National User Groups (NUGs)

NUGs

Introduction

The National User Group (NUG) brings together providers and users of securities settlement services within its national market in order to support the development and implementation of T2S. It creates a forum for involving national market participants in the AG work and establishes the formal link between the AG and the national market. It acts both as a sounding board for the T2S Project Team, and as a provider of input to the T2S Advisory Group (AG) in relation to all matters considered by the AG. As such, it may also suggest issues for AG consideration.

The NUG may be involved in the URD change management process and can play an important role in assessing such requests in the context of the operation of the national market. The NUG should adopt the T2S principle of seeking to avoid incorporating national specificities in T2S, and should actively promote harmonisation.

Mandate

The mandate of NUGs is to

• Assess the impact of the T2S functionality, and in particular any changes in the T2S user requirements, on their national market; when doing so, due consideration should be given to the concept of a "lean T2S" that aims at avoiding national specificities and at promoting harmonisation;
• Bring material concerns of the national market to the attention of the AG;
• Raise the awareness of T2S in all segments of the national securities community;
• Support the AG members representing the national community.

Composition

The NUG comprises of the Chairperson, the Secretary and members.

The Chairperson of a NUG should preferably be a full member or observer of the AG. This role will typically be performed by a senior official of the relevant national central bank. In the case where the relevant central bank does not provide or designate the chairperson of the NUG, the Chairperson will be nominated by the AG Chairperson who will look for consensus amongst the main participants in the relevant market. Should the Chairperson not be a member of the AG, an AG member should co-ordinate between the AG and the NUG Chairperson to ensure a close link between the AG and the NUG.

The secretary of the NUG is provided by the relevant national central bank in euro area countries; in other countries the NUG secretary is appointed by the NUG chairman. The secretary is expected to attend regular briefings organised for NUG secretaries by the T2S team.

The NUG members comprise the relevant AG members and observers (or their nominated senior representative, acceptable to the NUG chairperson) and additional persons with the knowledge and standing to be broadly representative of all categories of users and providers in the national market. NUG members may thus include CSDs, brokers, banks, investment banks, custodians, issuers and/or their agents, CCPs, exchanges and MTFs, the relevant national central bank, regulatory authorities and the relevant banking associations.

Working procedures

NUGs only deal with issues relevant to T2S. They are invited to actively seek briefing from the T2S team in relation to live issues, and provide national views in a timely fashion on matters requested by the AG Secretary or raised by the NUG. The T2S team regularly provides information to the NUG and organises meetings with the NUG secretaries to foster the interaction between the NUG and the T2S team.

The NUG shall endeavour to have regular meetings aligned with the schedule of AG meetings, so that it can offer advice to national AG members. However, no AG member is bound by any such advice. NUGs may also make written submissions to the AG via the Secretary of the AG and invite an AG member to present its view.

The NUG Secretary aims at circulating an agenda and relevant documents for discussion at a NUG meeting at least five business days ahead of the meeting. A summary of NUG meetings will be published on the T2S website - and, if deemed appropriate, on the website of the respective NCB - in English and in any other Community language within three weeks after each meeting.

The members of the NUG shall be published on the T2S website. The NUG shall also publish a NUG-contact e-mail address on the T2S website, so that participants in national markets know whom to contact to express their views.

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