Commons Document replaces the deprecated FIBO Foundation Arrangement Document.
12		FIBO Foundation Occurrences	Happening of an Occurrence Kind, i.e., an event
	OCC	Business Context	As the OMG definition states, Business users often use the term Event for this concept.
	Occurence	Hierarchy	Life Cycle, Credit, and Triggering Events are major subtypes of Occurrence. Other types are [Corporate Actions] and Payments.
	fibo-fnd-dt-oc:Occurrence	Associations	The Occurrence applies To other concepts. A Life Cycle has a Stage of an Occurrence subtype.
		Unchanged	Occurrence
13		OMG Commons Quantities and Units	Amount or degree of something; the dimensions, capacity, or amount of something ascertained by measuring
	M	Business Context	The Document is Evidence For or applies to Occurrences, Agreements, Designations, Licenses, and other concepts in the FIBO and the data model.
	Measure	Hierarchy	Currently, most 78 measures are Statistical, Volatilities, Weighted Averages, and Economic Indicators.
	cmns-qtu:Measure	Associations	Typically, the “has Argument” association ties the Measure to the index or economic indicator.
		Replaces	The OMG Measure replaces the deprecated ultimate supertype in Foundation Utilities.
14		OMG Commons Collections	Systematic plan, manner, or method for making, doing, achieving, or organizing something
	ARR	Business Context	Some Code Sets and Designations may also have an Arrangement, typically if the code contains some semantics. For example, the US Zip Code Scheme contains information about the postal area.
	Arrangement	Hierarchy	We measure things for the Financial Market, Instruments, or the economy. Examples are Volatility, Spreads, GDP, and the Unemployment Rate.
	cmns-col:Arrangement	Associations	An Arrangement may define a Designation, and a Constituent may comprise an Arrangement.
		Replace	The OMG Measure replaces the deprecated ultimate supertype in Foundation Utilities.
15		FIBO FBC Clients And Accounts	A container for records associated with a business arrangement for regular dealings or services (such as personal or professional services, banking)
	ACT	Business Context	General ledgers, savings, and investment accounts are typical retail examples. A Situation subtype holds the Agreement in FIB-DM databases and the ontology, and the linked account records transactions and balances.
	Accout	Hierarchy	Only 17 subtypes of Credit/Debit Cards, Deposits, Loans, and Brokerage accounts exist.
	fibo-fbc-pas-caa:Account	Associations	The Account has a Date for opening and closing (Temporal Entity) and a number (Designation). Various Agreements apply to the account.
		Unchanged
16		FIBO Foundation Legal Capacity	Something which is conferred by way of law or contract, such as a right.
	LC	Business Context	All laws and regulations are modeled on Legal Constructs and related entities.
	Legal Construct	Hierarchy	Significant Arrangements in the 59 subtypes are Code Sets, Classification, and Identification Schemes.
	fibo-fnd-law-lcap:LegalConstruct	Associations	For example, regulatory authorities issue regulations comprising legal constructs. Agreements may confer Legal Constructs, and Services and Products may have Restrictions. A Legal Construct may imply, mandate, or apply to other Legal Constructs.
		Unchanged
17		LCC Country Representation	Anything that can be defined as the answer to a question of the form, Where is…?
	LOC	Business Context	Physical and virtual places.
	Location	Hierarchy	Legal Constructs are divided into Duties to pay or fulfill contractual obligations, Regulations, Claims, Securities Restrictions, and Legal Capacity. The Signatory Capacity defines who can sign on behalf of a Legal Person. Borrowing Capacity is the amount you can borrow under a credit facility.
	lcc-cr:Location	Associations	A Designation may identify a Location. (e.g. ISO Country Codes), and a Government Body (Agent concept) governs the Location. Locations can comprise other Locations, for example, Country, State, County.
		Unchanged
18		FIBO Foundation Places	Something established to serve a particular purpose, make some course of action or operation easier or provide some capability or service.
	FAC	Business Context	Exchanges for Securities trading are Facilities in FIBO. Note that the Credit Facility is a Situation.
	Facility	Hierarchy	The Exchange is the primary subtype of Facility, breaking down further into various financial markets and systems. The Office of a Foreign Bank is also a subtype. However, the agent and role of the foreign bank’s legal entity and branch should cover everything.
	fibo-fnd-plc-fac:Facility	Associations	The Aspect may classify a Facility, and the above Agent and Role may manage it.
		Unchanged
19		FIBO Foundation Products and Services	A commercially distributed good that is (1) tangible property, (2) the output or result of a fabrication, manufacturing, or production process, or (3) something that passes through a distribution channel before being consumed or used.
	PRD	Business Context	The product is the standardized offering of accounts, loans, and services.
	Product	Hierarchy	Geopolitical Entities are physical Locations with a political identity, such as Country, Subdivision, Municipality, or Tribal Area. Physical Locations are Housing Units, Postcodes, Statistical Areas, or any other Populated Places. Notional Places are abstract locations, and Virtual Locations are on the net, e.g., URLs, and E-Mail addresses.
	fibo-fnd-pas-pas:Product	Associations	Service Providers (a Role) provide Products and Agreements to realize the Product. The Contract is to buy the Product and may specify details and conditions, and an Account may implement it. Documents characterize or specify the Product. A Packaged Product comprises other Products.
		Unchanged
20		FIBO Foundation Products and Services	A type of economic activity that is intangible is not stored and does not result in ownership; a service is consumed at the point of sale.
	SVC	Business Context	Investment management is an example of a Financial Service.
	Service	Hierarchy	Subtypes of Services are Regulatory, Registration, and Financial Services. The major financial services are Banking, Investment, Insurance, and Capital Market.
	fibo-fnd-pas-pas:Service	Associations	The most significant subtypes are Contractual and Financial Products. For example, Time Deposits are an example of an Account Product, while Packaged Products are both Financial and Contractual Products.
		Unchanged

FIB-DM entities and number of subtypes

The table lists FIB-DM entities sorted by the number of their subtypes. You can re-create a list report of PowerDesigner inheritances, ERWin subtypes, or the equivalent in your data modeling tool. Two notes:

First, Occurrence and Time are two ultimate subtypes. There is no, and there shouldn’t be, a common supertype for the entities.

Second, I omit Language and Convention from the Fundamental Business Concepts in favor of Account. This is a subjective assessment of its business significance.