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PRESS RELEASE

Update of the assessment of securities settlement systems in the euro area

28 December 2007

In the context of Cyprus’s and Malta’s entry into the European Monetary Union on 1 January 2008 the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) has assessed the securities settlement systems (SSSs) of the two countries against the “Standards for the use of EU securities settlement systems in ESCB credit operations” (http://www.ecb.int/mopo/pdf/implement/assets/sssstandards1998.pdf). The assessment included the Central Depository and Central Registry (CDCR), a department of the Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE), and the Maltese securities settlement systems MaltaClear and CSD, both of which are operated by the Malta Stock Exchange (MSE).

The systems have been considered broadly compliant with the ESCB user standards and some measures are being taken by the two relevant central banks and systems that will ensure full compliance in the course of 2008. The Eurosystem will continue to monitor such progress.

Consequently, the list of eligible SSSs for Eurosystem credit operations has been updated to include, as of 1 January 2008, the CDCR in Cyprus and MaltaClear (the only system to be used for Eurosystem credit operations) in Malta, and the conditions under which they are to be used. In particular, the CDCR may be used for credit operations by counterparties of the Eurosystem in order to settle their collateral on a free-of-payment basis and only with pre-deposited securities after 2.30 p.m. local time (1.30 p.m. CET) on T-3 (settlement of credit operations takes place on T+3, if the transfer order has been delivered to the system on T before 2.30 p.m. local time (1.30 p.m. CET)), whereas MaltaClear may be used for credit operations by counterparties of the Eurosystem in order to settle their collateral on a free delivery basis until 4.00 p.m. CET with pre-deposited securities.

The complete list of eligible SSSs and the corresponding settlement procedures are set out in the table below, which replaces the list published in a press release on 31 July 2007.

Table: Settlement procedures in eligible SSSs

SSS (country) Procedures used for Eurosystem credit operations Other procedures not used by the Eurosystem
SSS of the NBB (Belgium) Free of payment (FOP) multiple-batch settlement. Delivery versus payment (DVP) multiple-batch settlement.
Euroclear Bank (Belgium) FOP real-time settlement. DVP real-time settlement in commercial and central bank money.
Clearstream Banking Frankfurt –CASCADE (Germany) FOP multiple-batch settlement (three batches a day). FOP real-time procedure. DVP real-time settlement.
Clearstream Banking Frankfurt –CREATION (Germany) FOP multiple-batch procedure (19 batches a day). DVP settlement in commercial bank money.
Iberclear - CADE (Spain) DVP real-time settlement.
Iberclear - SCLV (Spain) Pre-deposit of securities. DVP several batch settlement.
SCL Barcelona (Spain) DVP real-time settlement. DVP single-batch settlement.
SCL Bilbao (Spain) Pre-deposit of securities. DVP single-batch settlement.
SCL Valencia (Spain) Pre-deposit of securities. DVP single-batch settlement.
Euroclear France DVP real-time settlement.
NTMA (Ireland) FOP real-time settlement.
Monte Titoli (Italy) FOP real-time settlement. DVP real-time settlement. DVP multiple-batch settlement.
Clearstream Banking Luxembourg (Luxembourg) FOP multiple-batch procedure (19 batches a day). DVP settlement in commercial bank money.
Euroclear Nederland (the Netherlands) FOP real-time settlement. DVP real-time settlement.
OeKB (Austria) FOP real-time settlement plus 8 batches for netting purposes. DVP real-time settlement plus 7 batches for netting purposes.
Siteme (Portugal) DVP real-time settlement. DVP real-time settlement.
Interbolsa (Portugal) DVP real-time settlement (specifically for Eurosystem operations). Intraday batch, overnight batch, RTGS (both DVP and FOP) and FOP real-time securities transfers.
APK-RM (Finland) FOP real-time settlement. DVP real-time settlement.
BOGS (Greece) DVP real-time settlement. DVP multi-batch settlement.
KDD (Slovenia) FOP real-time settlement. DVP real-time settlement.
CDCR (Cyprus) FOP settlement. Pre-deposit of securities. DVP settlement in commercial bank money.
MaltaClear (Malta) FOP settlement. Pre-deposit of securities. DVP settlement.
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