Eligible SSSs

When transferring collateral issued in a central securities depository (CSD) or international central securities depository (ICSD), counterparties make use of securities settlement systems (SSSs), which are regularly assessed against the Eurosystem user standards to determine whether they are eligible for use in the collateralisation of Eurosystem credit operations.

In September 1998 a first report on the compliance with the nine user standards of 29 EU SSSs (23 being from the 11 Member States which adopted the euro from the outset) was released.

For details, see:

• Assessment of EU securities settlement systems against the standards for their use in ESCB credit operations,
  September 1998,   pdf 161 kB, en , Press release, en
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Due to the consolidation process under way in the securities settlement industry, the number of SSSs in the European Union has decreased. Moreover, some SSSs that were assessed in the first report are in fact not used for Eurosystem credit operations and are therefore no longer assessed (the “General documentation on Eurosystem monetary policy instruments and procedures” requires that assets be held/settled in the euro area). As a consequence, there are currently 23 SSSs eligible for use in Eurosystem credit operations, despite the inclusion of the systems of Member States that have joined the euro area in recent years.

Some eligible assets cannot be transferred via SSSs. Because of the special characteristics of these assets, the NCBs concerned have developed specific procedures for their use in Eurosystem credit operations.

Further information on the procedural aspects related to the transfer of these assets can be obtained from the relevant NCBs.

Settlement procedures in eligible SSSs (as at 14 August 2009)

Note: These descriptions correspond to the procedures assessed in the last user standard assessments, which are currently being updated.