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ECSDA raises concerns on EDDI & suggests a solution to increase depth of issuance in EU

On 9 July 2019, ECSDA responded to the ECB public consultation on EDDI (European Distribution for Debt Instruments) initiative.

ECSDA welcomes the ECB market consultation on its possible European Distribution of Debt Instruments (EDDI) initiative. ECSDA is committed to further foster the Capital Markets Union (CMU) initiatives and underlines its commitment to increased efficiency in the issuance of debt instruments. CSDs strongly support harmonisation, particularly when enabled by market-led initiatives. Although following discussions and workshops with the ECB and based on the content of the market consultation document, ECSDA believes that several concerns need to be addressed before any decision is made with regard to EDDI. In particular, ECSDA would like to highlight the following points:

Substantiation and quantification of market demand;
Definition of scope and value proposition;
Compatibility with the ongoing and planned EU CMU and post-trade policy agenda implementation;
Need for a further investigation of the compatibility of different ECB roles;
Compatibility of the need of a “neutral” party with competitive pre-issuance and post-trade markets;
Compatibility of CMU objectives with potential weakening of the infrastructure efficiency for equity, local issuers and local investors;
Compatibility of EDDI with T2S objectives and priorities; and
Complex legal, contractual, and regulatory challenges.

Due to the above-mentioned concerns, ECSDA believes that in the shape it is currently designed, EDDI is not the appropriate solution for the problem indicated in the Eurosystem’s consultation. We recommend considering the above-mentioned concerns before any further decision on EDDI is proposed.

ECSDA believes that the path to further scalability for issuers and enhancing efficiency and depth of issuance across different EU markets is a coherent legislative and fiscal environment across EU. Efficient market practices established at national level may meet specific needs of relevant actors and support issuance of securities in the local market according to the local requirements and expectations. The tax framework applicable to debt issuance remains an element of significant divergence. Though governments use withholding tax applied to debt proceeds for their national budget, ECSDA recommends that the new European Commission identify a path in this area for further harmonisation (without imparting to this national area of responsibility, if there is no such political will). A similar reasoning is applicable to the securities law domain, where harmonisation would be a major catalyst to cross-jurisdictional issuance. Without such harmonisation, actions undertaken by commercial or public actors will not bring substantial benefits.

We are persuaded that a coherent and harmonised legislative and fiscal framework would be central to the success of the Financial Market and CMU. ECSDA will remain a proactive contributor to the dialogue with policymakers.

ECSDA’s full response can be found here.

ECSDA updates the draft CSDR Settlement Discipline Penalties Framework

On 3 July 2019, ECSDA published the updated version of the draft ECSDA CSDR Settlement Discipline Penalties Framework. The updated version of document can be found here.

The main chapters in the ECSDA Draft CSDR Settlement Discipline Penalties Framework include:

ECSDA CSDR SDR Penalties Framework key considerations
Penalties lifecycle and business days calendar
Penalties scope
Identification of the party to be penalised
Reference/static data required for penalty calculations
Penalties currencies conversion needs
Calculation methods of the cash penalties
Changes to previously calculated penalties
Cross-CSD settlement fails
Collection & Redistribution of penalties (Payment)
Reporting

Other supporting information is also provided in the framework.

Mathias Papenfuß, Brigitte Daurelle and Indars Aščuks re-elected ECSDA Chair and Vice-chairs

Gathering in Bucharest during the European Union Romanian Presidency, for the Annual General Meeting on 16 May 2019, representatives of 40 CSDs elected the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of the European Central Securities Depositories Association (ECSDA).

ECSDA Board Directors re-elected Mathias Papenfuß (Member of the Executive Board Clearstream Banking) as its Chairman, Brigitte Daurelle (CEO Euroclear Belgium, France and Nederland) and Indars Aščuks (CEO of Nasdaq CSD) as its Vice-Chairs and Georg Zinner (Managing Director of OeKB CSD) as Treasurer of the Association.

Commenting on his re-election, Mathias Papenfuß said:

“I am grateful for the continued trust ECSDA members have expressed by re-electing me as Chairman. I have been involved in ECSDA’s activities since the foundation of the association in the late 1990s and I am convinced that our association is more relevant than ever to help CSDs cope with the accelerating pace of market and technological changes and regulatory pressure.

During the previous three years, we have witnessed an unprecedented level of harmonisation of CSD activities, enhancement of their risk management and operational resilience, based on the pan-European legislation. On this basis, I expect that, during the next three years, we will see further enhancements and modernisation of CSD activities, stronger competition and more work on the efficiency of the European financial market infrastructures contributing to a deeper Capital Market Union.”

At the same meeting, ECSDA Board has established the list of Executive Committee members, as follows:
– Francisco Béjar Nuñez, Iberclear
– Helena Čacká, CSD Prague
– Rui de Matos, Interbolsa
– Mauro Dognini, Monte Titoli
– Dora Matošić, SKDD
– Niels Olsen, VP Securities
– Nikolaos Porfyris, ATHEX CSD
– Boris Tomaž Šnuderl, KDD
– Andrea Tranquillini, ID2S

More information:

Printable version of the press release (PDF)
Pictures of Mathias Papenfuß and of the other ECSDA Executive Officers
List of ECSDA Board members
List of Executive Committee members

ECSDA Board Meeting and Ordinary General Meeting in Bucharest, 16 May 2019

Euroclear ESES CSDs are granted a CSD licence under CSDR

Euroclear Belgium, Euroclear France, and Euroclear Nederland (the ‘ESES CSDs’) have been authorised by their national autorities under European regulation n° 909/2014 on central securities depositories, placing their entity under the European regulatory framework.

Please see the full release

The list of CSDs authorised under the CSDR is provided on CSD Facts page of the website.

Forward-looking thinking of European CSDs at the WFC Innovation and diversification panel in Marrakech

The WFC 2019 in April has shown us a beautiful range of European CSDs speakers. We would like to bring to your attention the materials used for presentation by some of them during the Innovation panel.

The panel was moderated by Mathias Papenfuß, Member of the Executive Board of Clearstream, ECSDA Chair, and the speakers included John Trundle, CEO at Euroclear UK&Ireland; Paolo Caniccio, CTO, LSEG, Trade CTO Monte Titoli; Thomas Zeeb, Chairman SIX Digital Exchange Ltd, SDX. Jointly they have discussed Innovation and Diversification in the field of CSDs and market infrastructure.

Please find below their presentations:

John Trundle, CEO at Euroclear UK&Ireland

Paolo Caniccio, CTO, LSEG, Trade CTO Monte Titoli

Thomas Zeeb, Chairman SIX Digital Exchange Ltd, SDX

ECSDA welcomes AIX CSD as associate member

ECSDA (European Central Securities Depositories Association) is pleased to welcome AIX CSD (Astana International Exchange Central Securities Depository), as its new associate member.

AIX CSD is based in the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) – expected to become a leading international hub for financial services for Central Asia, the Caucasus, EAEU, the Middle East, West China, Mongolia and Europe.

AIX opens up a large and promising Eurasian market to the global investment community, and countries of the continent with access to global capital markets and the possibility of attracting new investments.

On the occasion of acceptance of AIX CSD as ECSDA’s new member, Anna Kulik, Secretary General of ECSDA said “European CSDs attach particular importance to raising the overall level of safety and efficiency of the global financial network and to the high quality of the cross-jurisdictional connections between financial markets. We are pleased to be attentive to the AIX CSD demand and, through their participation in ECSDA, to share with them the leading practices in post-trade services, characterising the European financial infrastructure.”

Tim Bennett, Head of the Board of AIX CSD, commented: “AIX CSD is strongly committed to follow the international standards on post trade and to align its work with the best practices in this area. Membership of ECSDA is a clear statement we make to demonstrate this commitment. We recognize that only by following international standards we can provide investors with confidence in AIX clearing and settlement services.”

AIX

Astana International Exchange (AIX) was formed in 2017 as part of the development of the Astana International Financial Centre, AIFC. On the 14th November 2018, the first trading session on AIX has been launched by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev. AIX’s shareholders include AIFC, Goldman Sachs, Shanghai Stock Exchange, the Silk Road Fund and NASDAQ, which also provides AIXs trading platform. www.aix.kz

AIFC

The AIFC was established on the initiative of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev. In December 2015 President Nazarbayev approved the Constitutional Statute “On the Astana International Financial Centre” (AIFC). The aim of the AIFC is to establish a leading international centre for financial services. The objectives of the AIFC are to attract investment into the economy through the establishment of an attractive environment for investment in financial services, develop local capital markets, ensuring their integration with the international capital markets. www.aifc.kz

ECSDA feedback on the CMH-TF standards

The European Central Securities Depositories association (ECSDA) appreciates to possibility to contribute to further improvement of the AMI-SeCo on the Collateral Management Harmonisation Task Force (CMH-TF) draft standards.
ECSDA welcomes and supports the harmonisation efforts undertaken by the CMH-TF and we note that many of our detailed comments have been taken on board in the draft standards.
Although some of the issues that are fundamental in view of CSDs have not been incorporated in the standards yet. We would like hence to reiterate those issues that we deem most important and complement them with additional points that we deem would be useful in order to advance the work on the standards.

ESMA to recognise the UK CSD in case of no-deal Brexit

ESMA announced the 1th of March 2019 that, in a case of a no-deal Brexit scenario, the CSDs established in the UK, Euroclear UK and Ireland Limited, will be recognised as a third country CSDs to provide their services in the European Union (EU). This decision has been taken in order to allow the UK CSD to keep serving Irish securities and to avoid any negative impact on the Irish securities market. ESMA has also released its consideration about the UK CSD and its compliance with the CSDR: the Articles 25 conditions of CSDR are met by the UK CSD in the eventuality of a no-deal Brexit. According to this, it has been adopted a decision to recognise the UK CSD as a third-country CSD under the CSDR. The recognition of the decision would eventually come into effect on the date following a no-deal Brexit.

Category: Public