2011/789/EU: Decision of the European Central Bank of 16 November 2011 establishing detailed rules and procedures for implementing the eligibility criteria for central securities depositories to access TARGET2-Securities services (ECB/2011/20)

For the purposes of this Decision: (1) ‘assessment report’ means written documentation containing: (a) a report drawn up by the relevant competent authorities assessing a CSD’s compliance with CSD access criterion 2; and (b) a CSD self-assessment of its compliance with CSD access criteria 1, 3, 4 and 5; (2) ‘central bank (CB)’ means the European Central Bank, the national central banks (NCBs) of the Member States whose currency is the euro, the NCBs of the Member States whose currency is not the euro (hereinafter ‘non-euro area NCBs’), any European Economic Area (EEA) central bank or relevant competent authority (hereinafter ‘EEA central bank’) and any central bank or relevant competent authority of a country outside the EEA (hereinafter ‘other central bank’), where the currency of such a non-euro area NCB, EEA or other central bank is considered eligible in accordance with Article 18 of Guideline ECB/2010/2; (3) ‘CSD access criterion 1’ means the criterion laid down in Article 15(1)(a) of Guideline ECB/2010/2, i.e. that CSDs are eligible for access to T2S services provided that they have been notified to the European Securities and Markets Authority pursuant to Article 10 of Directive 98/26/EC or, in the case of a CSD from a non-EEA country, they operate under a legal and regulatory framework that is equivalent to that in force in the Union; (4) ‘CSD access criterion 2’ means the criterion laid down in Article 15(1)(b) of Guideline ECB/2010/2, i.e. that CSDs are eligible for access to T2S services provided that they have been positively assessed by the competent authorities against the European System of Central Banks/Committee of European Securities Regulators Recommendations for Securities Settlement Systems (hereinafter the ‘ESCB/CESR recommendations’) ; (5) ‘CSD access criterion 3’ means the criterion laid down in Article 15(1)(c) of Guideline ECB/2010/2, i.e. that CSDs are eligible for access to T2S services provided that they make each security/International Securities Identification Number for which they are an issuer CSD, or technical issuer CSD, available to other CSDs in T2S upon request; (6) ‘CSD access criterion 4’ means the criterion laid down in Article 15(1)(d) of Guideline ECB/2010/2, i.e. that CSDs are eligible for access to T2S services provided that they commit to offer to other CSDs in T2S basic custody service on a non-discriminatory basis; (7) ‘CSD access criterion 5’ means the criterion laid down in Article 15(1)(e) of Guideline ECB/2010/2, i.e. that CSDs are eligible for access to T2S services provided that they commit towards other CSDs in T2S to carry out their central bank money settlement in T2S if the currency is available in T2S; (8) ‘relevant competent authorities’ means the CBs and the regulators with oversight and/or supervisory competence over a specific CSD and responsible for assessing CSDs against applicable recognised standards; (9) ‘directly connected party’ means a T2S Party with a technical facility allowing it to access T2S and use its securities settlement services without the need for a CSD to act as a technical interface; (10) ‘T2S Party’ means a legal entity or, in some markets, an individual, that has a contractual relationship with a CSD in T2S for the processing of its settlement-related activities in T2S, and does not necessarily hold a securities account with the CSD; (11) ‘T2S Programme Board’ means the Eurosystem management body established pursuant to Decision ECB/2009/6, as defined in Article 2 of Guideline ECB/2010/2, or its successor; (12) ‘T2S Advisory Group (AG)’ means the forum defined in Article 7 of Guideline ECB/2010/2; (13) ‘Currency Participation Agreement (CPA)’ means an agreement to be entered into by the Eurosystem and a non-euro area NCB, or an authority responsible for a currency other than the euro, for the purpose of settling securities transaction in central bank money in currencies other than the euro.

1 The five criteria determining the eligibility of CSDs to access T2S services laid down in Article 15 of Guideline ECB/2010/2 (hereinafter the ‘five CSD access criteria’) shall be implemented in accordance with the procedures laid down in Articles 3 to 5 of this Decision and the rules in the Annex.

2 This Decision shall not apply to directly connected parties having a legal relationship with the CSDs.

1 To apply for T2S services, a CSD shall submit: (a) an application to the Governing Council; and (b) at the time of its migration to T2S, an assessment report.

2 The assessment report shall provide evidence that the CSD complies with the five CSD access criteria at the time of its migration to T2S, and state the degree of implementation of each CSD access criterion according to the following categories: compliant, partly compliant and not applicable, and shall set out the CSD’s reasons, explanations and relevant evidence.

3 The T2S Programme Board shall submit a proposal to the Governing Council, based on the abovementioned documentation, on a CSD’s application to access T2S services. To prepare its proposal, the T2S Programme Board may request clarifications from or submit questions to the applying CSD.

4 Following submission of the proposal by the T2S Programme Board, the Governing Council shall make a decision on a CSD’s application and communicate it in writing to that CSD no later than 2 months following: (a) the date of receipt of the application; or (b) the date of receipt of the reply to any request for clarifications or submission of questions by the T2S Programme Board under paragraph 3. Where the Governing Council rejects an application, it shall give reasons for doing so.

1 A CSD may submit a request for a derogation from CSD access criterion 5 based on its specific operational or technical situation.

2 For a derogation request to be assessed, the CSD shall submit a request to the T2S Programme Board and provide evidence of the following: (a) the derogation is for a very limited amount of settlement volume as a proportion of the total average daily delivery-versus-payment instructions received over a month at the CSD, and the cost of settling these operations in T2S would be excessive for the CSD; (b) the CSD has set technical and operational safeguards ensuring that the derogation will remain within the threshold set out in point (a); (c) the CSD has made every effort to meet CSD access criterion 5.

3 Following receipt of such request for a derogation: (a) the T2S Programme Board shall submit the CSD’s request and its pre-assessment to the T2S Advisory Group; (b) the T2S Advisory Group shall provide the T2S Programme Board with advice on the request without delay and in due time for it to be considered; (c) following receipt of advice from the T2S Advisory Group, the T2S Programme Board shall prepare a final assessment and submit it, together with the entire set of documents, to the Governing Council; (d) the Governing Council shall issue a reasoned decision on the request for a derogation; (e) the T2S Programme Board shall inform the CSD and the T2S Advisory Group in writing of the Governing Council’s reasoned decision.

4 A CSD designated by a CB that has signed a CPA and has opted for settlement of its monetary policy transactions in central bank money outside T2S, shall submit a request for a derogation in order to be able to settle such monetary policy transactions in central bank money outside T2S. In such case, a derogation shall be granted provided that: (a) the Eurosystem has received all relevant information on the technical functioning of such settlement; and (b) such settlement does not require changes to or negatively affect T2S functionality. The designating CB should be invited to provide its opinion on such request for a derogation.

5 A CSD with a derogation shall provide a monthly report to the T2S Programme Board proving that it continues to comply with the derogation, including the agreed threshold set out in paragraph 2(a). A CSD with a derogation pursuant to paragraph 4 shall provide a monthly report to the T2S Programme Board on the situation.

6 Where a CSD with a derogation consistently exceeds the agreed threshold set out in paragraph 2(a) within a 6-month period, the Governing Council shall withdraw the derogation due to non-compliance with CSD access criterion 5 and the T2S Programme Board shall notify the CSD accordingly.

7 Following the withdrawal of a derogation, a CSD may submit a new request for a derogation in accordance with the procedure laid down in this Article.

8 Where there is a crisis situation that could impact the financial stability of a country or the relevant CB’s task to safeguard the integrity of its currency and has led the CB of the country concerned to move to a contingency type settlement as part of its crisis management plan, a CSD designated by that CB shall submit a request to the T2S Programme Board for a temporary derogation from CSD access criterion 5, and may temporarily carry out settlement by other means. The Governing Council shall issue a reasoned decision on such request taking into account the relevant CB’s opinion on the situation warranting the temporary derogation from CSD access criterion 5. The relevant CB shall provide the T2S Programme Board with a report, at least on a monthly basis, on its evaluation of the situation.

1 A CSD with access to T2S services shall comply, after it has migrated to T2S, with the five CSD access criteria on an ongoing basis and shall: (a) ensure, in particular, through a reliable self-assessment conducted each year and supported by relevant documentation that it continues to comply with CSD access criteria 1, 3, 4 and 5. The self-assessment shall be accompanied by the most recent assessment by the relevant competent authorities of the CSD’s compliance with criterion 2; (b) promptly provide the T2S Programme Board with the most recent regular or ad hoc assessment by the relevant competent authorities of its compliance with CSD access criterion 2; (c) request a new assessment by the relevant competent authorities of its compliance with CSD access criterion 2 in the event of material changes to the CSD’s system; (d) notify the T2S Programme Board where a relevant competent authority assessment or a self-assessment has established non-compliance with any of the five CSD access criteria; (e) following a request from the T2S Programme Board, provide an assessment report demonstrating that the CSD still complies with the five CSD access criteria.

2 With the exception of CSD access criterion 2, the T2S Programme Board may carry out its own evaluation and monitor compliance with the five CSD access criteria or request information from a CSD. Where the T2S Programme Board decides that a CSD does not comply with one of the five CSD access criteria, it shall initiate the procedure laid down in the contracts with the CSDs pursuant to Article 16 of Guideline ECB/2010/2.

This Decision shall enter into force on the day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.