Market Standards
An efficient single European market for securities requires harmonised market practices for clearing, settlement and asset servicing. The Market Standards for Corporate Actions Processing and for General meetings are important tools in the required harmonisation process.
In its first report of 2001 the Giovannini Group of experts chaired by the European Commission identified and analysed obstacles to an efficient single European market for securities. One of the identified Barriers, number 3, refers to Differences in national rules relating to corporate actions, beneficial ownership and custody, and was given follow-up by the Corporate Action Joint Working Group and the General Meetings Joint Working Group. These groups drafted Market Standards: the market practices as they should be used in all European countries.
Acceptance
The Market Standards for Corporate Actions Processing were endorsed by all relevant stakeholder associations in summer 2009 and are in the process of implementation. They cover the most common and complex corporate actions, both on stocks (e.g. dividend payments, early redemptions, stock splits) and on flows (e.g. transformations). Based on implementation experience, the Market Standards for Corporate Actions Processingwere revised in 2012.
The Market Standards for General Meetings were endorsed by all relevant stakeholder associations in summer 2010 and are currently subject to a thorough gap analysis to compare them to the actual market practices and to the legal and regulatory requirements that exist in the different European countries.
Governance
The responsibility for the actual implementation of these two sets of standards resides at national level with the Market Implementation Groups (MIGs). The MIGs meet twice/year at European level to exchange experience and undergo peer review. They are made up of market experts representing all the parties involved in the securities’ value chain: issuers, market infrastructures for trading, clearing and settlement, intermediaries (i.e. custodian banks), investors. The MIG in The Netherlands (DuMIG) is facilitated and coordinated by DACSI.
An all-inclusive industry body (the Broad Stakeholder Group) steers, coordinates and monitors the proper implementation of the standards throughout the EU and EFTA countries. The Group is chaired by the European Banking federation (EBF) and reports directly to the European Commission on progress achieved.
With a significant increase in cross-border investment activities, we believe that these standards can offer efficient, valuable, durable and innovative solutions to streamline complex operational processes and back office activities. They should therefore benefit all users of capital markets, and ultimately contribute to the further integration of the European post-trading landscape.
Documentation
The following links provide access to:
- Market Standards for Corporate Actions Processing (2012 version)
- Market Standards for General Meetings
- Guiding Principles, aiming at assisting the national markets in their implementation efforts
- Giovannini Group Report on Cross-Border Clearing and Settlement Arrangements in the EU (2001)
- Giovannini Group Second Report on EU Clearing and Settlement Arrangements (2003)
- Website of the EBF providing detailed documentation on the implementation processes
For more information contact DACSI secretariat.