On 12 January 2009, the European Commission (Commission) initiated proceedings against Standard & Poor (S&P) over allegations of abuse of a dominant position with respect to use of International Securities Identification Numbers (ISINs). The investigation follows a complaint by several associations representing financial institutions. ISINs provide unique cross-border identification for securities, such as shares and bonds. S&P runs the US National Numbering Agency (NNA) on behalf of the American Bankers Association. US ISINs are used for the daily business of financial institutions in the EU as well as in the US. The Commission is investigating whether S&P may be abusing their monopoly position as the US NNA, by requiring EU financial institutions to pay licensing fees for services they do not use, such as the ISIN database. S&P has yet to put forward a full defence to the concerns that have been raised and the issue is clearly far from straightforward. It is likely therefore to be some time before the Commission reaches any definitive conclusion on the matter.