CHAPTER III U.K. Settlement discipline
Article 6U.K.Measures to prevent settlement fails
1.Trading venues shall establish procedures that enable the confirmation of relevant details of transactions in financial instruments referred to in Article 5(1) on the date when the transaction has been executed.
2.Notwithstanding the requirement laid down in paragraph 1, investment firms authorised pursuant to Article 5 of Directive 2014/65/EU shall, where applicable, take measures to limit the number of settlement fails.
Such measures shall at least consist of arrangements between the investment firm and its professional clients as referred to in Annex II to Directive 2014/65/EU to ensure the prompt communication of an allocation of securities to the transaction, confirmation of that allocation and confirmation of the acceptance or rejection of terms in good time before the intended settlement date.
ESMA shall, in close cooperation with the members of the ESCB, issue guidelines in accordance with Article 16 of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010 on the standardised procedures and messaging protocols to be used for complying with the second subparagraph of this paragraph.
3.For each securities settlement system it operates, a CSD shall establish procedures that facilitate the settlement of transactions in financial instruments referred to in Article 5(1) on the intended settlement date with a minimum exposure of its participants to counterparty and liquidity risks and a low rate of settlement fails. It shall promote early settlement on the intended settlement date through appropriate mechanisms.
4.For each securities settlement system it operates, a CSD shall put in place measures to encourage and incentivise the timely settlement of transactions by its participants. CSDs shall require participants to settle their transactions on the intended settlement date.
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Article 7U.K.Measures to address settlement fails
1.For each securities settlement system it operates, a CSD shall establish a system that monitors settlement fails of transactions in financial instruments referred to in Article 5(1). It shall provide regular reports to the competent authority and relevant authorities, as to the number and details of settlement fails and any other relevant information, including the measures envisaged by CSDs and their participants to improve settlement efficiency. Those reports shall be made public by CSDs in an aggregated and anonymised form on an annual basis. The competent authorities shall share with ESMA any relevant information on settlement fails.
2.For each securities settlement system it operates, a CSD shall establish procedures that facilitate settlement of transactions in financial instruments referred to in Article 5(1) that are not settled on the intended settlement date. These procedures shall provide for a penalty mechanism which will serve as an effective deterrent for participants that cause settlement fails.
Before establishing the procedures referred to in the first subparagraph, a CSD shall consult the relevant trading venues and CCPs in respect of which it provides settlement services.
The penalty mechanism referred to in the first subparagraph shall include cash penalties for participants that cause settlement fails (‘failing participants’). Cash penalties shall be calculated on a daily basis for each business day that a transaction fails to be settled after its intended settlement date until the end of a buy-in process referred to in paragraph 3, but no longer than the actual settlement day. The cash penalties shall not be configured as a revenue source for the CSD.
3.Without prejudice to the penalty mechanism referred to in paragraph 2 and the right to bilaterally cancel the transaction, where a failing participant does not deliver the financial instruments referred to in Article 5(1) to the receiving participant within 4 business days after the intended settlement date (‘extension period’) a buy-in process shall be initiated whereby those instruments shall be available for settlement and delivered to the receiving participant within an appropriate time-frame.
Where the transaction relates to a financial instrument traded on an SME growth market the extension period shall be 15 days unless the SME growth market decides to apply a shorter period.
4.The following exemptions from the requirement referred to in paragraph 3 shall apply:
(a)based on asset type and liquidity of the financial instruments concerned, the extension period may be increased from four business days up to a maximum of seven business days where a shorter extension period would affect the smooth and orderly functioning of the financial markets concerned;
(b)for operations composed of several transactions including securities repurchase or lending agreements, the buy-in process referred to in paragraph 3 shall not apply where the timeframe of those operations is sufficiently short and renders the buy-in process ineffective.
5.Without prejudice to paragraph 7, the exemptions referred to in paragraph 4 shall not apply in relation to transactions for shares where those transactions are cleared by a CCP.
6.Without prejudice to the penalty mechanism referred to in paragraph 2, where the price of the shares agreed at the time of the trade is higher than the price paid for the execution of the buy-in, the corresponding difference shall be paid to the receiving participant by the failing participant no later than on the second business day after the financial instruments have been delivered following the buy-in.
7.If the buy-in fails or is not possible, the receiving participant can choose to be paid cash compensation or to defer the execution of the buy-in to an appropriate later date (‘deferral period’). If the relevant financial instruments are not delivered to the receiving participant at the end of the deferral period, cash compensation shall be paid.
Cash compensation shall be paid to the receiving participant no later than on the second business day after the end of either the buy-in process referred to in paragraph 3 or the deferral period, where the deferral period was chosen.
8.The failing participant shall reimburse the entity that executes the buy-in for all amounts paid in accordance with paragraphs 3, 4 and 5, including any execution fees resulting from the buy-in. Such fees shall be clearly disclosed to the participants.
9.CSDs, CCPs and trading venues shall establish procedures that enable them to suspend in consultation with their respective competent authorities, any participant that fails consistently and systematically to deliver the financial instruments referred to in Article 5(1) on the intended settlement date and to disclose to the public its identity only after giving that participant the opportunity to submit its observations and provided that the competent authorities of the CSDs, CCPs and trading venues, and of that participant have been duly informed. In addition to consulting before any suspension, CSDs, CCPs and trading venues shall notify, without delay, the respective competent authorities of the suspension of a participant. The competent authority shall immediately inform the relevant authorities of the suspension of a participant.
Public disclosure of suspensions shall not contain personal data within the meaning of point (a) of Article 2 of Directive 95/46/EC.
10.Paragraphs 2 to 9 shall apply to all transactions of the financial instruments referred to in Article 5(1) which are admitted to trading or traded on a trading venue or cleared by a CCP as follows:
(a)for transactions cleared by a CCP, the CCP shall be the entity that executes the buy-in according to paragraphs 3 to 8;
(b)for transactions not cleared by a CCP but executed on a trading venue, the trading venue shall include in its internal rules an obligation for its members and its participants to apply the measures referred to in paragraphs 3 to 8;
(c)for all transactions other than those referred to in points (a) and (b) of this subparagraph, CSDs shall include in their internal rules an obligation for their participants to be subject to the measures referred to in paragraphs 3 to 8.
A CSD shall provide the necessary settlement information to CCPs and trading venues to enable them to fulfil their obligations under this paragraph.
Without prejudice to points (a), (b) and (c) of the first subparagraph, CSDs may monitor the execution of buy-ins referred to in those points with respect to multiple settlement instructions, on the same financial instruments and with the same date of expiry of the execution period, with the aim of minimising the number of buy-ins to be executed and thus the impact on the prices of the relevant financial instruments.
11.Paragraphs 2 to 9 shall not apply to failing participants which are CCPs.
12.Paragraphs 2 to 9 shall not apply if insolvency proceedings are opened against the failing participant.
13.This Article shall not apply where the principal venue for the trading of shares is located in a third country. The location of the principal venue for the trading of shares shall be determined in accordance with Article 16 of Regulation (EU) No 236/2012.
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Article 8U.K.Enforcement
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