iSwap SEF Application 

Exhibit M-1 – Venue Rulebook
iSwap Venue Rulebook – Page 1 of 14 October 2019

Document version: 1.4 Copyright © 2019 iSwap Limited –

iSwap Venue Rulebook

Contact

iSwap Desk Tel No: +44 20 7000 5180 

i-swap@icap.com
ISwap Venue Rulebook Page 2 of 14 October 2019

Document version: 1.4 Copyright © 2019 iSwap Euro B.V. 

Contents 

1. Definitions and Interpretation 3

2. General 8

3. Participation 8

4. Eligibility Criteria for Member Participants 9

5. Eligibility Criteria for Broker Participants 10

6. Participant Obligations 10

7. Credit Setting and Restrictions 12

8. Notification 13

9. Conduct Rules 14

10. Suspension or Termination of Participation 14

11. Consequences of Suspension or Termination 15

12. Resignation 15

13. Products 16

14. Trading Rules 16

General Information 16

Required Transactions 17

Order Size 17

Pre-trade Controls 17

Order Matching 17

Prohibition, Removal and Suspension of Trading 18

15. Trade Cancellation and Error Trades 19

16. Trade Capture and Confirmation 19

17. Clearing and Settlement 20

18. Pre-Trade and Post-Trade Publication 20

19. Trade Reporting 21

20. Information and Data 21

General 21

Market Mid-Price 21

21. Algorithmic Trading 22

22. Market Making 23

23. Co-operation with Regulators 23

24. Complaints 24

25. Taxes and Fees 24

26. Confidentiality 24

27. Amendments and Notices 24

28. Governing Law 25

Appendices:

Market Appendix 1 – Order Book Market Appendix

Market Appendix 2 – Targeted Streaming Market Appendix

Market Appendix 3 – Trading Standards

Market Appendix 4 – Disciplinary Procedures

Market Appendix 5 – Trade Cancellation and Error Trade Policy

Schedule

1. Definitions and Interpretation 

Actionable Indications of Interest or 

Actionable IOI

An indicative buy or sell instruction submitted on the Targeted Streaming market. For the 

avoidance of doubt an Actionable IOI does not satisfy the CFTC requirements for a 

Required Transaction.

Act The U.S. Commodity Exchange Act as amended from time to time.

Affiliates In respect of ICAP, a subsidiary or subsidiary undertaking thereof (with such terms having 

the meaning ascribed to them by article 2:24 of the Dutch Civil Code), and in respect of a 

Participant, any party, persons who control, are controlled by or are under the common 

control of such party.

Affirmation Hub A third party service designated by the Operator to route Trades to a Clearing House and 

which may provide Participants with the opportunity to affirm the Trades.

AFM The Dutch Financial Supervisory Authority (Autoriteit Financiële Markten), or its 

successors.
ISwap Venue Rulebook Page 3 of 14 October 2019

Document version: 1.4 Copyright © 2019 iSwap Euro B.V. 

Agreements The agreement(s) governing the Participant’s access to and use of the iSwap Venue which 

may include without limitation any of the following items which apply to the Participant: 

the Authorisation Form (including any updates to the Authorisation Form submitted from 

time to time), the ICAP Terms of Business, the client classification letter, the brokerage 

letter, the Market Making Agreement and any documents referred to therein. For the 

avoidance of doubt the Agreements shall include this Rulebook.

Algorithmic Trading As defined in article 4(1)(39) of MiFID II.

Applicant A person who has applied to become a Participant in accordance with this Rulebook.

Authorised Algorithmic Trader An Authorised Trader who undertakes Algorithmic Trading on the iSwap Venue. 

Authorised Broker A user of the iSwap Venue being a Broker Participant’s authorised employee, officer, 

agent, Affiliate or designee as notified to the Operator by the Broker Participant.

Authorisation Form A trader or broker authorisation form signed on behalf of Authorised Trader, Authorised 

Algorithmic Trader or Broker Participant, as applicable.

Authorised Person An Authorised Trader, an Authorised Algorithmic Trader or an Authorised Broker.

Authorised Trader A user of the iSwap Venue being a Member Participant’s authorised employee, officer, 

agent, Affiliate or designee as notified to the Operator by Member Participant who has 

been granted certain trading permissions as set out in the Schedule. 

Broker Participant A person who meets the Eligibility Criteria in Rule 5 and is authorised by the Operator to 

participate on the iSwap Venue in accordance with this Rulebook and the Agreements.

Business Day A day other than a Saturday, a Sunday or a day which is both a TARGET holiday and a UK 

public holiday. 

Clearing Credit Methodology The iSwap clearing credit methodology document, as may be provided to Participants 

upon request.

Clearing House A broadly supported and recognised inter-bank clearing house or derivatives clearing 

organisation authorised or recognised to provide clearing services for over-the-counter 

interest rate derivatives in accordance with EMIR and the Act.

Commission Means the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission or CFTC.

Commission Regulations Title 17, Chapter I of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations.

Compliance Function Means the Chief Compliance Officer and the Compliance Officer together.

Credit Officer A user of the iSwap Venue being a Member Participant’s authorised employee, officer, 

agent, Affiliate or designee as notified to the Operator by Member Participant who has 

been granted certain trading permissions as set out in the Schedule.

Default Event Where an event or circumstance leads the Operator to determine in its sole discretion 

that Participant is or appears to be unable or likely to become unable to meet its 

obligations in connection with the iSwap Venue or to comply with any other obligation 

under the Rules or the Agreements, or breaches a law relevant to its business as a 

Participant. 

Derivatives Clearing Obligation EMIR Regulation (EU) 2019/834 or section 2(h) of the Act as applicable.

Derivatives Documentation The Agreement(s) between two Member Participants containing the underlying terms 

and conditions that govern the contractual obligations in respect of Trades in the Eligible 

Instrument between those two Member Participants.

Desk A group of Authorised Traders within a Member Participant who trade on behalf of the 

same trading entities and who have common trading permissions and trading entity 

Matching priorities.

Direct Electronic Access or DEA As defined in article 4(1)(41) of MiFID II.

Disciplinary Procedures The Disciplinary Procedures govern the rule enforcement of any violations of this 

Rulebook. The Disciplinary Procedures are rules and form part of this Rulebook.

Eligibility Criteria The criteria for eligibility for Participation as a Broker Participant or a Member Participant, 

as applicable, on the iSwap Venue as set out in this Rulebook.

Eligible Instrument or Instruments The instrument or instruments available to trade on the iSwap Venue in accordance with 

this Rulebook. For the avoidance of doubt, Eligible Instrument includes a Swap.

Eligible Market Mid-Price Orders As defined in Rule 20.7. 

Emergency As defined in Rule 14.22
ISwap Venue Rulebook Page 4 of 14 October 2019

Document version: 1.4 Copyright © 2019 iSwap Euro B.V. 

EMIR The Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on OTC derivatives, central 

counterparties and trade repositories (No. 648/2012/EU), as amended from time to time. 

Error Trade A Trade made on the iSwap Venue in error as to price, quantity, currency, direction or 

symbol, as determined solely by the Operator in accordance with the provisions of the 

Trade Cancellation and Error Trade Policy. Without limitation, the unavailability of 

counterparty credit shall not by itself render a Trade an Error Trade.

FCA The Financial Conduct Authority, or its successors.

Future(s) One of the following futures contracts;

• Shatz;

• Bobl;

• Bund; 

• Buxl; or

• Long Gilt.

Futures Cross An Interest Rate Swap which is traded with an associated Future.

ICAP ICAP Global Broking Holdings Limited and/or its Affiliates.

ICAP Securities Limited An Affiliate of ICAP, registered in England and Wales and authorised and regulated by the 

FCA.

Insolvency Event Where a Participant or its parent company (whether direct or indirect) or ultimate holding 

company:

a) is unable or admits inability to pay its debts as they fall due, suspends making 

payments on any of its debts or, by reason of actual or anticipated financial 

difficulties, commences negotiations with one or more creditors with a view to 

rescheduling its indebtedness; or

b) has assets whose value is less than their liabilities; or

c) has a moratorium declared in respect of their indebtedness; or

d) is subject to any similar events or analogous proceedings in other relevant 

jurisdictions.

Interest Rate Swap (IRS) A single currency fixed/floating interest rate swap.

Internal Matches An Order from an Authorised Trader that Matches with another Order from an Authorised 

Trader within the same Member Participant or Desk. 

iSwap iSwap Euro B.V., a company registered in the Netherlands and authorised and regulated 

by the AFM and the FCA in respect of the iSwap Euro B.V. (UK) branch.

iSwap Venue The Venue operated by iSwap and which is authorised and regulated by the AFM as MTF, 

and allocated the MIC reference ISWP, and which is registered with the Commission as 

SEF.

Market The Order Book and the Targeted Streaming markets, the Rules for which are set out in 

the relevant Market Appendix.

Market Abuse Regulation Regulation (EU) 596/2014 on market abuse, as amended from time to time, which is 

applicable to financial instruments traded on an MTF.

Market Appendices The Appendices to this Rulebook. The Appendices are Rules and form part of this 

Rulebook.

Market Event A market-wide systemic increase in risk as determined by the Operator at its discretion.

Market Maker Programme As defined in Rule 22.2.

Market Making Agreement The agreement governing market making activities as entered into by a Member 

Participant engaged in Algorithmic Trading with the Operator, as amended from time to 

time. 

Market Mid-Price The mid-market reference rate calculated in respect of each outright Eligible Instrument 

on the iSwap Venue in accordance with Rule 20. 

Market Notice A notice published or issued by the Operator to Participants from time to time in 

accordance with this Rulebook. Market Notices form part of this Rulebook.

Match or Matched or Matching The match of a buy Order with a sell Order on the iSwap Venue in accordance with this 

Rulebook.

Member Participant A person who meets the Eligibility Criteria in Rule 4 and is authorised by the Operator to 

participate on the iSwap Venue in accordance with this Rulebook and the Agreements.

MiFID II The European Parliament and Council Directive on Markets in Financial Instruments and 

amending Directive 2002/92/EC and Directive 2011/61/EU (No. 2014/65/EU), together 

with ancillary legislation, rules and binding technical standards, as amended from time to 

time. 
ISwap Venue Rulebook Page 5 of 14 October 2019

Document version: 1.4 Copyright © 2019 iSwap Euro B.V. 

MiFIR The Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on Markets in Financial 

Instruments (No. 600/2014/EU), together with ancillary legislation, rules and binding 

technical standards, as amended from time to time.

MTF A Multilateral Trading Facility as defined in article 4(1)(22) of MiFID II.

Operator iSwap in its capacity as the authorised operator of the iSwap Venue.

Order A buy or sell instruction submitted to the iSwap Venue.

Participant A Member Participant or a Broker Participant, as applicable.

Order Book Market Appendix The Order Book Market appendix to this Rulebook. The Order Book Market appendix are 

Rules and form part of this Rulebook. 

Participant Access Code An access code granted to Participant in accordance with the Agreements.

Participation A Participant’s or their Authorised Person’s activity on the iSwap Venue.

Permitted Transaction Means any transaction that is not subject to the trade execution requirements in section 

2(h)(8) of the Act or any instrument not subject to the Derivatives Trading Obligation 

under MiFIR.

Product Any product as detailed in the relevant Market Appendix. 

PVO1 In respect of an Eligible Instrument, the monetary present value of one basis point of the 

yield.

Regulator The authority designated by a member state of the European Union in accordance with 

article 67 of MiFID II and any other relevant regulatory or competent authority having 

jurisdiction.

Required Transaction Means any transaction subject to the trade execution requirements in section 2(h)(8) of 

the Act or any instrument subject to the Derivatives Trading Obligation under MiFIR.

Rules The rules set out in this Rulebook and any Market Notice each as may be amended from 

time to time.

Rulebook The Rules governing the operation of the iSwap Venue in force from time to time and any 

amendment made thereto. Any reference to the term “System Protocol” in the 

Agreements is a reference to this Rulebook.

Schedule The schedule to this Rulebook. The Schedule forms part of this Rulebook. 

SEF Means a Swap Execution Facility as defined in section 1a(50) of the Act.

SDR Means a Swap Data Repository as defined in section 21(24a) of the Act.

Swap The term “Swap” has the meaning given to that term in Section 1a(47) of the Act and in 

the Commission Regulations promulgated thereunder (without regard to any 

determination by the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to Section 1b of the Act) and, as 

used in these Rules, refers solely to transactions in Swaps that are made or to be made 

on the SEF.

TARGET The Trans-European Automated Real-time Gross settlement Express Transfer system.

Targeted Streaming Market Appendix The Targeted Streaming Market appendix to this Rulebook. The Targeted Streaming 

Market appendix are Rules and form part of this Rulebook.

Trade or Trading Any sale or purchase of an Eligible Instrument that takes place on the iSwap Venue.

Trade Cancellation and Error Trade Policy A policy on the treatment of Error Trades and process for Trade Cancellations. The Trade 

Cancellation and Error Trade Policy are Rules and form part of this Rulebook.

Trading Day The days on which the Eligible Instruments are made available to Participants on the 

iSwap Venue as set out in the Market Appendices.

Trading Standards The Trading Standards concern certain trading practices on the Venue. The Trading 

Standards are Rules and form part of this Rulebook. 

Venue iSwap in its capacity as the authorised operator of the swap trading venue, being both a 

MTF and SEF.

All capitalised terms not otherwise defined in this Rulebook shall have the meaning ascribed to them in the Agreements, the Market Appendices or 

as described in the Schedule. In this Rulebook, words in the singular include the plural and vice versa. A reference to persons in this Rulebook shall 

include a reference to legal persons and natural persons as the context requires. Headings are for ease of reference only and do not form part of the 

Rulebook. Reference to statutory provisions shall include any amendment, modification or re-enactment or re-making thereof.
ISwap Venue Rulebook Page 6 of 14 October 2019

Document version: 1.4 Copyright © 2019 iSwap Euro B.V. 

2. General 

2.1. iSwap operates the iSwap Venue on which Participants are permitted to deal with other Participants, in accordance with the terms of the 

Agreements, the Rulebook, and the relevant Market Appendix (which are considered Rules of the iSwap Venue). 

2.2. The Rulebook supplements and forms part of the Agreements. In the event of conflict between the Agreements, the Rulebook, any Market 

Appendix and the Schedule, the following order of precedence shall apply to the extent of any inconsistency: 1. the applicable Market 

Appendix; 2. the Rulebook; 3. the Agreements; and 4. the Schedule. 

2.3. The Operator is not party to any Trade and the Eligible Instruments are traded on the iSwap Venue on a name give up basis. The Operator 

provides the iSwap Venue to Participants for the purpose of allowing Member Participants (either directly or via Broker Participant) to effect 

Trades in Eligible Instruments. The Operator is not subject to any fiduciary or equitable duties to any Participant. Participants agree to the 

Operator acting as a self-regulatory organisation.

2.4. Participants shall not permit or allow any third party individual or company (whether an Affiliate of the Participant or otherwise) to access 

the iSwap Venue unless authorised to do so by the Operator.

3. Participation

3.1. An Applicant may apply to become a Participant of the iSwap Venue at any time.

3.2. Participation is open to Applicants who meet the relevant Eligibility Criteria and who commit to adhere to the terms of these Rules, the 

Agreements and any guidance or other requirements of Operator.

3.3. Operator may require Participant to demonstrate that the relevant Eligibility Criteria are met.

3.4. Operator may in its absolute discretion approve or reject applications or approve an application subject to such conditions and/or restrictions 

as it considers appropriate.

3.5. Operator shall notify the Applicant of its decision in writing with Participation becoming effective on such date and at such time as Operator 

may specify.

3.6. Where an application is approved, Participants will be authorised and permissioned to participate on the iSwap Venue as detailed in the 

notice referred to in Rule 3.5.

3.7. Participant authorises Operator to disclose its Participation to other Participants.

4. Eligibility Criteria for Member Participants

4.1. Member Participant shall meet and shall continue to meet all of the following Eligibility Criteria throughout its Participation:

4.1.1. Satisfy iSwap’s internal client on-boarding requirements, and be classified by iSwap as an Eligible Counterparty as defined in MiFID II 

and an “eligible contract participant” as defined by the Act (for the avoidance of doubt iSwap has has delegated certain on-boarding 

functions to ICAP); 

4.1.2. Have the legal and regulatory capacity to undertake trading in the Products on the iSwap Venue; 

4.1.3. Satisfy Operator as to its adequate arrangements for Order submission, Order management, clearing and settlement of all Trades 

transacted on the iSwap Venue; 

4.1.4. Be able to provide Operator (if requested) with such information as Operator may require in relation to the validity of any Order or 

Trade; 

4.1.5. Have adequate organisational procedures and controls to limit Error Trades and the submission of erroneous Orders to the iSwap 

Venue;

4.1.6. Be a clearing/full settlement member of a broadly recognised Central Counterparty Clearing House (CCP) for OTC interest rate 

derivatives in the relevant jurisdictions and in the relevant Currencies, such as (but not exclusively) LCH Swapclear, EurexOTC Clear or 

CME Clearing; or have a current derivatives clearing agreement with a OTC Derivatives Clearing Member in order to be able to fulfil 

the Derivatives Clearing Obligation;

4.1.7. Be connected to MarkitWire or an equivalent broadly supported electronic inter-bank straight through an Affirmation Hub for interest 

rate derivatives;

4.1.8. Be able to satisfy the technical specifications and standards required by Operator for Participation on the iSwap Venue, including the 

completion of any technical and functional conformance testing required by Operator; and

4.1.9. Meet such further Eligibility Criteria as Operator may prescribe from time to time with regard to Participation. 

5. Eligibility Criteria for Broker Participants

5.1. Broker Participant shall meet and shall continue to meet all of the following Eligibility Criteria throughout its Participation:
ISwap Venue Rulebook Page 7 of 14 October 2019

Document version: 1.4 Copyright © 2019 iSwap Euro B.V. 

5.1.1. Satisfy iSwap’s internal client on-boarding requirements, and be classified by iSwap as an Eligible Counterparty as defined in MiFID II 

and an “eligible contract participant” as defined by the Act (for the avoidance of doubt iSwap has delegated certain on-boarding 

functions to ICAP); 

5.1.2. Have the legal and regulatory capacity to deal as agent on behalf of Member Participants in the Products on the Order Book Market; 

5.1.3. Satisfy Operator as to its adequate arrangements for Order submission and Order management; 

5.1.4. Be able to provide Operator (if requested) with such information as Operator may require in relation to the validity of any Order or 

Trade; 

5.1.5. Have adequate organisational procedures and controls to limit Error Trades and the submission of erroneous Orders to the iSwap 

Venue;

5.1.6. Be able to satisfy the technical specifications and standards required by Operator for Participation on the iSwap Venue, including the 

completion of any technical and functional conformance testing required by Operator; and

5.1.7. Meet such further Eligibility Criteria as Operator may prescribe from time to time with regard to Participation.

6. Participant Obligations

6.1. Participant shall maintain an appropriate system of internal controls which ensures that the Participant continuously complies with these 

Rules.

6.2. Participant’s internal controls shall include pre- and post-trade controls which are appropriate to the scale, nature and complexity of the 

Participant’s activity on the iSwap Venue. 

6.3. Participant must notify Operator in writing of the names of those individuals authorised by the Participant to be Authorised Persons on the 

iSwap Venue and its designated Markets and/or Products.

6.4. In respect of business conducted on the iSwap Venue, a Participant shall be responsible for all the acts, omissions, conduct and activity of its 

Authorised Persons.

6.5. Participant must ensure its Authorised Persons have sufficient training, are adequately supervised and have adequate experience, knowledge 

and competence to participate on the iSwap Venue in accordance with the Rules. 

6.6. Member Participant will be bound by any and all Orders submitted and any resultant Trades entered into by its Authorised Persons acting on 

their behalf. 

6.7. No liability shall attach to Operator if an instruction which it has accepted and acted upon bona fide is subsequently discovered to have been 

given forged, falsified or amended without authority of Participant.

6.8. Participant is responsible for complying with any security measures and procedures for authentication requested by Operator from time to 

time and ensuring that only Authorised Persons have access to the iSwap Venue.

6.9. Participant is responsible for all technical equipment and software necessary to access the iSwap Venue and comply with Operator’s 

reasonable requests in relation to the establishment of connectivity and installation. Requirements and system specifications will be notified 

to Participants by Operator from time to time.

6.10. Participant is responsible for assigning roles and permissions via the Authorisation Form to its authorised employees, officers, agents, 

Affiliates or designees, and notifying Operator of such assignment in accordance with the Schedule. Other than as set out in the Schedule in 

relation to settings on log on or loss of connection, a Broker Participant will be bound by the settings and configuration of the Authorised 

Trader for whom it is authorised to act. 

6.11. Participant must remain in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.

6.12. Participant will co-operate with Operator, the AFM, the Commission, the FCA, and any other relevant Regulator during any investigation that 

is conducted in relation to access to and trading on the iSwap Venue. Participant will maintain books and records and permit inspection and 

visitation by authorized representatives of the Operator, the AFM, the Commission, the FCA, and any other relevant regulator. The Participant 

shall provide full and prompt responses to all requests for information by the Operator and any other reasonable request within the control 

of the Participant, on behalf of itself and, in the case of Broker Participant, on behalf of each Member Participant for whom it is authorised 

to act, save to the extent the Participant may be restricted in doing so by law or regulation.

6.13. Participant shall bear its own costs and expenses in connection with any such investigation. Participant shall indemnify Operator in full in 

respect of all costs and expenses reasonably incurred in connection with any investigation (or part of an investigation) in so far as any such 

investigation (or part thereof) relates to the Participant’s activity on the iSwap Venue (except to the extent that any such costs arise as a 

consequence of the fraud, negligence or wilful default of Operator or as a consequence of any breach by Operator).

7. Credit Setting and Restrictions

7.1. Member Participants are solely responsible for determining their credit settings, and/or restrictions, where applicable. Broker Participants 

shall be bound by the credit settings of each Member Participant for whom they are authorised to enter Orders. 
ISwap Venue Rulebook Page 8 of 14 October 2019

Document version: 1.4 Copyright © 2019 iSwap Euro B.V. 

7.2. Operator will not provide Broker Participant with details of the credit settings of any Member Participant. Authorised Broker does not have 

the ability to view or amend a Member Participant’s credit.

7.3. Operator is not responsible for a Member Participant’s failure to ensure the accuracy or timeliness of its credit settings. 

7.4. The iSwap Venue provides for Member Participants to directly input their credit settings into the system. Credit setting functionality is applied 

to Member Participants in accordance with the Clearing Credit Methodology.

7.5. At Member Participant’s request, Operator is able to input credit settings on behalf of a Member Participant and Member Participant is 

responsible for providing Operator with all relevant information. Operator is not responsible for any inaccuracy in the information provided 

to it.

7.6. Credit settings or restrictions will take effect as soon as Operator or Member Participant has entered such settings or restrictions.

7.7. A Member Participant providing clearing limits must have a clearing agreement in place with a Member Participant before allocating clearing 

limits to the iSwap Venue. 

8. Notification 

8.1. Participants must notify Operator within the timeframes specified below on the occurrence of any of the following:

8.1.1. a change of legal name or contact details – at least five (5) Business Days in advance of any change taking effect;

8.1.2. a change of the legal entity which is the Participant – at least thirty (30) Business Days in advance of any change taking effect;

8.1.3. an Insolvency Event – immediately upon becoming aware;

8.1.4. the Participant breaches or is likely to breach a law applicable to its business as a Participant – immediately upon becoming aware;

8.1.5. a material breach of these Rules or any event which affects the Participant’s ability to comply with these Rules - immediately upon 

becoming aware;

8.1.6. a change in the Participant’s ability to meet the relevant Eligibility Criteria - immediately upon becoming aware; 

8.1.7. a loss of connectivity, or other technical issue which might affect the Participant’s ability to comply with these Rules - immediately 

upon becoming aware; or

8.1.8. any other change or event which might reasonably impact on the Participant’s access or activity in relation to the iSwap Venue -

immediately upon becoming aware.

8.2. In addition, Member Participants must notify Operator within the timeframes specified below on the occurrence of any of the following:

8.2.1. the Member Participant is or is likely to become unable to meet its obligations in respect of an Order or Actionable IOI or Trade -

immediately upon becoming aware; or

8.2.2. the Member Participant has defaulted, is in default or is likely to default (or become subject to an analogous event) under the rules 

of any Clearing House which clears the Member Participant’s Trades – immediately upon becoming aware.

9. Conduct Rules 

9.1. When trading on the iSwap Venue, Participants must observe high standards of integrity, market conduct and fair dealing and must act with 

due skill, care and diligence. Participants must also take into account the Trading Standards issued to them when trading on the iSwap 

Venue.

9.2. Participants must not:

9.2.1. engage in any conduct which gives or is likely to give a false or misleading impression as to the market in, or the price of, any Eligible 

Instrument or which secures the price of one or several Eligible Instruments at an abnormal or artificial level; or

9.2.2. engage in any act or course of conduct which is likely to harm the integrity, fairness, orderliness or reputation of the Operator or the 

iSwap Venue; or

9.2.3. breach or attempt to breach these Rules or cause or contribute to a breach of these Rules by another Participant; or

9.2.4. submit Orders or Actionable IOIs on the iSwap Venue which are fictitious, or constitute any other form of deception or contrivance.

9.3. Any breach of the Rules by any Participant will be dealt with in accordance with the Rulebook, the Agreements, and the Disciplinary 

Procedures.

10. Suspension or Termination of Participation 

10.1. Operator may at its absolute discretion and without liability restrict, suspend or terminate the Participation of a Participant (and/or its 

Authorised Persons) if, at any time:
ISwap Venue Rulebook Page 9 of 14 October 2019

Document version: 1.4 Copyright © 2019 iSwap Euro B.V. 

10.1.1. Participant and/or any of its Authorised Persons breaches these Rules or the Agreements; or

10.1.2. Participant suffers an Insolvency Event; or 

10.1.3. Participant suffers a Default Event; or

10.1.4. Participant and/or any of its Authorised Persons is subject to relevant enforcement or other proceedings by the AFM, the Commission, 

the FCA or any other Regulator; or

10.1.5. Participant ceases to meet the relevant Eligibility Criteria; or

10.1.6. Operator considers that restriction, suspension or termination of Participant and/or any of its Authorised Persons is necessary to 

ensure or maintain orderly trading on the iSwap Venue.

10.2. Operator will notify Participant of a decision to restrict, suspend or terminate its or its Authorised Person’s Participation.

11. Consequences of Suspension or Termination

11.1. In the event of a Participant’s (or an Authorised Person’s) suspension or termination:

11.1.1. all Orders and Actionable IOIs in respect of that Participant and/or its Authorised Person, as the case may be, will be placed inactive 

and will not be made available to Match nor shown on the iSwap Venue;

11.1.2. in the case of a Member Participant only, all Trades shall continue to be binding on such Participant, and the terms of such Trades 

shall be unaffected by such suspension or termination;

11.1.3. any Participant Access Codes attributed to the Participant and/or Authorised Persons, as the case may be, shall be disabled and access 

removed; and

11.1.4. in the event of a termination, the Participant and/or each of its Authorised Persons, as the case may be, shall immediately cease to 

access the iSwap Venue and remove, return or otherwise destroy any connections to the iSwap Venue.

12. Resignation

12.1. Where a Participant has given notice of its intent to resign from Participation, the resignation is not effective and the Rules will continue to 

bind the Participant until:

12.1.1. all of the Participant’s outstanding Orders and Actionable IOIs have been Matched, cancelled, withdrawn or expired;

12.1.2. all outstanding obligations of the Participant with respect to Trades (including with respect to clearing and settlement) have been 

performed; and 

12.1.3. all other outstanding obligations of the Participant under the Rules (including without limitation the settlement of any outstanding 

fees or other sums due) have been performed.

13. Products

13.1. Operator will determine in its absolute discretion the Products and/or Eligible Instruments that are available for trading on the iSwap Venue. 

Any additional Rules with respect to the Products are set out in the relevant Market Appendix.

13.2. Eligible Instruments and/or Products will be added or deleted at Operator’s discretion.

13.3. Any Participant may propose the listing of an instrument by submitting a listing application to the Compliance Function.

13.4. iSwap Venue will permit trading only in instruments that are not readily susceptible to manipulation and will submit supporting information 

as per Appendix C of Part 38 of the Commission regulations when submitting contracts for approval or certification as per Part 40 of the 

Commission regulations.

13.5. See Product Appendix A for product specification.

14. Trading Rules

General Information

14.1. Unless otherwise notified by the Operator, the iSwap Venue is closed for trading on any day which is a public holiday in the Netherlands(except

where another European market is open on that public holiday for Products denominated in Euro) and all Dutch weekends. The trading hours 

for each Product are set out in the applicable Market Appendix.

14.2. Operator may announce, at its discretion, that commencement of the Trading Day be postponed, or that a Trading Day be extended beyond 

its scheduled duration.

14.3. Where possible, Participants will be given reasonable notice of any change to Trading Days.
ISwap Venue Rulebook Page 10 of 14 October 2019

Document version: 1.4 Copyright © 2019 iSwap Euro B.V. 

14.4. Operator may, at its discretion, determine the Trading Day for the Products. Trading is not permitted outside the Trading Day.

14.5. Participants may submit Orders and Actionable IOIs to the iSwap Venue in accordance with the Rules and as further detailed in the relevant 

Market Appendix.

14.6. Participants are responsible for amending and cancelling any Orders and Actionable IOIs they submit to the iSwap Venue.

14.7. Member Participants will be bound by all Orders and Actionable IOIs or commands and/or other input information received from their 

Authorised Traders or from Authorised Brokers acting on their behalf.

Required Transactions

14.8. No Participant shall execute a Required Transaction other than via the Order Book or Request for Quote procedures as outlined in the relevant 

Market Appendix.

Order Size

14.9. Operator may, at its sole discretion, set minimum and/or maximum Order and Actionable IOI sizes, and any incremental sizes, for any Eligible 

Instrument as further detailed in the relevant Market Appendix.

Pre-Trade Controls

14.10. Operator will determine a specific basis point market price spread, calculated by reference to the Market Mid-Price, which will be displayed 

on the iSwap Venue for each Eligible Instrument from time to time. Bids which are higher than the Market Mid-Price plus the spread and 

offers which are lower than the Market Mid-Price minus the spread cannot be submitted to the iSwap Venue. In addition, attempts to submit 

a Matching Order through the price of the existing best available Order by greater than a pre-defined margin will be rejected. In both cases 

the user is sent an error message detailing why the attempt was rejected.

14.11. Operator will enable, through its clearing credit system, the real-time screening of each Order for the availability of clearing credit limits 

provided by a Member Participant.

14.12. Orders and Trades are screened against the credit limits provided by the Member Participant in accordance with the Clearing Credit 

Methodology. 

Order Matching

14.13. Participant may submit, amend, or cancel Orders during the trading session prior to a Match taking place, subject to any exception detailed 

in the relevant Market Appendices.

14.14. Internal Matches can be enabled via the Authorisation Form on a Participant wide or Inter-Desk basis. Matches are not permitted between 

Orders from the same Authorised Trader, subject to any exception detailed in the relevant Market Appendices. 

Prohibition, Removal and Suspension of Trading

14.15. Operator will monitor the operation of the iSwap Venue during the Trading Day. Operator may in its absolute discretion and without liability 

prohibit, remove, suspend or cancel, as appropriate: 

14.15.1. an Order or group of Orders, or Actionable IOIs; or

14.15.2. a Trade, or group of Trades, or

14.15.3. a Product, or

14.15.4. an Eligible Instrument(s), or

14.15.5. the iSwap Venue.

14.16. Operator may take such action for any reason, including but not limited to, maintaining fair and orderly trading on the iSwap Venue and 

where the Operator is required to do so by a Regulator. 

14.17. Operator may without liability suspend or limit access to the iSwap Venue due to material technical or operational issues. 

14.18. Whilst access to or trading on the iSwap Venue is suspended for all Participants, no further Orders can be submitted and any Orders resting 

on the iSwap Venue will not be Matched. 

14.19. If trading is suspended, Operator may, at its sole discretion, delete all Orders entered onto the iSwap Venue. 

14.20. Trading shall recommence in accordance with these Rules, once Operator determines that the suspension shall be lifted.

14.21. Operator will notify Participants of any prohibition, removal or suspension pursuant to Rule 14.15 to 14.17. In the event of any suspension of 

the iSwap Venue, Operator will (to the extent practicable and/or as required by regulation) keep Participants informed regarding its 

availability.
ISwap Venue Rulebook Page 11 of 14 October 2019

Document version: 1.4 Copyright © 2019 iSwap Euro B.V. 

14.22. The term "Emergency" shall mean any situation that requires immediate action and threatens fair and orderly trading including any 

manipulative or attempted manipulative activity; any corner, squeeze, congestion, or undue concentration of positions; any action taken by 

any governmental authority, or trading venue which may have a direct impact on trading. The Board or the Regulatory Oversight Committee 

may declare an Emergency and instruct the Operator to take any remedial action deemed necessary, including the authority to liquidate or 

transfer open positions in any swap or to suspend or curtail trading in a swap.

15. Trade Cancellations and Error Trades 

15.1. All requests to cancel Trades by Participants and all Error Trades shall be treated in accordance with the Trade Cancellation and Error Trade 

Policy. 

15.2. In addition, Operator may cancel or reverse, or require any Member Participant to cancel or reverse, any Trade in its absolute discretion, 

including without limitation:

15.2.1. where Operator considers that the Trade appears to be:

(a) contrary to applicable law or market conventions, or

(b) prejudicial to fair and orderly trading on the iSwap Venue, or

(c) a breach of, or contrary to the Agreements, or

(d) indicative of market or system abuse or misuse, or

(e) giving a false or misleading impression to the market or any section of it; 

15.2.2. where the Operator is required to do so by a Regulator;

15.2.3. where the relevant Clearing House rejects the Trade for clearing;

15.2.4. where, if the Trade is submitted to an exchange, the relevant exchange rejects the Trade; or

15.2.5. where the Member Participants who are counterparties to a Trade have mutually agreed to cancel the Trade or the Trade is 

determined to be an Error Trade, in each case in accordance with the Trade Cancellation and Error Trade Policy.

16. Trade Capture and Confirmation 

16.1. Authorised Persons shall receive immediate notification of any Orders Matched via the iSwap Venue and Operator will provide Participants 

with details of Trades they have entered into on the iSwap Venue, either for themselves or on behalf of a Member Participant. 

16.2. Participants must notify Operator immediately upon receipt if they are not in agreement with any Trade details.

17. Clearing and Settlement 

17.1. Member Participants are responsible for the clearing and settlement of all Trades on the iSwap Venue. Member Participants must ensure 

they have the facility to clear and settle all Trades on the iSwap Venue in accordance with regulatory requirements and market practice. 

Operator accepts no responsibility or liability for the clearing or settlement of any Trades executed on the iSwap Venue. 

17.2. All Products available for trading on the iSwap Venue are subject to the Derivatives Clearing Obligation. 

17.3. The Venue's execution methods treat all transactions as being Required Transactions.

17.4. Any Trade executed on the iSwap Venue which is rejected for clearing by the relevant Clearing House shall be void ab initio; however, when 

the rejection is due to a technical or clerical problem, the Operator will obtain the agreement of the counterparties to the rejected Trade to 

execute a new Trade with the same economic terms and will submit the new Trade for clearing within one hour from the previoussubmission. 

17.5. As described in Rule 14.11, the Operator will enable the pre-trade screening for each Order of the limits set and maintained by a Member 

Participant. 

17.6. The Operator will send the information related to each Trade executed on the iSwap Venue to the relevant Clearing House through an 

Affirmation Hub as soon as technologically practicable after the execution of the Trade. 

17.7. Participants must ensure that they auto-affirm the Trades in the Affirmation Hub to enable automatic submission to the relevant Clearing 

House.

17.8. Participants that enter into a swap subject to mandatory clearing under Section 2(h) of the Commodity Exchange Act must comply with the 

mandatory trading requirement under section 2(h)(8) of the Commodity Exchange Act. 

18. Pre-Trade and Post-Trade Publication 
ISwap Venue Rulebook Page 12 of 14 October 2019

Document version: 1.4 Copyright © 2019 iSwap Euro B.V. 

18.1. The Operator will, in accordance with applicable regulatory rules, make public to Participants and non-Participants, information about the 

price, volume and time of Orders or Trades on the iSwap Venue. For the avoidance of doubt, this does not restrict any rights granted to the 

Operator by the Participant in the Agreements.

18.2. The Operator may seek to obtain and apply a pre-trade transparency waiver in accordance with article 9 of MiFIR and in such cases information 

relating to Orders may not be made available to non-Participants. 

18.3. The Operator may seek to obtain and apply a post-trade transparency deferral in accordance with article 11 of MiFIR and in such cases 

information relating to Trades may be published on a deferred basis. 

19. Trade Reporting 

19.1. Where applicable, Operator will ensure that Trade reports are submitted in accordance with the reporting requirements of the applicable 

rules. Including but not limited to, information required by Commission Regulation 37.901, Part 16 of the Commission Regulations and Core 

Principal 9 as well as complying with the Transaction Reporting requirements under MiFIR

19.2. Member Participants remain responsible for fulfilling their own Trade reporting requirements. 

19.3. iSwap will report all Trades to an SDR as soon as technologically practicable after execution. All real time data as required by Part 43 of the 

Commission Regulations and creation data required by Part 45 of the Commission Regulations will be reported to the relevant SDR.

20. Information and Data 

General

20.1. Operator may offer access to data feeds and/or other market information as part of its services. A separate charge or charges may be levied 

for such services offered by ICAP. Data visible on the iSwap Venue or provided by the Operator via an API or other data feed will be identifiable 

as either indicative (non-tradable) or tradable data and may only be used by the Participant for the purposes of placing Orders and executing 

Trades on the iSwap Venue, unless otherwise agreed in writing.

20.2. iSwap will capture and retain all transaction data, including bids/offers, request for quotes (RFQ) and Trades, whether accepted, unaccepted, 

cancelled or modified, so as to be able to reconstruct all transactions within a reasonable time period. iSwap will use this database in order

to reconstruct trading and identify possible violations.

20.3. iSwap shall keep, or cause to be kept, all books and records required to be maintained pursuant to the Act and Commission Regulations, 

including Commission Regulations 37.1001 (Recordkeeping) and 45.2(a) (Swap Recordkeeping).

20.4. iSwap shall retain all such books and records for the life of each Swap transacted pursuant to these Rules and five years following the 

termination of such Swap, and shall make such books and records readily accessible for inspection, in each case in the form and manner 

required under the Act and Commission Regulations, including Commission Regulations 37.1001 (Recordkeeping) and 45.2(a) (Swap 

Recordkeeping).

20.5. iSwap shall report to the Commission, in a form and manner acceptable to the Commission, such information as the Commission determines 

to be necessary or appropriate for the Commission to perform the duties of the Commission under the Act.

Market Mid-Price

20.6. The iSwap Venue calculates a mid-market reference rate called the Market Mid-Price for each outright Eligible Instrument and for each Market 

on the iSwap Venue. The Market Mid-Price is continually updated according to the value of Eligible Market Mid-Price Orders, as defined 

below, on the iSwap Venue. 

20.7. Orders that will be counted as Eligible Market Mid-Price Orders are, in respect of an Eligible Instrument, Orders where the Order size is greater 

than a pre-defined multiple (as determined by the Operator) of the minimum Order size for that Eligible Instrument. The following Orders

will not be Eligible Market Mid-Price Orders: 

20.7.1. Min Clip, AON or Non Display Limit Orders; 

20.7.2. Orders where there is a bid but no offer; and

20.7.3. Orders where the bid-offer spread is wider than a pre-defined value, as determined by the Operator.

20.8. If a Trade results from an Eligible Market Mid-Price Order, the Market Mid-Price will adjust to reflect the actual Trade price of such Eligible 

Market Mid-Price Order for a specific period of time. 

20.9. In the absence of any Eligible Market Mid-Price Order on the iSwap Venue, the Market Mid-Price will be the mid-price of the Eligible 

Instruments as shown on the ICAP market data pages, published on Reuters or Bloomberg.

20.10. Internal Matches will not impact the Market Mid-Price.

21. Algorithmic Trading
ISwap Venue Rulebook Page 13 of 14 October 2019

Document version: 1.4 Copyright © 2019 iSwap Euro B.V. 

21.1. Member Participants wishing to engage in Algorithmic Trading must ensure that Algorithmic Trading is controlled and organised in accordance 

with the requirements of MiFID II, and that their Algorithmic Trading is monitored by them to prevent disorderly trading on the iSwap Venue.

21.2. Member Participants wishing to engage in Algorithmic Trading must, prior to the deployment or any substantial update of any trading 

algorithm:

21.2.1. Undertake conformance testing; and

21.2.2. Provide a certification to the Operator that the algorithms employed by the Member Participant have been tested to avoid 

contributing to, or creating, disorderly trading conditions and explain the means used for such testing. 

21.3. All Algorithmic Trading should be identified by the Member Participant as such and must be routed to the iSwap Venue via trading permissions 

attributed to an Authorised Algorithmic Trader. 

22. Market Making

22.1. Member Participants engaged in Algorithmic Trading pursuing a market making strategy on the iSwap Venue shall enter into a Market Making 

Agreement with the Operator.

22.2. Operator may from time to time adopt one or more programmes under which one or more Member Participants may be approved and 

designated as market makers with respect to one or more Product and/or Markets in order to provide liquidity and orderliness in a Product 

and/or Market (a “Market Maker Programme”). 

22.3. Any Market Maker Programme adopted pursuant to Rule 22.1 may provide for one or more of the following: 

22.3.1. additional eligibility criteria or other qualifications, including minimum net capital requirements, that any such market maker must 

satisfy; 

22.3.2. the procedure by which Member Participants may apply for, and obtain, designation as a market maker;

22.3.3. the ongoing obligations of such market maker, including without limitation, any applicable minimum bid/offer and spread 

commitments; 

22.3.4. the benefits accruing to such market makers which may include, without limitation, reduced transaction fees; and

22.3.5. the requirement that such designated market makers agree to abide by these Rules and the rules of the Market Maker Programme.

23. Co-operation with Regulators 

23.1. Operator will report any significant breaches of the Rules, disorderly trading conditions or conduct which gives rise to a suspicion of market 

abuse to the FCA, the Commission, or other relevant Regulator. 

23.2. Operator will provide full assistance to, and may also supply any relevant information without delay to, the AFM, the FCA, the Commission, 

or other relevant Regulator.

24. Complaints 

24.1. Any complaint about the conduct of a Participant or any suspicion that any Participant has committed or about to commit a breach of these 

Rules, or any other complaint related to the iSwap Venue, should be made in writing and addressed to:

Compliance Officer, iSwap Euro B.V.

Vijzelstraat 68, unit 109

1017 HL Amsterdam

The Netherlands

25. Taxes and Fees 

25.1. Member Participants are liable for the payment of any applicable taxes, fees, duties, or levies that arise in connection with the trading of 

Eligible Instruments on the iSwap Venue.

26. Confidentiality 

26.1. Operator will treat as confidential any information received from a Participant, including, where applicable, any credit settings, in relation to 

its business on the iSwap Venue, except where:

26.1.1. the information is publicly available; or

26.1.2. disclosure is required by law or any tax authority or Regulator having jurisdiction; or
ISwap Venue Rulebook Page 14 of 14 October 2019

Document version: 1.4 Copyright © 2019 iSwap Euro B.V. 

26.1.3. disclosure is made in the interests of co-operation with any regulatory investigation conducted by a relevant Regulator; or

26.1.4. disclosure is made for the protection of the market and the maintenance of high standards in integrity and fair dealing; or

26.1.5. the Participant has consented to the disclosure in writing.

27. Amendments and Notices

27.1. Operator may, in its absolute discretion, at any time supplement or implement new Rules, amend existing Rules, or revoke Rules in whole or 

in part. Participants will be informed of any such change by the issuing of a Market Notice. 

27.2. Market Notices form part of the Rules. Such changes will be effective at such time as specified in the relevant Market Notice. Unless otherwise 

required by a Regulator or by applicable law, any such change shall not apply retrospectively.

27.3. If the change to the Rules is:

27.3.1. material, the Operator will give Participants reasonable notice before such change comes into effect; or

27.3.2. non-material, the Operator may make such change without issuing notice in advance of the change to Participants. 

28. Governing Law 

28.1. These Rules and all non-contractual or other obligations arising out of or in connection with them shall be governed by, and shall be construed 

in accordance with Dutch Law.

28.2. The parties hereby submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Amsterdam, the Netherlands in relation to any legal action or 

proceeding arising out of or in connection with these Rules. Insofar allowed by the relevant courts, the proceedings shall be conducted in 

English. 

28.3. All parties (including Authorised Persons) acknowledge and submit to the jurisdiction of the Venue.