02022D0911 — EN — 21.11.2022 — 001.001

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Amended by:









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DECISION (EU) 2022/911 OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

of 19 April 2022

concerning the terms and conditions of TARGET-ECB and repealing Decision 2007/610/EC (ECB/2007/7) (ECB/2022/22)







Article 1

Scope

1. The ECB’s TARGET component system (TARGET-ECB) is limited to the following operations: (a) processing the ECB's own payments; (b) processing payments of ECB customers; (c) providing settlement services to entities managing ancillary systems, including entities established outside the European Economic Area, provided that those entities: (i) are subject to oversight by a competent authority; (ii) comply with the oversight requirements for the location of infrastructures offering services in euro, as published on the ECB's website; (iii) have been granted access to TARGET-ECB by the Governing Council.

2. The ECB may only accept the following customers and may act on their behalf: (a) central banks; (b) European organisations; (c) international organisations; (d) central governments of Member States or public entities designated by such central governments, pursuant to an ad-hoc decision of the Governing Council.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of this Decision, the definitions set out in Annex III apply.

Article 3

Terms and Conditions for participation in TARGET-ECB

1. Participation in TARGET-ECB shall be exclusively governed by the Conditions for participation in TARGET-ECB set out in Annex I.

2. In accordance with Article 9(2) of Guideline (EU) 2022/912 (ECB/2022/8), from 20 November 2023, the ECB shall not open accounts other than TARGET accounts for eligible participants to provide services falling within the scope of Guideline (EU) 2022/912 (ECB/2022/8), with the exception of accounts that are used to hold seized funds or funds pledged to a third-party creditor or funds referred to in Article 3(1)(d) of Regulation (EU) 2021/378 of the European Central Bank (ECB/2021/1) ( 1 ).

3. Participation in TARGET-ECB shall also be governed by Article 11 of Guideline (EU) 2022/912 (ECB/2022/8), where relevant.

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Article 4

Repeal of Decision ECB/2007/7

Decision ECB/2007/7 is repealed with effect from 20 March 2023.

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Article 5

Entry into force

This Decision shall enter into force on the fifth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

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It shall apply from 20 March 2023.

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ANNEX I

CONDITIONS FOR PARTICIPATION IN TARGET-ECB

PART I

General terms and conditions

Article 1

Scope

The terms and conditions set out in this Part I govern the relationship between the ECB and its participants in TARGET-ECB. The terms and conditions set out in the following Parts II, III, IV, V, VI and VII apply as far as participants opt for and are granted one or more accounts described in such Parts. The terms and conditions set out in Parts I to VII of this Annex are referred to in this Decision collectively as the ‘Conditions’.

Article 2

Appendices

1. The following Appendices form an integral part of these Conditions: Appendix I: Technical specifications for the processing of cash transfer orders Appendix II: TARGET compensation scheme Appendix III: Terms of reference for capacity and country opinions Appendix IV: Business continuity and contingency procedures Appendix V: TARGET operating schedule Appendix VI: Fee schedule Appendix VII: Requirements regarding information security management and business continuity management

2. In the event of any conflict or inconsistency between the content of any appendix and the content of any other provision in these Conditions, the latter shall prevail.

Article 3

General description of TARGET

1. Kreditwesengesetz (KWG). TARGET is legally structured as a multiplicity of payment systems composed of all TARGET component systems, each of which is designated as a ‘system’ under the relevant national law implementing Directive 98/26/EC of the European Parleament and of the Council ( 2 ). TARGET-ECB is designated as a ‘system’ under § 1(16) of the(KWG).

2. TARGET comprises payment systems in euro that settle in central bank money and provide central liquidity management services, real-time gross settlement for payments and services for AS settlement, and enable cash payments in relation to securities settlement and the settlement of instant payments.

3. TARGET provides: (a) MCAs for the settlement of central bank operations; (b) RTGS DCAs for large value real-time gross settlement of payments and subaccounts if required for AS settlement; (c) T2S DCAs for cash payments in relation to securities settlement; (d) TIPS DCAs for the settlement of instant payments; and (e) the following accounts for AS settlement: (i) RTGS AS technical accounts; (ii) AS guarantee fund accounts; and (iii) TIPS AS technical accounts. Each account in TARGET-ECB shall be identified by means of a unique account number made up of the elements described in Appendix I, paragraph 2.

Article 4

Access criteria

Entities managing ancillary systems (including entities established outside the European Economic Area (EEA)) and acting in that capacity, whose access to TARGET-ECB has been approved by the Governing Council, shall be the only entities that are eligible for participation in TARGET-ECB.

Article 5

Application procedure

1. In order to become a participant in TARGET-ECB, an eligible entity as described in Article 4 shall fulfil the following requirements: (a) install, manage, operate, monitor and ensure the security of the necessary IT infrastructure to connect to TARGET-ECB and be able to submit cash transfer orders to it. In doing so, applicant participants may involve third parties but retain sole liability; (b) have passed the tests required by the ECB; (c) if it is an applicant for an a RTGS DCA, a T2S DCA or a TIPS DCA it shall also hold or open an MCA with the ECB; (d) provide a capacity opinion in the form specified in Appendix III, unless the information and representations to be provided in such capacity opinion have already been obtained by the ECB in another context; (e) for the entities referred to in Article 4, established outside the EEA, provide a country opinion in the form specified in Appendix III, unless the information and representations to be provided in such country opinion have already been obtained by the ECB in another context; (f) if it is an applicant for a TIPS DCA, has adhered to the SCT Inst scheme by signing the SEPA Instant Credit Transfer Adherence Agreement; (g) if it is an applicant for a TIPS AS technical account, has provided evidence that the disclosure letter showing their intent to be an SCT Inst compliant Clearing and Settlement Mechanism (CSM) has been provided to the European Payments Council (EPC).

2. Applicants shall apply to the ECB, as a minimum enclosing the following documents/information: (a) completed reference data collection forms as provided by the ECB; (b) the capacity opinion, if required by the ECB, and the country opinion, if required by the ECB; (c) if it is an applicant for a TIPS DCA, evidence of their adherence to the SCT Inst scheme; (d) if the applicant is applying to use the TIPS AS settlement procedure, evidence that they have provided the EPC with the disclosure letter showing their intent to be an SCT Inst compliant CSM; (e) if the applicant designates a paying agent, the evidence that the paying agent has agreed to act in that role.

3. Applicants which are already TARGET participants and apply for a new account as described in: (i) Part III (RTGS-DCA); (ii) Part IV (T2S DCA); (iii) Part V (TIPS DCA); (iv) Part VI (RTGS AS technical account); and/or (v) Part VII (TIPS AS technical account), shall comply with the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 to the extent relevant for the new account applied for.

4. The ECB may also request any additional information it deems necessary to decide on an application to open a TARGET account.

5. The ECB shall reject the application to participate if: (a) the applicant is not an eligible entity as described in Article 4; (b) one or more of the participation requirements referred to in paragraph 1 are not met; and/or (c) according to the ECB’s assessment, such participation would endanger the overall stability, soundness and safety of TARGET-ECB or of any other TARGET component system, or would jeopardise the ECB’s performance of its tasks as described in the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank, or poses risks on the grounds of prudence.

6. The ECB shall communicate its decision on the application to become a participant in TARGET-ECBto the applicant participant within one month of the ECB’s receipt of the application. Where the ECB requests additional information pursuant to paragraph 4, the decision shall be communicated within one month of the ECB’s receipt of this information from the applicant. Any rejection decision shall contain reasons for the rejection.

Article 6

Participants

AS which use the RTGS AS settlement procedures or the TIPS AS settlement procedure shall be subject to the terms and conditions set out in this Part as well as in Part VI or Part VII, respectively. They may hold one or more MCAs, T2S DCAs and, exceptionally and if approved by the ECB, one or more RTGS DCAs except in relation to the clearing of instant payments pursuant to the SCT Inst scheme. If an AS holds an RTGS DCA or a T2S DCA it shall also hold at least one MCA with the ECB. In the event that an AS holds one or more MCAs or RTGS DCAs or T2S DCAs, the respective Parts of these Conditions shall also apply.

Article 7

Access to a participant’s account by entities other than the participant

1. To the extent technically possible, a participant may give access to its TARGET accounts to one or more entities it designates, for the purposes of submitting cash transfer orders and performing other actions.

2. Cash transfer orders submitted or funds received by the entities designated by a participant as referred to in paragraph 1 shall be deemed to have been submitted or received by that participant itself.

3. The participant shall be bound by such cash transfer orders and any other action taken by the entity or entities referred to in paragraph 1, regardless of the content of, or any non-compliance with, the contractual or other arrangements between that participant and such entity.

Article 8

Billing

1. The ECB shall identify billable items according to Appendix VI and shall allocate each of them to the participant from which that billable item originates.

2. Any fee payable in relation to a cash transfer order submitted by or cash transfer received by an AS, irrespective of whether it uses the RTGS AS settlement procedures or an RTGS DCA, shall be exclusively charged to that AS.

3. Billable items generated by actions taken by the designated entities referred in Article 7, as well as by central banks acting on behalf of a participant, shall be allocated to the participant.

4. The ECB shall issue separate invoices to the participant for the relevant services described in: (i) Part III (RTGS-DCA); (ii) Part IV (T2S DCA); (iii) Part V (TIPS DCA); (iv) Part VI (RTGS AS settlement procedures); and (v) Part VII (TIPS AS settlement procedure).

5. The ECB shall settle each invoice by means of a direct debit of an MCA held by the participant, unless the participant has designated another participant in TARGET (which may be in TARGET-ECB or another component system) as a paying agent and instructed the ECB to debit the MCA of that paying agent. Such an instruction shall not release the participant from its obligation to pay each invoice.

6. Where a paying agent has been designated, the participant will provide the ECB with evidence that the paying agent has agreed to act in that role.

7. For the purposes of this Article, each AS shall be treated separately, even if two or more of them are operated by the same legal entity, and irrespective of whether or not the AS has been designated under Directive 98/26/EC. In the case of an AS that has not been designated under Directive 98/26/EC, it shall be identified as an AS by reference to the following criteria: (a) it is a formal arrangement, based on a contractual or legislative instrument, e.g. an agreement among the participants and the system operator; (b) it has multiple membership; (c) it has common rules and standardised arrangements; and (d) is for the purpose of clearing, netting and/or settlement of payments and/or securities between the participants.

Article 9

Billing Groups

1. Upon the request of the participant the ECB shall create a billing group to allow its members to benefit from the degressive pricing applicable to RTGS DCAs. The billing group may only include RTGS DCA holders belonging to the same banking group, from one or more TARGET component systems.

2. Upon the request of an RTGS DCA holder the ECB shall add that RTGS DCA holder to or delete it from a billing group which may be in TARGET-ECB or in any other TARGET component system. The RTGS DCA holder shall inform all other members of the billing group of such a request prior to making it.

3. RTGS DCA holders included in a billing group shall be invoiced individually as set out in Article 8.

Article 10

Obligations of the ECB and the participant

1. The ECB shall offer the services described in Parts II, III, IV, V, VI and VII of these Conditions where a participant has opted for and been granted an account as referred to therein. Save where otherwise provided in these Conditions or required by law, the ECB shall use all reasonable means within its power to perform its obligations under these Conditions, without guaranteeing a result.

2. The ECB is the provider of services pursuant to these Conditions. Acts and omissions of the Level 3 NCBs shall be considered as acts and omissions of the ECB, for which it shall assume liability in accordance with Article 21. Participation pursuant to these Conditions shall not create a contractual relationship between participants and the Level 3 NCBs when any of the latter acts in its capacity as a Level 3 NCB. Instructions, messages or information which a participant receives from, or sends to, TARGET in relation to the services provided under these Conditions shall be deemed to be received from, or sent to, ECB.

3. The participant shall pay to the ECB fees in accordance with Article 8.

4. The participant shall ensure that it is technically connected to TARGET-ECB in accordance with TARGET operating schedule set out in Appendix V. This obligation may be fulfilled through a designated entity referred to in Article 7.

5. The participant shall represent and warrant to the ECB that the performance of its obligations under these Conditions does not breach any law, regulation or by-law applicable to it or any agreement by which it is bound.

6. The participant shall pay any applicable stamp duties or other documentary taxes or duties, if applicable, as well as any other costs the participant incurs in opening, maintaining or closing its TARGET account.

Article 11

Cooperation and information exchange

1. In performing their obligations and exercising their rights under these Conditions, the ECB and participants shall cooperate closely to ensure the stability, soundness and safety of TARGET-ECB. They shall provide each other with any information or documents relevant for the performance of their respective obligations and the exercise of their respective rights under these Conditions, without prejudice to any banking secrecy obligations.

2. The ECB shall establish and maintain a system support desk to assist participants in relation to difficulties arising in connection with system operations.

3. Up-to-date information on the operational status of each service shall be available on a TARGET Information System (TIS) on a dedicated webpage on the ECB’s website.

4. The ECB may communicate system relevant messages to participants by means of a broadcast message or, if this means is not available, by any other appropriate means of communication.

5. Participants shall update in a timely manner existing reference data collection forms and submit new reference data collection forms to the ECB. Participants shall verify the accuracy of information relating to them that is entered into TARGET-ECB by the ECB.

6. The participant hereby authorises the ECB to communicate to the Level 3 NCBs any information relating to participants which the Level 3 NCBs may need, in accordance with the agreements between the Level 3 NCBs and the Eurosystem CBs governing the provision of the services to be provided by the Level 3 NCBs.

7. Participants shall inform the ECB without undue delay about any change in their legal capacity and relevant legislative changes affecting issues covered by the country opinion as set out in the terms of reference given in Appendix III.

8. The ECB may at any time request an update or renewal of the country or capacity opinions referred to in Article 5(1), points (d) and (e).

9. Participants shall immediately inform the ECB if an event of default occurs in relation to themselves or if they are subject to crisis prevention measures or crisis management measures within the meaning of Directive 2014/59/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 3 ) or any other equivalent applicable legislation.

Article 12

Remuneration of Accounts

1. MCAs, DCAs and sub-accounts shall either be remunerated at zero per cent or at the deposit facility rate, whichever is lower.

2. Overnight balances held on a TIPS AS technical account or on an RTGS AS technical account for AS settlement procedure D, and guarantee funds, including those held on an AS guarantee fund account, shall be remunerated at the deposit facility rate.

Article 13

Management of Accounts

1. Participants shall monitor and manage the liquidity on their accounts in line with the TARGET operating schedule as set out in Appendix V and perform transaction-level reconciliation at least once a day. This obligation may be fulfilled through a designated entity referred to in Article 7.

2. The participant shall make use of the tools provided by the ECB for the purpose of account reconciliation, in particular the daily statement of account which is made available to each participant. This obligation may be fulfilled through a designated entity referred to in Article 7.

3. Participants shall immediately inform the ECB in the event that a mismatch occurs in relation to any of their accounts.

Article 14

Floor and ceiling amounts

1. The participant may set floor and ceiling amounts on its MCA or DCAs.

2. The participant may choose to receive a notification if the floor or ceiling amount is breached. In addition, for MCAs or RTGS DCAs the participant may opt for the breach to trigger a rule-based liquidity transfer order.

3. The settlement of a liquidity transfer order shall not trigger a check of whether the floor or ceiling amount has been breached.

Article 15

Account monitoring group

1. An MCA holder may create one or more account monitoring groups for the purpose of monitoring liquidity on several MCAs or DCAs and will become the leader party for any account monitoring group that it creates.

2. A participant may add any of its MCAs or DCAs opened within TARGET-ECB or any other TARGET component system to one or more account monitoring groups and thereby become a member of that account monitoring group. A member of an account monitoring group may initiate the removal of its account from that account monitoring group at any time. A participant shall inform the leader party of an account monitoring group prior to adding an account to or removing an account from that account monitoring group.

3. Only the leader party for an account monitoring group shall be able to view the balances of all accounts included in that account monitoring group.

4. The leader party may delete the account monitoring group and shall inform the other members of the account monitoring group prior to such deletion.

Article 16

Acceptance and rejection of cash transfer orders

1. Cash transfer orders submitted by participants shall be deemed accepted by the ECB if: (a) the transfer message complies with the technical requirements of TARGET described in Appendix I; (b) the message complies with the formatting rules and conditions described in Appendix I; (c) the message passes the double-entry check described in Appendix I; (d) in cases where a payer has been suspended with regard to debiting its account(s) or a payee has been suspended with regard to crediting its account(s), the suspended participant’s CB’s explicit consent has been obtained; (e) in cases where the cash transfer order is made as part of an RTGS AS settlement procedure, the participant’s account is included in the settlement bank account group requested by that AS as set out in Part VI, Article 1(7); and (f) in the case of cross-system settlement as part of RTGS AS settlement procedures, the AS concerned is part of a cross-system settlement arrangement as set out in Article 9 of Part VI.

2. The ECB shall immediately reject any cash transfer order that does not fulfil the conditions laid down in paragraph 1. The ECB shall inform the participant of any rejection of a cash transfer order, as specified in Appendix I.

Article 17

Entry of cash transfer orders into the system and their irrevocability

1. For the purposes of the first sentence of Articles 3(1) and 5 of Directive 98/26/EC and the third sentence of § 116, § 96(2), § 82 and § 340(3) of the Insolvenzordnung (German Insolvency Code) and the sixth sentence of § 46a(1) of the KWG: (a) all cash transfer orders, except as provided for in points b), c) and d) of this paragraph, shall be deemed entered into TARGET-ECB and irrevocable at the moment that the relevant participant’s TARGET account is debited; (b) instant payment orders shall be deemed entered into TARGET-ECB and irrevocable at the moment that the relevant funds on the TIPS DCA of the participant or on its TIPS AS technical account are reserved; (c) in the case of transactions that are settled on T2S DCAs and that are subject to matching of two separate transfer orders: (i) such transfer orders, except as provided for in point (ii) of this subparagraph, shall be deemed entered into TARGET-ECB at the moment at which they have been declared compliant with the technical rules of T2S by the T2S Platform and irrevocable at the moment the transaction has been given the status ‘matched’ on the T2S Platform; (ii) in the case of transactions involving one participating CSD that has a separate matching component where transfer orders are sent directly to that participating CSD to be matched in its separate matching component, such transfer orders shall be deemed entered into TARGET-ECB at the moment at which they have been declared compliant with the technical rules of T2S by that participating CSD and irrevocable from the moment the transaction has been given the status ‘matched’ on the T2S Platform. A list of participating CSDs referred to in this point (ii) is available on the ECB’s website; (d) cash transfer orders in connection with RTGS AS settlement procedures shall be deemed entered in the TARGET component system of the account to be debited at the moment at which they are accepted by that TARGET component system and irrevocable at that moment.

2. The provisions of paragraph 1 shall not affect any rules of AS that stipulate a moment of entry into the AS and/or irrevocability of transfer orders submitted to it at a point in time earlier than the moment of entry of the respective AS transfer orders in the relevant TARGET component system.

3. Cash transfer orders included in an algorithm may not be revoked during the period that the algorithm is running.

Article 18

Business continuity and contingency procedures

1. In the event of an abnormal external event or any other event which affects transactions on the TARGET accounts, the business continuity and contingency procedures described in Appendix IV shall apply.

2. In exceptional circumstances the TARGET operating schedule may be changed, in which case participants will be informed by the ECB.

3. In exceptional circumstances an AS may make a request to the ECB to modify the TARGET operating schedule.

4. The Eurosystem provides a Contingency Solution for use if the events described in paragraph 1 occur. Connection to and use of the Contingency Solution shall be mandatory for participants considered by the ECB] to be critical and for participants that settle very critical transactions as set out in Appendix IV. Other participants may, on request, connect to the Contingency Solution.

Article 19

Security requirements

1. Participants shall implement adequate security controls to protect their systems from unauthorised access and use. Participants shall be exclusively responsible for the adequate protection of the confidentiality, integrity and availability of their systems.

2. Participants shall immediately inform the ECB of any security-related incidents in their technical infrastructure and, where appropriate, security-related incidents that occur in the technical infrastructure of the third-party providers. The ECB may request further information about the incident and, if necessary, request that the participant take appropriate measures to prevent a recurrence of such an event.

3. The ECB may impose additional security requirements, in particular with regard to cybersecurity or the prevention of fraud, on all participants and/or on participants that are considered critical by the ECB.

4. Participants shall provide the ECB with: (i) permanent access to their attestation of adherence to their chosen NSP’s endpoint security requirements; and (ii) on an annual basis the TARGET self-certification statement as required for the types of accounts that they hold and as published on the ECB’s website.

5. The ECB shall assess the participant’s self-certification statement(s) on the participant’s level of compliance with each of the requirements set out in the TARGET selfcertification requirements. These requirements are listed in Appendix VII.

6. The participant’s level of compliance with the requirements of the TARGET self-certification shall be categorised as follows, in increasing order of severity: ‘full compliance’; ‘minor non-compliance’; or, ‘major non-compliance’. The following criteria apply: full compliance is reached where participants satisfy 100 % of the requirements; minor non-compliance is where a participant satisfies less than 100 % but at least 66 % of the requirements and major non-compliance where a participant satisfies less than 66 % of the requirements. If a participant demonstrates that a specific requirement is not applicable to it, it shall be considered as compliant with the respective requirement for the purposes of the categorisation. A participant which fails to reach ‘full compliance’ shall submit an action plan demonstrating how it intends to reach full compliance. The ECB shall inform the relevant supervisory authorities of the status of such participant’s compliance.

7. If the participant refuses to grant permanent access to its attestation of adherence to its chosen NSPs endpoint security requirements or does not provide the TARGET self-certification, the participant’s level of compliance shall be categorised as ‘major non-compliance’.

8. The ECB shall re-assess compliance of participants on an annual basis.

9. The ECB may impose the following measures of redress on participants whose level of compliance was assessed as minor or major non-compliance, in increasing order of severity: (a) enhanced monitoring: the participant shall provide the ECB with a monthly report, signed by a senior executive, on its progress in addressing the non-compliance. The participant shall additionally incur a monthly penalty charge for each affected account of EUR 1 000 . This measure of redress may be imposed in the event the participant receives a second consecutive assessment of minor non-compliance or an assessment of major noncompliance; (b) suspension: participation in TARGET-ECB may be suspended in the circumstances described in Article 24(2), points (b) and/or (c). By way of derogation from Article 24, the participant shall be given three months’ notice of such suspension. The participant shall incur a monthly penalty charge for each suspended account of EUR 2 000 . This measure of redress may be imposed in the event the participant receives a second consecutive assessment of major non-compliance; (c) termination: participation in TARGET-ECB may be terminated in the circumstances described in Article 24(2), points (b) and/or (c). By way of derogation from Article 24, the participant shall be given three months’ notice. The participant shall incur an additional penalty charge of EUR 1 000 for each terminated account. This measure of redress may be imposed if the participant has not addressed the major non-compliance to the satisfaction of the ECB following three months of suspension.

10. Participants allowing access to their TARGET account by third parties as set out in Article 7 and participants having registered addressable BIC holders as set out in Part III, Article 2, shall address the risk stemming from allowing such access in accordance with the security requirements set out in paragraphs 1 to 9.

Article 20

Compensation Scheme

If a cash transfer order cannot be settled on the same business day on which it was accepted due to a technical malfunction of TARGET, the ECB shall offer to compensate the participant concerned in accordance with the special procedure laid down in Appendix II.

Article 21

Liability regime

1. In performing their obligations pursuant to these Conditions, the ECB and the participants shall be bound by a general duty of reasonable care in relation to each other.

2. The ECB shall be liable to its participants in cases of fraud (including but not limited to wilful misconduct) or gross negligence, for any loss arising out of the operation of TARGET-ECB. In cases of ordinary negligence, the ECB’s liability shall be limited to the participant’s direct loss, i.e. the amount of the transaction in question and/or the loss of interest thereon, excluding any consequential loss.

3. The ECB shall not be liable for any loss that results from any malfunction or failure in the technical infrastructure (including but not limited to the ECB’s computer infrastructure, programmes, data, applications or networks), if such malfunction or failure arises in spite of the ECB having adopted those measures that are reasonably necessary to protect such infrastructure against malfunction or failure, and to resolve the consequences of such malfunction or failure (the latter including but not limited to initiating and completing the business continuity and contingency procedures referred to in Appendix IV).

4. The ECB shall not be liable: (a) to the extent that the loss is caused by the participant; or (b) if the loss arises out of external events beyond the ECB’s reasonable control (force majeure).

5. Notwithstanding § § 676a, 676b, 676c, 676e and 676g of the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (German Civil Code), paragraphs 1 to 4 shall apply to the extent that the ECB’s liability can be excluded.

6. The ECB and the participants shall take all reasonable and practicable steps to mitigate any damage or loss referred to in this Article.

7. In performing some or all of its obligations under these Conditions, the ECB may commission third parties in its own name, particularly telecommunications or other network providers or other entities, if this is necessary to meet the ECB’s obligations or is standard market practice. The ECB’s obligation shall be limited to the due selection and commissioning of any such third parties and the ECB’s liability shall be limited accordingly. For the purposes of this paragraph, the Level 3 NCBs shall not be considered as third parties.

Article 22

Evidence

1. Unless otherwise provided in these Conditions, all cash transfer orders and related messages, such as confirmations of debits or credits, or statement messages, between the ECB and participants shall be made through the relevant NSP.

2. Electronic or written records of the messages retained by the ECB or by the relevant NSP shall be accepted as a means of evidence of the payments processed through the ECB. The saved or printed version of the original message of the relevant NSP shall be accepted as a means of evidence, regardless of the form of the original message.

3. If a participant’s connection to the NSP fails, the participant shall use the alternative means of transmission of messages as agreed with the ECB. In such cases, the saved or printed version of the message produced by the ECB shall have the same evidential value as the original message, regardless of its form.

4. The ECB shall keep complete records of cash transfer orders submitted and payments received by participants for a period of ten years from the time at which such cash transfer orders are submitted and payments are received.

5. The ECB’s own books and records shall be accepted as a means of evidence of any obligations of the participants and of any facts and events that the parties rely on.

Article 23

Duration and ordinary termination of participation and closure of accounts

1. Without prejudice to Article 24, participation in TARGET-ECB shall be for an indefinite period of time.

2. A participant may terminate any of the following at any time giving 14 business days’ notice thereof, unless it agrees a shorter notice period with the ECB: (a) its entire participation in TARGET-ECB; (b) one or more of its DCAs, RTGS AS technical accounts and/or TIPS AS technical accounts; (c) one or more of its MCAs, provided that it continues to comply with Article 5.

3. The ECB may terminate any of the following at any time giving three months’ notice thereof, unless it agrees a different notice period with the relevant participant: (a) a participant’s entire participation in TARGET-ECB; (b) one or more of a participant’s DCAs, RTGS AS technical accounts or TIPS AS technical accounts; (c) one or more of a participant’s MCAs, provided that the participant continues to hold at least one MCA.

4. On termination of participation, the confidentiality duties laid down in Article 27 shall remain in force for a period of five years starting on the date of termination.

5. On termination of participation, the ECB shall close all TARGET accounts of the participant concerned in accordance with Article 25.

Article 24

Suspension and extraordinary termination of participation

1. A participant’s participation in TARGET-ECB shall be immediately terminated without prior notice or suspended if one of the following events of default occurs: (a) the opening of insolvency proceedings; and/or (b) the participant no longer meets the access criteria laid down in Article 4. For the purposes of this paragraph, the taking of crisis prevention measures or crisis management measures within the meaning of Directive 2014/59/EU against a participant shall not automatically qualify as the opening of insolvency proceedings.

2. The ECB may terminate without prior notice or suspend the participant’s participation in TARGET-ECB if: (a) one or more events of default (other than those referred to in paragraph 1) occur; (b) the participant is in material breach of any of these Conditions; (c) the participant fails to carry out any material obligation to the ECB; (d) the participant ceases to have a valid agreement with an NSP to provide the necessary connection to TARGET; (e) any other participant-related event occurs which, in the ECB’s assessment, would threaten the overall stability, soundness and safety of TARGET-ECB or of any other TARGET component system, or which would jeopardise the ECB’s performance of its tasks as described in the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank, or poses risks on the grounds of prudence; (f) the ECB suspends or terminates the participant’s access to intraday credit, including auto-collateralisation, pursuant to Part II, Article 13 of Guideline (EU) 2022/912 (ECB/2022/8); and/or (g) the participant is excluded from or otherwise ceases to be a member of one of the NSP Closed Group of Users.

3. In exercising its discretion under paragraph 2, the ECB shall take into account, inter alia, the seriousness of the event of default or events mentioned in points (a) to (c) of paragraph 2.

4. In the event that the ECB suspends or terminates a participant’s participation in TARGET-ECB under paragraphs 1 or 2, the ECB shall without undue delay inform – by means of a broadcast message or, if that is not available, by any other appropriate means of communication – the respective participant, other CBs and participants in all of the TARGET component systems of such suspension or termination. Such message shall be deemed to have been issued by the home CB of the respective participant.

5. Once a message issued under paragraph 4 has been received by the participants, they shall be deemed informed of the termination/suspension of a participant’s participation in TARGET-ECB or another TARGET component system. The participants shall bear any losses arising from the submission of a cash transfer order to participants whose participation has been suspended or terminated if such cash transfer order was entered into TARGET-ECB after receipt of the message.

Article 25

Closure of TARGET accounts by the ECB on termination of participation

On termination of a participant’s participation in TARGET-ECB pursuant to either Article 23 or 24, the ECB shall close the TARGET accounts of the participant concerned, after having settled or rejected any queued cash transfer orders, and made use of its rights of pledge and set-off under Article 26.

Article 26

The ECB’s rights of pledge and set-off

1. The ECB shall have a pledge over the participant’s existing and future credit balances on its TARGET accounts, thereby collateralising any current and future claims arising out of the legal relationship between the parties.

2. On the occurrence of: (a) an event of default, referred to in Article 24(1); or (b) any other event of default or event referred to in Article 24(2) that has led to the termination or suspension of the participant’s participation, notwithstanding the commencement of any insolvency proceedings in respect of a participant and notwithstanding any assignment, judicial or other attachment or other disposition of or in respect of the participant’s rights, all obligations of the participant shall be automatically and immediately accelerated, without prior notice and without the need for any prior approval of any authority, so as to be immediately due. In addition, the mutual obligations of the participant and the ECB shall automatically be set off against each other, and the party owing the higher amount shall pay to the other the difference.

3. The ECB shall promptly give the participant notice of any set-off pursuant to paragraph 4 after such set-off has taken place.

4. The ECB may without prior notice debit any participant’s TARGET accounts by any amount which the participant owes the ECB resulting from the legal relationship between the participant and the ECB .

5. The provisions of this Article shall not create any right, pledge, charge or claim or set-off in respect of the following TARGET accounts used by AS: (a) TARGET accounts used in accordance with the AS settlement procedures under Part VI or Part VII; (b) TARGET accounts held by AS under Parts II to V, where funds held on such accounts do not belong to the AS but are held on behalf of their customers or are used to settle cash transfer orders on behalf of their customers.

Article 27

Confidentiality

1. The ECB shall keep confidential all sensitive or secret information, including when such information relates to payment, technical or organisational information belonging to the participant, participants from the same group or the participant's customers, unless the participant or its customer has given its written consent to disclose.

2. By derogation from paragraph 1, the participant agrees that information on any action taken under Article 24 shall not be considered as confidential.

3. By derogation from paragraph 1, the participant agrees that the ECB may disclose payment, technical or organisational information regarding the participant, participants from the same banking group or the participant's customers, obtained in the course of the operation of TARGET-ECB to: (a) other CBs or third parties that are involved in the operation of TARGET-ECB, to the extent that this is necessary for the efficient functioning of TARGET or the monitoring of the participant's or its banking group's exposure; (b) other CBs in order to carry out the analyses necessary for market operations, monetary policy functions, financial stability or financial integration; or (c) supervisory, resolution and oversight authorities of Member States and the Union, including CBs, to the extent that this is necessary for the performance of their public tasks, and provided that in all such cases the disclosure is not in conflict with applicable law.

4. The ECB shall not be liable for the financial and commercial consequences of disclosure made in accordance with paragraph 3.

5. By derogation from paragraph 1 and provided that this does not make it possible, whether directly or indirectly, to identify the participant or the participant's customers, the ECB may use, disclose or publish payment information regarding the participant or the participant's customers for statistical, historical, scientific or other purposes in the exercise of its public functions or of functions of other public entities to which the information is disclosed.

6. Information relating to the operation of TARGET-ECB to which participants have had access may only be used for the purposes laid down in these Conditions. Participants shall keep such information confidential, unless the ECB has explicitly given its written consent to disclose. Participants shall ensure that any third parties to whom they outsource, delegate or subcontract tasks which have or may have an impact on the performance of their obligations under these Conditions are bound by the confidentiality requirements in this Article.

7. The ECB shall be authorised, in order to settle cash transfer orders, to process and transfer the necessary data to the NSP.

Article 28

Data protection, prevention of money laundering, administrative or restrictive measures and related issues

1. Participants shall be deemed to be aware of, shall comply with, and shall be able to demonstrate that compliance to the relevant competent authorities with all obligations on them relating to legislation on data protection. They shall be deemed to be aware of, and shall comply with all obligations on them relating to legislation on prevention of money laundering and the financing of terrorism, proliferation-sensitive nuclear activities and the development of nuclear weapons delivery systems, in particular in terms of implementing appropriate measures concerning any payments debited or credited on their TARGET accounts. Participants shall ensure that they are informed about their chosen NSP’s data retrieval policy prior to entering into the contractual relationship with the NSP.

2. Participants authorise the ECB to obtain any information relating to them from any financial or supervisory authority or trade body, whether national or foreign, if such information is necessary for the participant’s participation in TARGET-ECB.

3. Participants, when acting as the payment service provider of a payer or payee, shall comply with all requirements resulting from administrative or restrictive measures imposed pursuant to Article 75 or 215 of the Treaty to which they are subject, including with respect to notification and/or the obtaining of consent from a competent authority in relation to the processing of transactions. In addition: (a) when the ECB is the payment service provider of a participant that is a payer: (i) the participant shall make the required notification or obtain consent on behalf of the central bank that is primarily required to make notification or obtain consent, and shall provide the ECB with evidence of having made a notification or having received consent; (ii) the participant shall not enter any cash transfer order for the transfer of funds to an account held by an entity different than the participant, into TARGET until it has obtained confirmation from the ECB that the required notification has been made or the consent has been obtained by or on behalf of the payment service provider of the payee; (b) when the ECB is a payment service provider of a participant that is a payee, the participant shall make the required notification or obtain consent on behalf of the central bank that is primarily required to make notification or obtain consent, and shall provide the ECB with evidence of having made a notification or having received consent. For the purposes of this paragraph, the terms ‘payment service provider’, ‘payer’ and ‘payee’ shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the applicable administrative or restrictive measures.

Article 29

Notices

1. Except where otherwise provided for in these Conditions, all notices required or permitted pursuant to these Conditions shall be sent by registered post, facsimile or other electronic means if agreed bilaterally, or otherwise in writing. Notices to the ECB shall be submitted to the Director-General of the ECB's Directorate-General Payment Systems and Market Infrastructure, at the European Central Bank, Sonnemannstrasse 22, 60314 Frankfurt am Main, GERMANY or to the BIC address of the ECB, ‘ECBFDEFF’, or to the electronic means bilaterally agreed. Notices to the participant shall be sent to it at the address, facsimile number or other electronic means bilaterally agreedor its BIC address as the participant may from time to time notify to the ECB.

2. To prove that a notice has been sent, it shall be sufficient to prove that the notice was sent either physically or by electronic means to the relevant addressee.

3. All notices shall be given in English.

4. Participants shall be bound by all forms and documents of the ECB that the participants have filled in and/or signed, including but not limited to reference data collection forms, as referred to in Article 5(2), point (a), and information provided under Article 11(5), which were submitted in compliance with paragraphs 1 and 2 and which the ECB reasonably believes to have been received from the participants, their employees or agents.

Article 30

Contractual relationship with a NSP

1. In order to send to or receive from TARGET instructions and messages, participants shall: (a) conclude a contract with an NSP within the framework of the concession contract with that NSP in order to establish a technical connection to TARGET-ECB; or (b) connect via another entity which has itself concluded a contract with an NSP within the framework of the concession contract with that NSP.

2. The legal relationship between a participant and the NSP shall be exclusively governed by the terms and conditions of the contract concluded between them.

3. The services to be provided by the NSP shall not form part of the services to be performed by the ECB in respect of TARGET.

4. The ECB shall not be liable for any acts, errors or omissions of the NSP (including its directors, staff and subcontractors), or for any acts, errors or omissions of third parties selected by participants to gain access to the NSP’s network.

Article 31

Amendment procedure

The ECB may at any time unilaterally amend these Conditions, including the Appendices. Amendments to these Conditions, including the Appendices, shall be announced by means of communication in writing to the participants. Amendments shall be deemed to have been accepted unless the participant expressly objects within 14 days of being informed of such amendments. In the event that a participant objects to the amendment, the ECB is entitled immediately to terminate that participant’s participation in TARGET-ECB and close any of its TARGET accounts.

Article 32

Third party rights

1. Participants shall not transfer, pledge or assign any rights, interests, obligations, responsibilities or claims arising from or relating to these Conditions to any third party without the ECB’s written consent.

2. These Conditions do not create any rights in favour of or obligations in relation to any entity other than the ECB and participants in TARGET-ECB.

Article 33

Governing law, jurisdiction and place of performance

1. The bilateral relationship between the ECB and participants in TARGET-ECB shall be governed by the law of the the Federal Republic of Germany.

2. Without prejudice to the competence of the Court of Justice of the European Union, any dispute arising from a matter relating to the relationship referred to in paragraph 1 falls under the exclusive competence of the competent courts of Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

3. The place of performance concerning the legal relationship between the ECB and the participants shall be Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

Article 34

Severability

If any provision in these Conditions is or becomes invalid, this shall not prejudice the applicability of all the other provisions of these Conditions.

Article 35

Entry into force and binding nature

▼M1

1. These Conditions become effective from 20 March 2023.

▼B

2. By requesting to participate in TARGET- ECB, applicant participants automatically agree to these Conditions between themselves and in relation to the ECB.

PART II

Special terms and conditions for main cash accounts (MCAS)

Article 1

Opening and management of an MCA

1. The ECB shall open and operate at least one MCA for each participant, except where the participant is an AS that only uses RTGS or TIPS AS settlement procedures, in which case the use of an MCA shall be at the discretion of the AS.

2. The primary MCA designated by the participant shall be used for the following purposes: (a) remuneration as set out in Part I, Article 12, unless the participant has designated another participant in TARGET-ECB for that purpose; (b) the granting of intraday credit, where applicable.

3. Any negative balance on a primary MCA shall not be lower than the credit line (if granted). There shall be no debit balance on an MCA that is not a primary MCA.

Article 2

Co-management of an MCA

1. On the request of an MCA holder the ECBshall allow an MCA held by that MCA holder to be co-managed by one of the following: (a) another MCA holder in TARGET- ECB; (b) an MCA holder in another TARGET component system; If the MCA holder holds more than one MCA, each MCA held may be co-managed by a different comanager. The co-manager shall have the same rights and privileges in relation to an MCA that it co-manages as it has in relation to its own MCA.

2. The MCA holder shall provide the ECB with evidence of the consent of the co-manager to act in that capacity.

3. An MCA holder acting as co-manager shall fulfil the obligations of the MCA holder of the co-managed MCA under Part I, Article 5(1), point (a), Part I, Article 10(4), and Part I, Article 30(1).

4. The MCA holder of a co-managed MCA shall fulfil the obligations of a participant under Part I and Part II in respect of the co-managed MCA. In the event that the MCA holder does not have a direct technical connection to TARGET, Part I, Article 5(1), point (a), Part I, Article 10(4), and Part I Article 30(1) shall not apply.

5. Part I, Article 7 shall apply to an MCA holder that designates an entity to act as co-manager of an MCA holder’s MCA pursuant to this Article.

6. The MCA holder shall immediately notify the ECB if the co-manager ceases to act or the co-management arrangement between the MCA holder and the co-manager is terminated.

Article 3

MCA liquidity transfer group

1. On the request of an MCA holder the ECB shall create an MCA liquidity transfer group, for the purpose of enabling the processing of MCA-to-MCA liquidity transfer orders.

2. On the request of an MCA holder the ECB shall add one of the MCA holder’s MCAs to or delete it from an existing MCA liquidity transfer group created in TARGET-ECB or another TARGET component system. The MCA holder shall inform all other MCA holders in that MCA liquidity transfer group before making such a request.

Article 4

Transactions processed via an MCA

1. The following transactions shall be processed via an MCA in TARGET-ECB: (a) central bank operations; (b) liquidity transfer orders to and from overnight deposit accounts opened by the ECB in the name of the participant; (c) liquidity transfer orders to another MCA within the same MCA liquidity transfer group; (d) liquidity transfer orders to a T2S DCA, TIPS DCA or RTGS DCA, or to a sub-account thereof.

Article 5

Liquidity transfer orders

1. An MCA holder may submit a liquidity transfer order as one of the following: (a) an immediate liquidity transfer order, which shall be an instruction for execution immediately; (b) a standing liquidity transfer order, which shall be an instruction for the recurring execution of the transfer of a specified amount on the occurrence of a predefined event each business day.

Article 6

Rule-based liquidity transfer orders

1. An MCA holder may specify a floor and/or a ceiling amount for its MCA.

2. By setting a ceiling and opting for a rule-based liquidity transfer order, if, following the settlement of a payment order, the ceiling is breached, the MCA holder instructs the ECB to execute a rule-based liquidity transfer order that credits an RTGS DCA or another MCA within the same MCA liquidity transfer group designated by that MCA holder. The credited RTGS DCA or MCA may be in TARGET-ECB or another TARGET component system.

3. By setting a floor and opting for a rule-based liquidity transfer order, if, following the settlement of a payment order, the floor is breached, a rule-based liquidity transfer order is initiated which debits an RTGS DCA or another MCA within the same MCA liquidity transfer group designated by that MCA holder. The debited RTGS DCA or MCA may be in TARGET-ECB or another TARGET component system. The holder of the RTGS DCA or MCA to be debited must authorise its account to be debited in this manner.

4. An MCA holder may authorise its MCA to be debited in the event that a floor is breached in one or more specified RTGS DCAs or MCAs within the same liquidity transfer group in TARGET-ECB or another TARGET component system. By authorising its account to be debited, the MCA holder instructs the ECB to execute a rule-based liquidity transfer order that credits the RTGS DCA(s) or MCA(s) whenever the floor is breached.

5. An MCA holder may authorise its MCA to be debited in the event that there is insufficient liquidity on an RTGS DCA designated for the purpose of automated liquidity transfer orders under Part III, Article 1(5) and (6) to settle urgent payment orders, AS transfer orders or high priority payment orders. By authorising its account to be debited, the MCA holder instructs the ECB to execute a rulebased liquidity transfer order that credits its RTGS DCA.

Article 7

Processing of cash transfer orders

1. Cash transfer orders, once accepted, shall settle immediately provided that there is available liquidity on the payer’s MCA.

2. In the event that there are insufficient funds on an MCA to effect settlement, the relevant rule as set out in points (a) to (e) shall apply depending on the type of cash transfer order. (a) Payment order on the MCA: the instruction shall be rejected if it is initiated by the ECBand would trigger both a change in the participant’s line of intraday credit and a corresponding debit or credit of its MCA. All other instructions shall be queued. (b) Immediate liquidity transfer order: the order shall be rejected without partial settlement or any further attempt to settle. (c) Standing liquidity transfer order: the order shall be partially settled without any further attempt to settle. (d) Rule-based liquidity transfer order: the order shall be partially settled without any further attempt to settle. (e) Liquidity transfer order to an overnight deposit account: the order shall be rejected without partial settlement or any further attempt to settle.

3. All cash transfer orders in the queue shall be processed following the ‘first in, first out’ (FIFO) principle without prioritisation or reordering.

4. Cash transfer orders in the queue at the end of the business day shall be rejected.

Article 8

Liquidity reservation orders

1. An MCA holder may instruct the ECB to reserve a specified amount of liquidity on its MCA for the purpose of settling central bank operations or liquidity transfer orders to overnight deposit accounts using one of the following: (a) a current liquidity reservation order that shall have immediate effect for the current TARGET business day; (b) a standing liquidity reservation order to be carried out at the start of every TARGET business day.

2. In the event that the amount of unreserved liquidity is not sufficient to fulfil the current or standing liquidity reservation order, the ECB shall partially execute the reservation order. The ECB is instructed to execute further reservation orders until the outstanding amount to be reserved is reached. Pending reservation orders shall be rejected at the end of the business day.

3. Central bank operations shall be settled using the liquidity reserved as set out in paragraph 1 and other cash transfer orders shall only be settled using liquidity available after the amount reserved has been deducted.

4. Notwithstanding paragraph 3, in the event of insufficient unreserved liquidity on the MCA holder’s primary MCA for the purpose of decreasing the MCA holder’s line of intraday credit the ECBshall use the liquidity reserved.

Article 9

Processing of cash transfer orders in the event of suspension or termination

1. Upon termination of a participant’s participation in TARGET-ECB, the ECB shall not accept any new cash transfer orders from that participant. Cash transfer orders in the queue, warehoused cash transfer orders or new cash transfer orders in favour of that participant shall be rejected.

2. If a participant is suspended from TARGET-ECB on grounds other than those specified in Part I, Article 24 (1), point (a), the ECB shall store all of that participant’s incoming and outgoing cash transfer orders on its MCA and only submit them for settlement after they have been explicitly accepted by the suspended participant’s CB.

3. If a participant is suspended from TARGET-ECB on the grounds specified in Part I, Article 24(1), point (a), any outgoing cash transfer orders from that participant’s MCA shall only be processed on the instructions of its representatives, including those appointed by a competent authority or a court, such as the participant’s insolvency administrator, or pursuant to an enforceable decision of a competent authority or a court providing instructions as to how the cash transfer orders are to be processed. All incoming cash transfer orders shall be processed in accordance with paragraph 2.

Article 10

No intraday credit

No intraday credit is provided to participants in TARGET-ECB.

PART III

Special terms and conditions for real-time gross settlement dedicated cash accounts (RTGS DCAS)

Article 1

Opening and management of an RTGS DCA

1. The ECB shall on the request of an MCA holder open and operate one or more RTGS DCAs, and one or more sub-accounts if required for use for AS settlement. If the MCA holder has adhered to the SCT Inst scheme by signing the SEPA Instant Credit Transfer Adherence Agreement, the RTGS DCA(s) (and any sub-accounts) shall not be opened or operated unless the MCA holder is and remains reachable at all times, either as a TIPS DCA holder or as a reachable party via a TIPS DCA holder.

2. The ECB shall on the request of the holder of an account opened pursuant to paragraph 1 (RTGS DCA holder) add the RTGS DCA or its sub-account to a settlement bank account group for AS settlement. The RTGS DCA holder shall provide the ECB with any relevant documents, duly signed by that RTGS DCA holder and the AS.

3. There shall be no debit balance on an RTGS DCA or its sub-accounts.

4. Sub-accounts shall have a zero balance overnight.

5. An RTGS DCA holder shall designate one of its RTGS DCAs in TARGET-ECB for the purpose of processing automated liquidity transfer orders. By such designation the RTGS DCA holder instructs the ECB to execute an automated liquidity transfer that credits the MCA in the event that there are insufficient funds on its primary MCA for the settlement of payment orders that are central bank operations.

6. A participant holding two or more RTGS DCAs and two or more MCAs shall designate one of its RTGS DCAs in TARGET-ECB, which is not already designated to its primary MCA, for the purpose of processing automated liquidity transfer orders in the event that there are insufficient funds on one of its other MCAs for the settlement of payment orders that are central bank operations.

Article 2

Addressable BIC holders

1. RTGS DCA holders that are entities as set out in Part I, Article 4 may only register as an addressable BIC holder, any BIC that belongs to the same legal entity.

2. An addressable BIC holder may submit cash transfer orders to and receive cash transfer orders via an RTGS DCA holder.

3. An addressable BIC holder may not be registered by more than one RTGS DCA holder.

4. Cash transfer orders submitted or cash transfers received by addressable BIC holders shall be deemed to have been submitted or received by the participant itself.

5. The participant shall be bound by such cash transfer orders and any other action taken by the addressable BIC holders, regardless of the content of, or any non-compliance with, the contractual or other arrangements between that participant and such entity.

Article 3

Multi-addressee access

Multi-addressee access is not offered in TARGET-ECB.

Article 4

RTGS liquidity transfer group

1. On the request of an RTGS DCA holder the ECB shall create an RTGS liquidity transfer group, for the purpose of enabling the processing of RTGS DCA-to-RTGS DCA liquidity transfer orders.

2. On the request of an RTGS DCA holder the ECB shall add one of the RTGS DCA holder’s RTGS DCAs to or delete it from an existing RTGS liquidity transfer group created in TARGET-ECB or another TARGET component system. The RTGS DCA holder shall inform all other RTGS DCA holders in that RTGS liquidity transfer group before making such a request.

Article 5

Transactions processed on an RTGS DCA and its sub-accounts

1. Payment orders to other RTGS DCAs and cash transfer orders to AS guarantee fund accounts shall be processed via an RTGS DCA in TARGET-ECB.

2. Cash transfer orders related to RTGS AS settlement procedures shall be settled via an RTGS DCA or its sub-accounts in TARGET-ECB.

3. The following transactions may be processed via an RTGS DCA or its sub-accounts in TARGET-ECB: (a) liquidity transfer orders to another RTGS DCA within the same RTGS liquidity transfer group; (b) liquidity transfer orders to a TIPS DCA or an MCA; (c) liquidity transfers to an overnight deposit account.

4. Liquidity transfer orders to T2S DCAs may be processed via an RTGS DCA in TARGET-ECB.

Article 6

Liquidity transfer orders

1. An RTGS DCA holder may submit a liquidity transfer order as one of the following: (a) an immediate liquidity transfer order, which shall be an instruction for execution immediately; (b) a standing liquidity transfer order, which shall be an instruction for the recurring execution of the transfer of a specified amount on the occurrence of a predefined event each business day;

2. A standing liquidity transfer order may be input or modified by the RTGS DCA holder at any time during a business day and shall become effective as of the next business day.

3. An immediate liquidity transfer order may be input by the RTGS DCA holder at any time during a business day. An immediate liquidity transfer order for processing in accordance with RTGS AS settlement procedures C or D may also be input by the relevant AS on behalf of the settlement bank.

Article 7

Rule-based liquidity transfer orders

1. An RTGS DCA holder may specify a floor and/or a ceiling amount for its RTGS DCA. (a) By setting a ceiling and opting for a rule-based liquidity transfer order, if, following the settlement of a payment order or AS transfer order, the ceiling is breached, the RTGS DCA holder instructs the ECB to execute a rule-based liquidity transfer order that credits an MCA designated by that RTGS DCA holder. The credited MCA may belong to another participant in TARGET-ECB or in another TARGET component system. (b) By setting a floor, and opting for a rule-based liquidity transfer order, if, following the settlement of a payment order or AS transfer order, the floor is breached, a rule-based liquidity transfer order is initiated that debits an MCA authorised by the MCA holder. The debited MCA may belong to another participant in TARGET-ECB or in another TARGET component system. The holder of the debited MCA must authorise its MCA to be debited in this manner.

2. An RTGS DCA holder may authorise its RTGS DCA to be debited in the event that a floor is breached in one or more specified MCAs in TARGET-ECB or another TARGET component system. By authorising its RTGS DCA to be debited, the RTGS DCA holder instructs the ECB to execute a rule-based liquidity transfer order that credits the MCA(s) whenever the floor is breached.

3. An RTGS DCA holder may authorise its MCA designated for the purpose of automated liquidity transfer orders under Article 1(5) and (6) to be debited in the event that there is insufficient liquidity on the RTGS DCA to settle urgent payment orders, AS transfer orders or high priority payment orders on its RTGS DCA.

Article 8

Priority rules

1. The order of priority for the processing of cash transfer orders, in descending level of urgency, shall be: (a) urgent; (b) high; (c) normal.

2. The following orders shall automatically be assigned the priority ‘urgent’: (a) AS transfer orders; (b) liquidity transfer orders including automated liquidity transfer orders; (c) cash transfer orders to an AS technical account for RTGS AS settlement procedure D.

3. All cash transfer orders not listed in paragraph 2 shall automatically be assigned the priority ‘normal’, except payment orders to which the RTGS DCA holder has at its discretion assigned the priority ‘high’.

Article 9

Processing of cash transfer orders on RTGS DCAs

1. Cash transfer orders on RTGS DCAs shall be settled immediately they are accepted, or later as indicated by the RTGS DCA holder in accordance with Article 16 or Article 17, provided in all cases that: (a) there is available liquidity on the payer’s RTGS DCA; (b) no cash transfer orders of equal or higher priority are queued; and (c) any debit limits set in accordance with Article 15 are observed.

2. If any of the conditions set out in points (a) to (c) of paragraph 1 are not met in relation to a cash transfer order, the following shall apply. (a) In the case of an automated liquidity transfer order, the ECB is instructed to execute the instruction partially and to execute further liquidity transfers whenever liquidity is available, up to the amount of the initial automated liquidity transfer order. (b) In the case of an immediate liquidity transfer order, the order shall be rejected without partial settlement or any further attempt to settle unless the order is initiated by an AS, in which case it shall be partially settled without any further attempt to settle. (c) In the case of a standing liquidity transfer order or a rule-based liquidity transfer order, the order shall be partially settled without any further attempt to settle. A standing liquidity transfer order triggered by mandatory RTGS AS settlement procedures C or D and for which there are insufficient funds on the RTGS DCA shall be settled following a pro rata reduction of all orders. A standing liquidity transfer order triggered by optional RTGS AS settlement procedure C and for which there are insufficient funds on the RTGS DCA shall be rejected.

3. Cash transfer orders on RTGS DCAs, other than those orders referred to in paragraph 2 shall be queued and processed in accordance with the rules set out in Article 10.

Article 10

Queue management and settlement optimisation

1. Cash transfer orders on RTGS DCAs that are queued in accordance with Article 9(3) shall be processed according to their priority. Subject to paragraph 2 to 5, the ‘first in, first out' (FIFO) principle shall apply within each category or subcategory of cash transfer orders priority as follows: (a) urgent cash transfer orders: the automated liquidity transfer orders shall be placed first in the queue. AS transfer orders and other urgent cash transfer orders shall be placed next in the queue; (b) high priority cash transfer orders shall not be settled while urgent cash transfer orders are queued; (c) normal priority cash transfer orders shall not be settled while urgent or high priority cash transfer orders are queued.

2. The payer may change the priority of its cash transfer orders other than urgent cash transfer orders.

3. The payer may change the position of its cash transfer orders in the queue. The payer may move such cash transfer orders either behind the automated liquidity transfer orders in the queue or to the end of the respective queue with immediate effect at any time during the settlement window for customer and interbank payments as specified in Appendix V.

4. To optimise the settlement of queued cash transfer orders, the ECB may: (a) use the optimisation procedures described in Appendix I; (b) settle cash transfer orders with a lower priority (or of the same priority but accepted later) before cash transfer orders with a higher priority (or of the same priority accepted earlier), if the cash transfer orders with a lower priority would net out with payments to be received and result on balance in a liquidity increase for the payer; (c) settle cash transfer orders with normal priority before other queued normal priority payments accepted earlier, provided that sufficient funds are available and notwithstanding that this may contravene the FIFO principle.

5. Queued cash transfer orders shall be rejected if they cannot be settled by the cut-off times for the relevant message type as specified in Appendix V.

6. The provisions regarding settlement of cash transfer orders as set out in Appendix I shall apply.

Article 11

Liquidity reservation orders

1. An RTGS DCA holder may instruct the ECB to reserve a specified amount of liquidity on its RTGS DCA using one of the following: (a) a current liquidity reservation order that shall have immediate effect for the current TARGET business day; (b) a standing liquidity reservation order to be carried out at the start of every TARGET business day.

2. An RTGS DCA holder shall assign one of the following statuses to a current or standing liquidity reservation order: (a) high priority: allows the usage of the liquidity for urgent or high priority cash transfer orders; (b) urgent priority: allows the usage of the liquidity only for urgent cash transfer orders.

3. In the event that the amount of unreserved liquidity is not sufficient to fulfil the current or standing liquidity reservation order, the ECB shall partially execute the reservation order and is instructed to execute further reservation orders until the outstanding amount to be reserved is reached. Pending reservation orders shall be rejected at the end of the business day.

4. By requesting the reservation of a specified amount of liquidity for usage for urgent cash transfer orders, the RTGS DCA holder instructs the ECB only to settle high priority and normal priority cash transfer orders if there is available liquidity after the amount reserved for usage for urgent cash transfer orders has been deducted.

5. By requesting the reservation of a specified amount of liquidity for usage for high priority cash transfer orders, the RTGS DCA holder instructs the ECB only to settle normal priority cash transfer orders if there is available liquidity after the amount reserved for usage for urgent and high priority cash transfer orders has been deducted.

Article 12

Recall request and answer

1. An RTGS DCA holder may enter a recall request to request the return of a settled payment order.

2. The recall request shall be forwarded to the payee of the settled payment order which may answer positively or negatively. A positive answer does not initiate a return of the funds.

Article 13

RTGS directory

1. The RTGS directory is a list of BICs used for the purpose of routing information and comprises the BICs of: (a) RTGS DCA holders; (b) any entity with multi-addressee access; (c) addressable BIC holders.

2. The RTGS directory shall be updated daily.

3. Unless otherwise requested by an RTGS DCA holder, its BICs shall be published in the RTGS directory.

4. RTGS DCA holders may only distribute the RTGS directory to their branches and entities with multiaddressee access.

5. RTGS DCA holders acknowledge that the ECB and other CBs may publish RTGS DCA holders’ names and BICs. In addition, names and BICs of addressable BIC holders or entities with multi-addressee access may be published and RTGS DCA holders shall ensure that addressable BIC holders or entities with multi-addressee access have agreed to such publication.

Article 14

Processing of cash transfer orders in the event of suspension or termination

1. Upon termination of an RTGS DCA holder’s participation in TARGET-ECB, the ECB shall not accept any new cash transfer orders from that RTGS DCA holder. Cash transfer orders in the queue, warehoused cash transfer orders or new cash transfer orders in favour of that RTGS DCA holder shall be rejected.

2. If an RTGS DCA holder’s participation in TARGET-ECB is suspended on grounds other than those specified in Part I, Article 25(1), point (a), the ECB shall store all of that RTGS DCA holder’s incoming and outgoing cash transfer orders on its RTGS DCA and only submit them for settlement after they have been explicitly accepted by the suspended RTGS DCA holder’s CB.

3. If an RTGS DCA holder’s participation in TARGET-ECB is suspended on the grounds specified in Part I, Article 25(1), point (a), any outgoing cash transfer orders from that RTGS DCA holder’s RTGS DCA shall only be processed on the instructions of its representatives, including those appointed by a competent authority or a court, such as the RTGS DCA holder’s insolvency administrator, or pursuant to an enforceable decision of a competent authority or a court providing instructions as to how the cash transfer orders are to be processed. All incoming cash transfer orders shall be processed in accordance with paragraph 2.

Article 15

Debit limits

1. An RTGS DCA holder may limit the use of available liquidity for payment orders on its individual RTGS DCAs in relation to other RTGS DCAs, except any of the CBs, by specifying bilateral or multilateral limits. Such limits may only be defined in relation to normal priority payment orders.

2. By specifying a bilateral limit, an RTGS DCA holder instructs the ECB that an accepted payment order shall not be settled if the sum of its outgoing normal priority payment orders to another RTGS DCA holder’s RTGS DCA minus the sum of all incoming urgent, high priority and normal priority payments from that RTGS DCA (the net bilateral position) would exceed this bilateral limit.

3. An RTGS DCA holder may specify a multilateral limit for any relationship that is not subject to a bilateral limit. A multilateral limit may only be specified if the RTGS DCA holder has set at least one bilateral limit. If an RTGS DCA holder specifies a multilateral limit, it instructs the ECB that an accepted payment order shall not be settled if the sum of its outgoing normal priority payment orders to all RTGS DCA holders’ RTGS DCAs in relation to which no bilateral limit has been specified minus the sum of all incoming urgent, high priority and normal priority payments from those RTGS DCAs (the net multilateral position) would exceed this multilateral limit.

4. Limits may be changed in real time with immediate effect or with effect from the next business day. If a limit is changed to zero, it shall not be possible to change it again on the same business day. The definition of a new bilateral or multilateral limit shall only be effective from the next business day.

Article 16

Participants’ instructions with regard to settlement times

1. An RTGS DCA holder may indicate the earliest time before which a payment order cannot settle or the latest time after which time the payment order will be rejected by using the earliest debit time indicator or the latest debit time indicator, respectively, or may indicate a time range during which the payment order will settle by using both indicators. An RTGS DCA holder may also use the latest debit time indicator solely as a warning indicator. In such cases, the payment order concerned shall not be rejected.

2. In the event that 15 minutes prior to the indicated latest debit time the payment order has not been settled, the RTGS DCA holder concerned shall be notified accordingly.

Article 17

Payment orders submitted in advance

1. Payment orders may be submitted up to 10 calendar days before the specified settlement date (warehoused payment orders).

2. Warehoused payment orders shall be accepted and submitted for processing on the date specified by the RTGS DCA holder at the start of settlement window on that day for customer and interbank payments, as referred to in Appendix V. They shall be placed in front of payment orders of the same priority.

Article 18

Direct debit

1. An RTGS DCA holder (payer) may give its authorisation for another RTGS DCA holder (payee) in TARGET-ECB or in another TARGET component system to debit the payer’s RTGS DCA by direct debit.

2. To enable such arrangement the payer shall provide a prior authorisation to the ECB entitling the ECB to debit the payer’s RTGS DCA upon receipt of a valid direct debit instruction.

3. If a payee receives the authorisation as described in paragraph 1, it may submit direct debit instructions to debit the payer’s RTGS DCA by the amount specified in the instruction.

4. An RTGS DCA holder that requests to be added to a settlement bank account group of an AS shall be deemed to have given authorisation to the ECB entitling the ECB to debit the RTGS DCA holder’s RTGS DCA and sub-account upon receipt of a valid direct debit instruction by that AS.

Article 19

Back-up payment functionality

In the event of the failure of its payment infrastructure, an RTGS DCA holder may request the ECB to activate the back-up payment functionality. This allows the RTGS DCA holder to enter certain payment orders using the Graphical User Interface (GUI).

Article 20

Security rights in relation to funds on sub-accounts

1. The ECB shall have a pledge over the balance on an RTGS DCA holder’s sub-account opened under the arrangements between the relevant AS and its CB for the settlement of AS-related payment instructions in accordance with RTGS AS settlement procedure C. Such balance shall collateralise the RTGS DCA holder’s obligation referred to in paragraph 7 towards the ECB in relation to such settlement.

2. Upon receipt by the ECB of a ‘start-of-cycle’ message, the ECB shall ensure that the balance on the sub-account of the RTGS DCA holder (including increases or reductions of that balance resulting from crediting or debiting cross-system settlement payments to or from the sub-account, or from crediting liquidity transfers to the sub-account) at the moment the AS starts a cycle can only be used for the settlement of AS transfer orders related to that settlement procedure C. Upon receipt by the ECB of an ‘end-of-cycle’ message the balance on the sub-account shall be available for the use of the RTGS DCA holder.

3. By confirming the balance on the RTGS DCA holder’s sub-account, the ECB guarantees to the AS payment up to the amount of this particular balance. By confirming, where applicable, the increase or reduction of the balance upon crediting or debiting cross-system settlement payments to or from the sub-account or crediting liquidity transfers to the sub-account, the guarantee is automatically increased or reduced by the amount of the payment. Notwithstanding the abovementioned increase or reduction of the guarantee, the guarantee shall be irrevocable, unconditional and payable on first demand. If the ECB is not the AS’s CB, the ECB shall be deemed instructed to issue the abovementioned guarantee to the AS’s CB.

4. In the absence of any insolvency proceedings in relation to the RTGS DCA holder, the AS transfer orders for the squaring of the RTGS DCA holder’s settlement obligation shall be settled without drawing on the guarantee and without recourse to the security right over the balance on the RTGS DCA holder’s sub-account.

5. In the event of the RTGS DCA holder’s insolvency, the AS transfer orders for the squaring of the RTGS DCA holder’s settlement obligation shall be a first demand for payment under the guarantee; the debiting of the instructed amount from the RTGS DCA holder’s sub-account (and crediting of the AS’s RTGS AS technical account) shall therefore equally involve the discharge of the guarantee obligation by the ECB and a realisation of its collateral right over the balance on the RTGS DCA holder’s sub-account.

6. The guarantee shall expire upon receipt by the ECB of an ‘end-of-cycle’ message confirming that the settlement has been completed.

7. The RTGS DCA holder shall be obliged to reimburse to the ECB any payment made by the latter under such guarantee.

PART IV

Special terms and conditions for TARGET2-securities dedicated cash accounts (T2S DCAs)

Article 1

Opening and management of a T2S DCA

1. The ECB shall on the request of an MCA holder open and operate one or more T2S DCAs.

2. There shall be no debit balance on a T2S DCA.

3. A T2S DCA holder shall designate one MCA for the purpose of processing liquidity transfer orders between T2S DCAs as referred to in Article 3(1), point (c). The designated MCA may be held in TARGET-ECB or another TARGET component system and may belong to a different participant.

Article 2

Links between securities accounts and T2S DCAs

1. A T2S DCA holder may request the ECB to link its T2S DCA to one or more securities account(s) held on its own behalf or on behalf of its clients which hold securities accounts in one or more participating CSDs.

2. T2S DCA holders linking their T2S DCA to securities account(s) on behalf of clients as set out in paragraph 1 are responsible for establishing and maintaining the list of linked securities accounts and, where relevant, the set-up of the client-collateralisation feature.

3. As a result of the request under paragraph 1, the T2S DCA holder is deemed to have given a mandate to the CSD where such linked securities accounts are maintained to debit the T2S DCA with the amounts resulting from securities transactions taking place on these securities accounts.

4. Paragraph 3 shall apply regardless of any agreements the T2S DCA holder has with the CSD and/or the securities account holders.

Article 3

Transactions processed on T2S DCAs

1. The following transactions shall be processed via a T2S DCA in TARGET-ECB: (a) the settlement of cash instructions stemming from T2S provided that the T2S DCA holder has designated the relevant securities account(s), as referred to in Article 2; (b) liquidity transfer orders to an RTGS DCA, a TIPS DCA or an MCA; (c) liquidity transfer orders between T2S DCAs belonging to the same participant or in respect of which the same MCA has been designated pursuant to Article 1(3); (d) cash transfer orders between the T2S DCA and the T2S DCA of the ECB in the particular context of Article 10(2) and (3).

2. Corporate actions payments may be processed via a T2S DCA.

Article 4

Liquidity transfer orders

A T2S DCA holder may submit liquidity transfer orders as one of the following:

(a) an immediate liquidity transfer order, which shall be an instruction for execution immediately;

(b) a standing liquidity transfer order, which shall be an instruction for the recurring execution of (i) a transfer of a specified transfer amount or (ii) a transfer to reduce the balance of the T2S DCA to a predefined level with the amount of the reduction being transferred to an RTGS DCA, a TIPS DCA or an MCA, on the occurrence of a predefined event each business day.

(c) a predefined liquidity transfer order, which shall be an instruction for the single execution of (i) a transfer of a specified transfer amount or (ii) a transfer to reduce the balance of the T2S DCA to a predefined level with the amount of the reduction being transferred to an RTGS DCA, a TIPS DCA or an MCA, on the occurrence of a predefined event each business day.

Article 5

Reservation and blocking of liquidity

1. Participants may reserve or block liquidity on their T2S DCAs. This does not constitute a settlement guarantee vis-à-vis any third party.

2. By requesting to reserve or block an amount of liquidity, a participant instructs the ECB to decrease the available liquidity by this amount.

3. A reservation request is an instruction by which, if the available liquidity is equal to or higher than the amount to be reserved, the reservation is processed. If the available liquidity is lower, it is reserved and the shortfall may be met by incoming liquidity until the full amount of the reservation is available.

4. A blocking request is an instruction by which, if the available liquidity is equal to or higher than the amount to be blocked, the blocking request is processed. If the available liquidity is lower, no amount is blocked and the blocking request is resubmitted, until the full amount of the blocking request can be met by available liquidity.

5. The participant may at any time during the business day on which a request to reserve or block liquidity has been processed, instruct the ECB to cancel the reservation or blocking. Partial cancellation shall not be permitted.

6. All requests for reservation or blocking of liquidity under this article shall expire at the end of the business day.

Article 6

Processing of liquidity transfer orders on T2S DCAs

1. A timestamp for the processing of liquidity transfer orders is allocated in the sequence of their receipt.

2. All liquidity transfer orders submitted to TARGET-ECB shall be processed following the ‘first in, first out’ (FIFO) principle without prioritisation or reordering.

3. After a liquidity transfer order to a TIPS DCA, an MCA, an RTGS DCA or a T2S DCA has been accepted as set out in Part I, Article 16, the TARGET-ECB shall check if sufficient funds are available on the payer’s T2S DCA to effect settlement. If sufficient funds are available, the liquidity transfer order shall be settled immediately. If sufficient funds are not available, the following shall apply: (a) in the case of an immediate liquidity transfer order, the order shall be rejected without partial settlement or any further attempt to settle unless these are initiated by a third party as designated in accordance with Part I, Article 7, in which case they shall be partially settled without any further attempt to settle; (b) in the case of a predefined or standing liquidity transfer order, the order shall be partially settled without any further attempt to settle.

Article 7

Processing of cash transfer orders in the event of suspension or termination

1. Upon termination of a T2S DCA holder’s participation in TARGET-ECB, the ECB shall not accept any new cash transfer orders from that T2S DCA holder.

2. If a T2S DCA holder is suspended from TARGET-ECB on grounds other than those specified in Part I, Article 24(1), point (a) , the ECB shall store all of that participant’s incoming and outgoing cash transfer orders on its T2S DCA and only submit them for settlement after they have been explicitly accepted by the suspended T2S DCA holder’s CB.

3. If a T2S DCA holder is suspended from TARGET- ECB on the grounds specified in Part I, Article 24(1), point (a), any outgoing cash transfer orders from that T2S holder’s T2S DCA shall only be processed on the instructions of its representatives, including those appointed by a competent authority or a court, such as the T2S DCA holder’s insolvency administrator, or pursuant to an enforceable decision of a competent authority or a court providing instructions as to how the cash transfer orders are to be processed. All incoming cash transfer orders shall be processed in accordance with paragraph 2.

Article 8

No auto-collateralisation

No auto-collateralistion is provided to participants in TARGET-ECB.

PART V

Special terms and conditions for TARGET instant payment settlement (TIPS) dedicated cash accounts (TIPS DCAs)

Article 1

Opening and management of a TIPS DCA

1. The ECB shall on the request of an MCA holder open and operate one or more TIPS DCAs.

2. There shall be no debit balance on a TIPS DCA.

Article 2

Sending and receiving messages

1. A TIPS DCA holder may send messages: (a) directly, and/or (b) via one or more instructing parties.

2. A TIPS DCA holder shall receive messages: (a) directly; or (b) via one instructing party.

3. Part I, Article 7 shall apply to a TIPS DCA holder that sends or receives messages via an instructing party as though that TIPS DCA holder sends or receives messages directly.

Article 3

Reachable parties

1. A TIPS DCA holder may designate one or more reachable parties. Reachable parties shall have adhered to the SCT Inst scheme by signing the SEPA Instant Credit Transfer Adherence Agreement.

2. A TIPS DCA holder shall provide evidence to the ECB of each designated reachable party’s adherence to the SCT Inst scheme.

3. A TIPS DCA holder shall inform the ECB if any designated reachable party no longer adheres to the SCT Inst scheme and shall, without undue delay, take steps to prevent the reachable party from accessing the TIPS DCA.

4. A TIPS DCA holder may allow its designated reachable parties access via one or more instructing parties.

5. Part I, Article 7 shall apply to TIPS DCA holders that designate reachable parties.

6. A TIPS DCA holder that has designated a reachable party shall ensure that at all times that reachable party is available for the purpose of receiving messages.

Article 4

Transactions processed on TIPS DCAs

1. The following transactions shall be processed via a TIPS DCA in TARGET-ECB: (a) instant payment orders; (b) positive recall answers; (c) liquidity transfer orders to TIPS AS technical Accounts, MCAs, T2S DCAs or RTGS DCAs; (d) liquidity transfer orders to sub-accounts; (e) Liquidity transfer orders to overnight deposit accounts.

Article 5

Immediate liquidity transfer orders

A TIPS DCA holder may submit immediate liquidity transfer orders.

Article 6

Processing of cash transfer orders on TIPS DCAs

1. A timestamp for the processing of cash transfer orders is allocated in the sequence of their receipt.

2. All cash transfer orders submitted to TARGET-ECB shall be processed following the ‘first in, first out’ (FIFO) principle without prioritisation or reordering.

3. After an instant payment order has been accepted as set out in Part I, Article 16, TARGET-ECB shall check if sufficient funds are available on the payer’s TIPS DCA to effect settlement and the following shall apply: (a) if sufficient funds are not available, the instant payment order shall be rejected; (b) if sufficient funds are available, the corresponding amount shall be reserved while awaiting the payee’s response. In the event of acceptance by the payee, the instant payment order shall be settled and the reservation shall be simultaneously lifted. In the event of rejection by the payee or the absence of a timely response, within the meaning of the SCT Inst scheme, the instant payment order shall be rejected and the reservation shall be simultaneously lifted.

4. Funds reserved in accordance with paragraph 3(b) shall not be available for the settlement of subsequent cash transfer orders.

5. Without prejudice to paragraph 3(b), the ECB shall reject an instant payment order if the amount of the instant payment order exceeds any applicable credit memorandum balance (CMB).

6. After an immediate liquidity transfer order has been accepted as set out in Part I, Article 16, TARGET-ECB shall check if sufficient funds are available on the payer’s TIPS DCA. If sufficient funds are not available the liquidity transfer order shall be rejected.

7. After a positive recall answer has been accepted as set out in Part I, Article 16, TARGET- ECB shall check if sufficient funds are available on the TIPS DCA to be debited. If sufficient funds are not available the positive recall answer shall be rejected. If sufficient funds are available the positive recall answer shall be settled immediately.

8. Without prejudice to paragraph 7, TARGET-ECB shall reject positive recall answers if the amount of the positive recall answer exceeds any applicable CMB.

Article 7

Recall request

1. A TIPS DCA holder may submit a recall request.

2. The recall request shall be forwarded to the payee of the settled instant payment order which may answer with a positive or a negative recall answer.

Article 8

TIPS directory

1. The TIPS directory is a list of BICs used for the purpose of routing information and comprises the BICs of: (a) TIPS DCA holders; (b) reachable parties.

2. The TIPS directory shall be updated daily.

3. TIPS DCA holders may only distribute the TIPS directory to their branches, their designated reachable parties and their instructing parties. Reachable parties may only distribute the TIPS directory to their branches.

4. A specific BIC shall only appear once in the TIPS directory.

5. TIPS DCA holders acknowledge that the ECB and other CBs may publish their names and BICs. In addition, the ECB and other CBs may publish names and BICs of reachable parties designated by TIPS DCA holders and TIPS DCA holders shall ensure that reachable parties have agreed to such publication.

Article 9

MPL repository

1. The central Mobile Proxy Lookup (MPL) repository contains the proxy – IBAN mapping table for the purposes of the MPL service.

2. Each proxy may be linked to only one IBAN. An IBAN may be linked to one or multiple proxies.

3. Part I, Article 27 shall apply to the data contained in the MPL repository.

Article 10

Processing of cash transfer orders in the event of suspension or extraordinary termination

1. Upon termination of a TIPS DCA holder’s participation in TARGET-ECB, the ECB shall not accept any new cash transfer orders to or from that TIPS DCA holder.

2. If a TIPS DCA holder’s participation in TARGET-ECB is suspended on grounds other than those specified in Part I, Article 24(1), point (a), the ECB shall: (a) reject all of its incoming cash transfer orders; (b) reject all of its outgoing cash transfer orders; or (c) reject both its incoming and outgoing cash transfer orders.

3. If a TIPS DCA holder’s participation in TARGET-ECB is suspended on the grounds specified in Part I, Article 24(1), point (a), the ECB shall reject all of its incoming and outgoing cash transfer orders.

4. The ECB shall process instant payment orders of a TIPS DCA holder whose participation in TARGET-ECB has been suspended or terminated under Part I, Article 24(1) or (2) and in relation to which the ECB has reserved funds on a TIPS DCA pursuant to Article 6(3), point (b) prior to the suspension or termination.

PART VI

Special terms and conditions for ancillary systems (AS) using real-time gross settlement ancillary system (RTGS AS) settlement procedures

Article 1

Opening and Management of AS technical accounts and use of RTGS AS settlement procedures

1. The ECB may on the request of an AS open and operate one or more RTGS AS technical accounts to support RTGS AS settlement procedures.

2. There shall be no debit balance on an RTGS AS technical account.

3. RTGS AS technical accounts shall not be published in the RTGS directory.

4. The AS shall select at least one of the following settlement procedures for the purposes of processing AS transfer orders: (a) RTGS AS settlement procedure A; (b) RTGS AS settlement procedure B; (c) RTGS AS settlement procedure C; (d) RTGS AS settlement procedure D; (e) RTGS AS settlement procedure E.

5. The rules set out in Articles 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 shall apply to RTGS AS settlement procedures A, B, C, D and E, respectively.

6. The RTGS AS settlement procedures shall be operational during the times set out in Appendix V.

7. The AS shall request the ECB to create a settlement bank account group.

8. The AS shall only send AS transfer orders to accounts included in the settlement bank account group referred to in paragraph 7.

Article 2

Priority of AS transfer orders

All AS transfer orders shall automatically be assigned the priority ‘urgent’.

Article 3

RTGS AS settlement procedure A

1. The AS shall request a dedicated RTGS AS technical account to support the processing of AS transfer orders using settlement procedure A. The balance on such account shall be zero at the end of the day.

2. The AS may request the opening of an AS guarantee fund account to support settlement in connection with the ‘settlement period’ service. The balances on the AS guarantee fund account shall be used to settle AS transfer orders in the event that there is insufficient available liquidity on a settlement bank's RTGS DCA. The AS guarantee fund account may be held by the ECB, the AS or an eligible participant. The AS guarantee fund account shall not be published in the RTGS directory.

3. The AS shall submit AS transfer orders as a batch in a single file in which the sum of debits must balance the sum of credits.

4. The ECB shall first attempt to settle AS transfer orders that debit the RTGS DCAs of settlement banks and crediting the AS's RTGS AS technical account. Only upon settlement of all such AS transfer orders (including possible funding of the RTGS AS technical account from the AS guarantee fund account) the ECB shall attempt to settle AS transfer orders that debit the RTGS AS technical account and that credit the RTGS DCAs of settlement banks.

5. If an AS transfer order to debit a settlement bank's RTGS DCA is queued, the ECB shall inform the settlement bank by means of a broadcast message.

6. If an AS guarantee fund account has been opened and a settlement bank has insufficient funds on its RTGS DCA, the AS may i