TRADING FEATURES IN THE PUBLIC DEBT SEGMENT: BONOS, OBLIGACIONES, STRIPS, BILLS AND SWITCHES 1
TRADING FEATURES IN THE PUBLIC DEBT SEGMENT: BONOS, OBLIGACIONES, STRIPS, BILLS AND SWITCHES In exercise of the powers vested in it by the General Regulations of Sistema Electrónico de Negociación de Activos Financieros, Sistema Multilateral de Negociación (hereinafter SENAF or the System ), the Board of Directors of AIAF Mercado de Renta Fija S.A.U. (hereinafter, AIAF ) has approved this Circular Letter by resolution adopted at the Board meeting held on 17 September 2014. 1. Negotiable financial instruments 1.1 Bonos and obligaciones Spanish bonos (short-term bonds) and obligaciones (long-term bonds) authorised for trading across the Public Debt Market. 1.2 Strips Coupon strips and principal strips resulting from the stripping of issues of bonos and obligaciones authorised by the Spanish Treasury. 1.3 Bills Bills issued by the Spanish Treasury and traded across the Public Debt Market. 1.4 Switches Involves the buying / selling of an instrument and the simultaneous selling / buying of another instrument, with instrument meaning the different issues traded on SENAF of bonos and obligaciones, strips and bills. 2. Incorporation of financial instruments 2.1 Bonos and Obligaciones, bills and switches Financial instruments must be incorporated in accordance with the terms of article 10 of the Regulations of SENAF S.M.N. SANEF will move to incorporate those issued by the Spanish Treasury once the features of the issue have been published in the Official State Gazette (Boletín Oficial del Estado). SENAF shall move to incorporate all other financial instruments set out in point 1 above when their features are published in the Official State Gazette or when SENAF becomes aware of these features. 2
2.2 Strips Strips will be incorporated once the Spanish Treasury authorises the stripping of the corresponding bono or obligación by publication in the Official State Gazette. 3. Suspension and exclusion of financial instruments SENAF shall temporarily suspend and exclude trading of financial instruments in accordance with Title III of the Regulations and when it receives notifications from issuers of instruments operating within this segment and from the Banco de España (Bank of Spain), in its capacity as Market Governing Company, or when instructed to do so by the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (Spanish securities market watchdog, hereinafter CNMV ) acting as System Watchdog. 4. Trading features 4.1 General features of orders for the entire segment Minimum order volume is 1 million and multiples thereof. Standard value date is D+2. Instruments traded with non-standard value dates will be highlighted with a green background on the terminal trading screen. Users can click on this background to see the relevant value date at the lower left-hand side of the window. All orders are channelled towards one single Book in sequential order. The priority is always that of best price first, or age if the price is the same. All orders are placed in the System until cancelled by the member that originated them, or until close of trading for the day if no transaction was made. The Orders published by SENAF will be binding on the Members that originated them until they are effectively removed from SENAF s electronic records. 4.1.1 Further features of orders for Bonos and Obligaciones The price is listed ex-coupon with 3 decimal points. The third decimal point must be either 0 or 5. 4.1.2 Further features of orders for Strips The price is listed as an interest rate with 3 decimal points. The third decimal point must be either 0 or 5. 4.1.3 Further features of orders for Bills The price is listed as an interest rate with 3 decimal points. The third decimal can be any number from 0 to 9. 3
4.1.4 Further features of orders for Switches Issues that form part of a Switch receive the name short item or long item, depending on their respective maturity dates. An ask order (orden de demanda) refers to the buying of instruments of the short item and the selling of the long item. A bid order (orden de oferta) refers to the selling of instruments of the short item and the buying of the long item. Listing is based on the IRR spreads between the two issues (IRR long issue less IRR short issue) and is measured in basis points (3 digits) with two decimal points. The second decimal can be any number from 0 to 9. Listings with zero or negative spreads are possible. 4.2 General features of transactions for the entire segment Existing orders for the same instrument, at the same price and going in opposite directions will be executed automatically, thus generating a transaction. This transaction will generate an immediate confirmation from the System, which will be displayed via an on-screen message sent to the members involved in the deal and all Participants. In addition, the System will visually highlight the instruments to be matched (colour change). Order matching is based on the following priorities: - Firstly, best price of those published in the System. - If prices are equal, the oldest order will be executed first. - In the case of inverse orders (ask and bid) that have yet to be published in the System, whose prices are matched and which are to generate a transaction, the deal will be completed at the price stated in the order to have been recorded first in the System. However, transactions between inverse orders pertaining to the same Trading Member will not be executed. Instead, the System will remove them immediately and notify the members involved. The identity of the counterparty remains unknown both before and following the transaction. A daily settlement of transactions will be carried out as described in this Circular. Transactions published by SENAF will be binding on the Members that generated them once registered electronically with SENAF. 4.3 Transaction type for the entire segment Transactions are at maturity and can be either on the spot or forward. 4
4.4 Liquidity agreements Issuers may, if they deem it to be in the interests of their issue, grant a specific group of Members the status of Market Maker, requiring them to inject secondary market liquidity based on the agreements in effect from time to time. So as to afford issuers that have designated Market Makers control over the performance of the obligations of these Market Makers, SENAF will report to the issuers daily on the activities of each of the Market Makers. 5. Registering and settling of transactions Transactions will be registered and settled in accordance with the provisions of Title VII of SENAF Regulations. SENAF communicates these operations to the Clearing Houses (Cámaras de Compensación) and/or Central Securities Depositories (Depositarios Centrales de Valores), depending on the CNMVapproved agreements it has in effect from time to time. 6. Daily adjustments to market price For this process, SENAF shall calculate the settlement prices for each instrument based on the market prices at close. For instruments with no such end-of-day price, SENAF shall calculate the theoretical price by reference to the theoretical price curve and IRRs existing at that time. Once the settlement price has been established by following the above procedure for each of the instruments traded, SENAF will carry out the daily settlement for all transactions by comparing the price of each of the trades with the settlement price (market closing price). If the price of the trade is less than the settlement price, the buying Member will be credited the difference between the price of the transaction and the settlement price, while the selling Member will be debited the difference between the trade price and the settlement price. In contrast, if the price of the trade exceeds the settlement price, the buying Member will be debited the difference between the price of the trade and the settlement price, while the selling Member will be credited the difference between the trade price and the settlement price. Credit paid to members as a result of the settlement process will be less interest corresponding to the amount paid at the EONIA rate in effect on that day, based on the days separating this and the next liquidation. In the case of debits, members will be paid interest calculated in exactly the same manner. Confirmation of the settlements will then be sent to all Members involved. On the value date of the transactions, the net amounts collected or paid on account will be charged back once the transactions have cleared. SENAF shall, on a daily basis, notify Banco de España of the credit or debit corresponding to each entity so that these can be recorded in its cash accounts. 5
7. Market opening times The trading day for this segment starts at 08:30 and closes at 17:15 on business days, in accordance with the trading calendar in effect from time to time. 8. Cancellation of transactions and trading incidents Transactions reported as such by SENAF may only be modified or cancelled by the Oversight Department and only if the procedure set forth in SENAF regulations is observed.. AIAF will be exempt from all liability arising from this situation. Two possible trading incidents are envisaged: Error by the Trading Member in relation to an order entered by a Broker Member, which will trigger a modification. Clear error in the cross price of a transaction, triggering the cancellation of the trade. 8.1 Modification or cancellation of transactions involving Bonos and Obligaciones a) Error in the holder Error relating to the Trading Member who placed the order then entered by the Broker Member. In such cases, the affected Trading Members will be modified accordingly, provided the Broker Member notifies the change to SENAF s Oversight Department within 15 minutes from the trade. b) Clear error in the price To be able to cancel a transaction owing to an apparent error in the price, one of the Trading Members or Brokers involved in the transaction must notify SENAF s Oversight Department by telephone within 15 minutes from the time the transaction was executed on the platform. Upon receiving the cancellation request, the Oversight Department shall inform the counterparty/ies that their transaction is being reviewed. If the other counterparty confirms immediately that it agrees with the cancellation, the transaction will be cancelled. If no agreement is reached between the counterparties as to the cancellation of the transaction, the following procedure will be followed. The Oversight Department must verify whether the transaction in question was arranged at a non-market price at the time the transaction was executed across the platform. For the price to be non-market, it must exceed, by more than 50%, the bid/ask spread of the market price of the instrument at which the cancellation has been requested at the time of execution. The Oversight Department shall proceed as follows when calculating whether the exercise price exceeds 50% of the bid/ask spread of the market price: 6
It shall request a bid and ask price for the instrument at the time the transaction in question was executed from three (3) platform members (excluding the counterparties involved). These three members shall communicate their bid and ask market price as swiftly as possible. Once the three prices have been obtained, the arithmetic mean of the ask and of the bid will be calculated. Based on the result obtained, 50% of the spread between the ask and the bid will be calculated. This will then be deducted from the ask and added to the bid to reveal a new bid and ask price. The transaction will be considered non-market if its price is below the new ask price or above the new bid price. (see Appendix 1). The Oversight Department shall communicate its decision to the counterparties by telephone and by e-mail as quickly as possible and in all cases no later than 45 minutes from the trade time of the transaction, unless additional time is required due to exceptional circumstances. In all cases, SENAF s Oversight Department shall make every effort to ensure that the incidents described in this section are resolved in as short a time as possible. 8.2 Modification or cancellation of transactions involving Strips In the case of strips, the procedure described in section 8.1 above will be followed, except that the prices will be given in interest rates. Accordingly, 50% of the spread will be added to the ask and deducted from the bid. 8.3 Modification or cancellation of transactions involving Bills For Bills, the procedure described in section 8.1 above will be followed, except that the prices will be given in interest rates. Accordingly, 50% of the spread will be added to the ask and deducted from the bid. (see Appendix 2) 8.4 Modification or cancellation of transactions involving Switches For Switches, the procedure described in section 8.1 above will be followed, except that the prices will be given in terms of IRR spread between the two instruments involved in the switch. 9. Technical interruptions due to trading incidents 9.1 IT incidents affecting the System The System automatically detects intercommunication problems between SENAF and the Members and triggers an alert, which appears on the screens of the Broker Members and of the Trading Members. AIAF is liable for any outage affecting the equipment it owns, whether installed or made available to Members (terminals, servers and API servers) and in relation to both hardware and software components, provided such outages are not attributable to any handling, 7
alteration, repositioning, or use of the equipment carried out by the Member outside the parameters established in the technical documentation in force from time to time. The API Server generates and receives flows of information that go beyond the boundaries of the actual physical equipment. The liability of AIAF in this case is limited to the physical equipment (API Server) that generates the flow of information. The Member is therefore responsible for the correct interpretation and processing of outgoing messages. The Member will also be responsible for sending the messages to the API Server in accordance with the procedure and use protocols established by SENAF in the technical documentation in force from time to time. 9.2 Other incidents Any claim concerning incidents not envisaged above will be communicated to the Oversight Department and/or the Supervisory Committee, which shall analyse all available data (this may include recorded conversations) and take the appropriate course of action, including the power to modify or cancel the transactions in question. 10. Trading interruptions The Oversight Committee and/or the Oversight Department of SENAF may decide on total or partial interruption of trading pursuant to the terms of Title III of the Regulations in cases of force majeure that affect the normal operation of the System, the aim being to protect System Members. Any such interruption will be communicated to them as soon as possible. 11. Repeal of Circular 12 Circular Letter 12, on trading features of the Debt segment, is repealed. 12. Entry into force This Circular Letter will be communicated to all Members and will take effect on 6 October 2014. 8
APPENDIX 1 Practical example using Spanish instrument SPGB O 5.85 0122: The platform has the following ask/bid price: 88.150 / 91.500 The seller marks the ask at 88.150 and reports it as an incorrect transaction. The prices furnished by SENAF members are: 89.300 / 91.600 89.600 / 91.500 88.900 / 91.300 The arithmetic mean of the ask and bid would therefore be: 89.270 / 91.470 If 50% of the deviation from the spread between bid and ask (220 cts.) is applied, we can obtain the limits for both the ask and the bid: 88.170 / 92.570 So, the sale executed at 88.150 would be cancelled as the floor is at 88.170. Accordingly, all selling below 88.170 and all buying over 92.570 could be cancelled if requested by the seller or buyer, as appropriate. 9
APPENDIX 2 Practical example using Bill 180113: The platform shows the following ask and bid: 3.700 / 2.740 The seller marks the ask at 3.700 and reports it as an incorrect transaction. The rates furnished by the three SENAF members are: 3.350 / 2.850 3.500 / 2.750 3.250 / 2.650 The arithmetic mean of the ask and bid would therefore be: 3.370 / 2.750 If 50% of the deviation from the spread between bid and ask (62 cts.) is applied, we can obtain the limits for both the ask and the bid: 3.680 / 2.440 So, the sale executed at 3.700 would be cancelled as the strike rate falls outside the cap rates calculated. Accordingly, all selling above 3.680 and all buying below 2.440 could be cancelled if requested by the seller or buyer, as appropriate. 10