Guideline of the European Central Bank of 26 April 2001 on a Trans-European Automated Real-time Gross Settlement Express Transfer system (Target) (ECB/2001/3)
Date: 2001-04-26
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: European Central Bank, capital transfer, central bank, trans-European network

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

GUIDELINE OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

of 26 April 2001

on a Trans-European Automated Real-time Gross Settlement Express Transfer system (Target)

(ECB/2001/3)

(2001/401/EC)

THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL
BANK,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Treaty’) and in
particular to the first and fourth indents of Article 105(2)
thereof and to Articles 3.1, 12.1, 14.3, 17, 18 and 22 of the
Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the
European Central Bank (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Statute’),

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

The first indent of Article 105(2) of the Treaty and the
first indent of Article 3.1 of the Statute require the
European System of Central Banks (ESCB) to define and
implement the monetary policy of the Community.

The fourth indent of Article 105(2) of the Treaty and the
fourth indent of Article 3.1 of the Statute empower the
European Central Bank (ECB) and the national central
banks (NCBs)
to promote the smooth operation of
payment systems.

Article 22 of the Statute entrusts the ECB and the NCBs
with the provision of facilities to ensure efficient and
sound clearing and payment
systems within the
Community and with other countries.

The achievement of a single monetary policy entails the
need for payment arrangements through which the
monetary policy operations between NCBs and credit
institutions can be effected in a timely and secure
manner, and which will
foster the singleness of the
money market within the euro area.

(5)

Such objectives warrant a payment arrangement that
operates with a high level of security, within very short
processing times and at low cost.

(6)

(7)

Target is governed by a legal framework, which has
applied from the starting date of Stage III of economic
and monetary union (EMU). This Guideline replaces
Guideline ECB/2000/9 of 3 October 2000 on a 'Trans-
European Automated Real-time Gross
Settlement
Express Transfer system (Target).

This Guideline is published following a policy in favour
of transparency by way of official publication of the
ECB's legal instruments; certain additional existing ESCB
arrangements concerning security, financial and other
operational or internal ESCB aspects are not included in
this Guideline.

(8)

In accordance with Articles 12.1 and 14.3 of the Statute,
ECB guidelines form an integral part of Community law,

HAS ADOPTED THIS GUIDELINE:

Article 1

Definitions

1.

For the purposes of this Guideline:

— ‘national RTGS systems’ shall mean those Real-time Gross
Settlement systems which are component parts of Target as
identified in Annex I of this Guideline,

— ‘ECB payment mechanism’ shall mean the payment arrange-
ments organised within the ECB and connected to Target
for the purpose of effecting (i) payments between accounts
held at the ECB; and (ii) payments through Target between
accounts held at the ECB and at the NCBs,

— ‘interlinking’ shall mean the technical infrastructures, design
features and procedures which are put in place within, or
constitute adaptations of, each national RTGS system and
the ECB payment mechanism for the purpose of processing
cross-border payments within Target,

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— ‘participants’ shall mean the entities which have direct
access to a national RTGS system and have an RTGS
account with the NCB concerned (or, in the case of the ECB
payment mechanism, with the ECB) and shall include such
NCB or the ECB, whether in its capacity as settlement agent
or otherwise,

— ‘participating Member States’ shall mean all Member States
which have adopted the single currency in accordance with
the Treaty,

— ‘receiving NCB/ECB’ shall mean the ECB or the NCB at
which the receiving participant maintains its RTGS account,

— ‘EEA’ shall mean the European Economic Area as defined in
the Agreement on the European Economic Area concluded
on 2 May 1992 between the European Community and its
Member States and the Member States of the European Free
Trade Association, as amended by the Protocol adjusting
the Agreement on the European Economic Area of 17
March 1993,

— ‘NCBs’ shall mean the national central banks of the Member
States which have adopted the single currency in accord-
ance with the Treaty,

— ‘Eurosystem’ shall mean the ECB and the national central
banks of the Member States which have adopted the single
currency in accordance with the Treaty,

— ‘remote participant’ shall mean an institution established in
an EEA country which participates directly in a national
RTGS system of an (other) EU Member State (‘host Member
State’) and, for that purpose, has an RTGS account in euro
in its own name with the NCB of the host Member State,
without necessarily having established a branch in the host
Member State,

— ‘network service provider’ shall mean the undertaking
appointed by the ECB to provide computerised network
connections for interlinking,

— ‘inter-NCB accounts’ shall mean the accounts that each NCB
and the ECB shall open for each other on their respective
books for the operation of cross-border Target payments;
each such inter-NCB account is held for the benefit of the
ECB or the NCB in whose name the account is opened,

— ‘domestic payments’ shall mean payments effected or to be
effected within one national RTGS system or within the
ECB payment mechanism,

— ‘cross-border payments’ shall mean payments effected or to
be effected between two national RTGS systems or between
a national RTGS system and the ECB payment mechanism,

— ‘RTGS rules’ shall mean the regulations and/or contractual
provisions, which are applied to a national RTGS system,

— ‘RTGS account’ shall mean an account (or, to the extent
permitted in accordance with the relevant RTGS rules in
question, any group of consolidated accounts, provided that
all such account holders are jointly and severally liable
vis-à-vis the RTGS system in case of default) opened in the
name of a participant on the books of an NCB or the ECB
on which domestic payments and/or cross-border payments
are settled,

— ‘payment order’ shall mean an instruction by a participant
in accordance with the applicable RTGS rules to place at
the disposal of a receiving participant, including an NCB or
the ECB, an amount of money by means of a book entry
on an RTGS account,

— ‘sending participant’ shall mean the participant which has

initiated a payment by giving a payment order,

— ‘sending NCB/ECB’ shall mean the ECB or the NCB at which
the sending participant maintains its RTGS account,

— ‘receiving participant’ shall mean the participant designated
by the sending participant as the participant to whose
RTGS account
specified in the relevant
payment order shall be credited,

the amount

— ‘indirect participant’ shall mean an institution without its
own RTGS account which is nevertheless recognised by a
national RTGS system and subject to its RTGS rules and
which can be directly addressed in Target; all transactions
of an indirect participant are settled on the account of a
participant (as defined above in the fourth indent of this
Article 1) which has accepted to represent the indirect
participant,

— ‘intraday credit’ shall mean credit extended and reimbursed

within a period of less than one business day,

— ‘standing facilities’ shall mean the marginal lending facility
and the deposit facility organised by the Eurosystem,

— ‘marginal lending rate’ shall mean the interest rate applic-
able from time to time for the Eurosystem marginal lending
facility,

— ‘deposit facility rate’ shall mean the interest rate applicable
from time to time for the Eurosystem deposit facility,

— ‘main refinancing operations rate’ shall mean the marginal
interest rate applicable from time to time for the Eurosys-
tem's most recent main refinancing operation, whereby
marginal interest rate shall mean the interest rate at which
the total tender allotment is exhausted,

— ‘CCBM’ shall mean the correspondent central banking
model for the cross-border use of collateral as established
by the ESCB,

— ‘blocking-of-funds procedure’ shall mean the procedure
according to which funds on deposit or available credit are
earmarked and made unavailable for any transaction or
purpose other than the execution of the payment order
concerned, in order to ensure that the earmarked funds or
available credit will be used for the execution of such
payment order; the earmarking of funds or available credit
is referred to in this Guideline as ‘blocking’,

— ‘finality’ or ‘final’ shall mean that

the settlement of a
payment order cannot be revoked, reversed or made void
by the sending NCB/ECB, by the sending participant or by
any third party, or even in the event of insolvency proceed-
ings against a participant, except in cases of imperfections

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in the underlying transaction(s) or payment order(s) arising
from criminal offences or fraudulent acts (whereby fraudu-
lent acts shall also include preferences and transactions at
under-value during suspect periods in the case of insol-
vency) provided that such has been decided on a case-by-
case basis by a court of competent jurisdiction or another
competent dispute resolution body, or arising from error,
— ‘malfunctioning of a national RTGS system’ or ‘malfunc-
tioning of Target’ or ‘malfunctioning’ shall mean technical
difficulties, defects or failures in the technical infrastructure
and/or the computer systems of any national RTGS system
or the ECB payment mechanism or the computerised
network connections for interlinking, or any other event
related to any national RTGS system or the ECB payment
mechanism or interlinking, that makes it impossible to
execute and complete the same day processing of payment
orders within Target; the definition shall also cover cases
where a malfunctioning occurs simultaneously in more
than one national RTGS system (due to, for instance, a
breakdown related to the network service provider),

— ‘Target

reimbursement

the ‘reimbursement
scheme’ or the ‘scheme’ shall mean the scheme for reim-
bursement in cases of malfunctioning of Target referred to
in Article 3(h) of this Guideline.

scheme’ or

2.
The Annexes to this Guideline may be amended from
time to time by the Governing Council of the ECB. Additional
documents containing, inter alia, technical provisions and speci-
fications for Target may be adopted by the Governing Council
of the ECB, whereby such amendments and additional docu-
ments shall enter into force as an integral part of this Guideline
on the date specified by the Governing Council of the ECB,
after communication to the NCBs.

Article 2

Description of Target

1.
The Trans-European Automated Real-time Gross Settle-
ment Express Transfer system is a Real-time Gross Settlement
system for the euro. Target is composed of the national RTGS
systems, the ECB payment mechanism and interlinking, and
has been established by the Guideline ECB/1998/NP13 of 16
November 1998 on Target, as amended, which was repealed
and replaced by Guideline ECB/2000/NP9. Target shall hence-
forth be governed by this Guideline.

2.
The RTGS systems of the EU Member States which were
existing members of the EU at the start of Stage III of EMU, but
which have not adopted the single currency, are allowed
connection to Target, in so far as such RTGS systems comply
with the minimum common features set out in Article 3 of this
Guideline and are able to process the euro as a foreign
currency alongside their respective national currency. Any such
connection to Target is subject to an agreement whereby the
national central banks concerned agree to adhere to the rules
and procedures for Target referred to in this Guideline (with
specifications and modifications, where appropriate, as referred
to in such an agreement).

Article 3

Minimum common features of national RTGS systems

(a) A c c e s s c r i t e r i a

1. Only supervised credit institutions, as defined in Article
1(1) of Directive 2000/12/EC of the European Parlia-
ment and of the Council of 20 March 2000 relating to
the taking up and pursuit of the business of credit insti-
tutions (1), which are established in the EEA shall be
admitted as participants in a national RTGS system. As
an exception, and without prejudice to Article 7(1) of
the following entities may also be
this Guideline,
admitted as participants in a national RTGS system upon
approval by the relevant NCB:

(i) treasury departments of central or regional govern-
ments of Member States active in the money
markets;

(ii) public sector bodies of Member States authorised to
hold accounts for customers; for the purposes of
the
this Guideline,
meaning of Article 3 of Council Regulation (EC) No
3603/93 of 13 December 1993 specifying defini-
tions for the application of the prohibitions referred
to in Articles 104 and 104(b)(1) of the Treaty (2);

shall have

‘public

sector’

(iii) investment

firms as defined in Article 1(2) of
Council Directive 93/22/EEC of 10 May 1993 on
investment services in the securities field (3), estab-
lished in the EEA and authorised and supervised by
a recognised competent authority designated as
such under
the abovementioned
Council Directive (with the exclusion of the institu-
tions defined under Article 2(2) of the abovemen-
tioned Directive), provided the investment firm in
question is entitled to carry out
the activities
referred to under items 1(b), 2 or 4 of Section A of
the Annex to Directive 93/22/EEC;

the terms of

(iv) organisations providing clearing or

settlement
to oversight by a competent

services
authority.

subject

2. The criteria for access to a national RTGS system and the
procedure for the assessment thereof shall be set out in
the RTGS rules concerned and be made available to
interested parties. In addition to the criteria mentioned in
Article 3(a)(1), these national criteria may include, inter
alia:

— adequate financial strength,

— expected minimum number of transactions,

— the payment of an entry fee,

— legal, technical and operational aspects.

The RTGS rules shall also require that legal opinions,
based on the Eurosystem's harmonised terms of refer-
ence for legal opinions, shall be obtained in respect of
applicants for review by the relevant NCB as determined
and specified by the Governing Council of the ECB. The
terms of reference for legal opinions shall be made avail-
able by the respective NCB to interested parties.

Each NCB shall ensure that its respective national RTGS system
complies with the features set out below.

(1) OJ L 126, 26.5.2000, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 332, 31.12.1993, p. 1.
(3) OJ L 141, 11.6.1993, p. 27.

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3. A participant in a national RTGS system pursuant to this
Article 3(a)(1) and (2) shall have access to the cross-
border payment facilities of Target.

4. The RTGS rules shall contain the grounds and proced-
ures for removing a participant from the national RTGS
system concerned. The grounds for removing a partici-
pant from a national RTGS system (by way of suspen-
sion or expulsion) should cover any event which entails
systemic risk or could otherwise cause serious opera-
tional problems,

including:

(i) where a participant enters into insolvency proceed-
ings, or where such proceedings are impending;

(ii) where a participant is in breach of the RTGS rules

in question; or

(iii) where one or more access criteria for participation
in the relevant national RTGS system are no longer
fulfilled.

(b) C u r r e n c y u n i t

All cross-border payments to be processed through inter-
linking shall be in the euro unit. NCBs shall ensure that
payment orders denominated in their respective national
currency units of the euro to be effected through inter-
linking are converted into and transmitted in euro units.

(c) P r i c i n g r u l e s

1. The pricing policy of the Target system shall be deter-
mined by the Governing Council of the ECB with refer-
ence to the principles of cost recovery, transparency and
non-discrimination.

2. Domestic payments in euro effected through the national
RTGS system are subject to the pricing rules of the
national RTGS system concerned, which, in turn, shall
respect the policy on pricing set out in Annex II.

3. Cross-border payments effected within Target shall be
subject to a common price established by the Governing
Council of the ECB and specified in Annex III.

4. Prices shall be made available to interested parties.

(d) T i m e o f o p e r a t i o n

1. Operating days

(i) interlinking shall be closed;

(ii) the ECB payment mechanism shall be closed;

(iii) no settlement may be provided for large-value net

settlement systems in euro;

(iv) the national RTGS systems shall be closed in all
Member States subject to Article 3(d)(1)(v) below;

(v) in participating Member States

in which 26
December 2001 is not a public holiday, the NCB
shall endeavour to close its national RTGS system;
if this is deemed impossible by the NCB in ques-
it shall submit a proposal to the Executive
tion,
the ECB
Board and the Governing Council of
outlining how it can limit domestic payments
activities as much as possible; in assessing such a
proposal, the Executive Board and the Governing
Council shall take the relevant national legislation
into account;

(vi) the standing facilities shall be available at the NCBs
that remain open for such limited activities; and

(vii) the CCBM shall be closed.

2. Hours of operation

The hours of operation of national RTGS systems shall
comply with the specifications set out in Annex IV.

(e) P a y m e n t

r u l e s

1. All payments directly resulting from or made in connec-
tion with (i) monetary policy operations; (ii) the settle-
ment of the euro leg of foreign exchange operations
involving the Eurosystem; and (iii)
the settlement of
cross-border large-value netting systems handling euro
effected through Target. Other
transfers
payments may also be effected through Target.

shall be

2. A national RTGS system and the ECB payment mecha-
nism shall not process a payment order unless sufficient
funds are available on the account of the sending partici-
pant with the sending NCB/ECB, either through imme-
diately available funds already credited to that account,
through the intraday mobilisation of reserves maintained
to fulfil reserve requirements or through intraday credit
granted by such NCB/ECB, as the case may be, to that
participant in accordance with Article 3(f).

Target as a whole shall be closed on Saturdays, Sundays,
New Year's Day, Good Friday (according to the calendar
applicable at
the ECB), Easter Monday
(according to the calendar applicable at the seat of the
ECB), 1 May (Labour Day), Christmas Day and on 26
December.

the seat of

However, on 26 December 2001 the following shall
apply:

3. RTGS rules and the rules for the ECB payment mecha-
nism shall specify the point in time at which payment
orders become irrevocable, which must not be later than
the point in time at which the RTGS account of the
the sending NCB/ECB is
sending participant held at
debited with the amount concerned. Where national
RTGS systems apply a blocking-of
funds procedure
before debiting the RTGS account, such irrevocability
shall be provided from that earlier point in time at which
blocking takes place.

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(f) I n t r a d a y c r e d i t

1. Subject to the provisions of this Guideline, each NCB
shall provide intraday credit to the supervised credit
institutions referred to in Article 3(a) participating in the
national RTGS system of such NCB provided that such
credit institution is an eligible counterparty for Euro-
system monetary policy operations and has access to the
marginal lending facility. Provided that it is a clear condi-
tion that intraday credit shall remain limited to the day
in question and that no extension to overnight credit
shall be possible, intraday credit may also be granted to:

(i) treasury departments referred to in Article 3(a)(1)(i);

(ii) public sector bodies referred to in Article 3(a)(1)(ii);

(iii) investment firms referred to in Article 3(a)(1)(iii),
on condition that such investment firm submits
satisfactory written evidence that:

(a) either it has concluded a formal agreement with
a Eurosystem monetary policy counterparty to
cover any residual debit position at the end of
the day in question; or

(b) access to intraday credit is limited to investment
firms which hold an account with a central
securities depository, and the investment firm
in question is subject to a liquidity deadline or
the amount of intraday credit is subject to a
ceiling.

to penalties set

Should an investment firm for any reason be unable
to reimburse the intraday credit on time, it shall be
subject
in accordance with the
following. If such an investment firm has a debit
balance on its RTGS account as at
the close of
business of Target for the first time within any 12-
month period, then the following shall apply. The
relevant NCB shall promptly impose a penalty on
that participant calculated at a rate five percentage
lending rate on the
points above the marginal
amount of
should the
such debit balance (e.g.
marginal lending rate be 4 %, the penalty would be
9 %). Should such an investment firm repeatedly be
in such a debit position, then the penalty interest
rate applied to that participant would be increased
by a further 2,5 percentage points each time such a
debit position were to occur within the 12-month
period referred to above;

(iv) supervised credit institutions referred to in Article
3(a)(1), which are not eligible counterparties for
Eurosystem monetary policy operations and/or do
not have access to the marginal lending facility. All
provisions of the penalty regime set out in Article
3(f)(1)(iii) for investment firms shall apply identi-
cally to such credit
for any
reason, they are unable to reimburse the intraday
credit on time;

institutions when,

(v) organisations providing clearing or

settlement
services (and subject to oversight by a competent
authority) on condition that the arrangements for
granting intraday credit to such organisations are

submitted in advance to the Governing Council of
the ECB for approval.

2. Each NCB shall provide intraday credit by means of
the NCB and/or
collateralised intraday overdrafts at
intraday repurchase transactions with NCBs in compli-
ance with the criteria laid down below and with the
further minimum common features that the Governing
Council of the ECB may specify from time to time.

3. Intraday credit shall be based on adequate collateral.
Eligible collateral shall be the same assets and instru-
ments and be subject to the same valuation and risk
control rules as those prescribed for eligible collateral for
monetary policy operations. Except for treasury depart-
ments and public sector bodies referred to respectively in
Article 3(a)(1)(i) and (ii), an NCB shall not accept as
underlying assets debt instruments issued or guaranteed
by the participant, or by any other entity with which the
counterparty has close links, as defined in Article 1(26)
of Directive 2000/12/EC, as applied for monetary policy
operations.

Each of the national central banks of the EU Member
States whose RTGS system is connected to Target
pursuant to Article 2(2) is allowed to establish and main-
tain a list of eligible assets which can be used by institu-
relevant national RTGS
tions participating in their
system connected to Target to collateralise euro credits
granted by such national central banks, provided that the
assets on such list meet the same quality standards and
are subject to the same valuation and risk control rules
as those prescribed for eligible collateral for monetary
policy operations. The national central bank in question
shall submit such list of eligible assets for prior approval
by the ECB.

4. The Governing Council of the ECB may exempt treasury
departments, referred to in Article 3(a)(1)(i), from the
requirement of collateralisation in relation to the provi-
sion of intraday credit set out in Article 3(f)(3) upon a
proposal from the relevant NCB.

5. Intraday credit provided in accordance with Articles 3(f)

and (g) shall be free of interest.

6. Intraday credit shall not be granted to any remote partic-

ipant.

7. The RTGS rules shall contain the grounds on the basis of
which the relevant NCB may decide that the access of a
participant
to intraday credit may be suspended or
terminated. Such a decision in respect of an eligible
counterparty for Eurosystem monetary policy operations
shall be approved by the ECB before it becomes effective.

The grounds for such suspension or termination shall
cover any event which entails systemic risk or which
could otherwise endanger
the smooth operation of
payment systems,

including:

(i) where a participant enters into insolvency proceed-

ings;

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(ii) where a participant is in breach of the RTGS rules

in question;

the penalties set out in either Article 3(f)(1)(iii) or
Article 3(f)(1)(iv) will apply to such a participant.

(iii) where the entitlement of a participant to participate
in the national RTGS system is suspended or termi-
nated; and

(iv) where, in case of a participant which is an eligible
counterparty
for Eurosystem monetary policy
operations, the participant ceases to be eligible or is
excluded or suspended from access to any or all
such operations.

(g) I n t r a d a y c r e d i t a g a i n s t a s s e t s o u t s i d e t h e e u r o

a r e a

The ECB may authorise NCBs to grant
intraday credit
against assets outside the euro area contained in the list
approved by the ECB and referred to in Article 3(f)(3),
provided that the assets are: (i) located in EEA countries; (ii)
issued by entities established in EEA countries; and (iii)
denominated in EEA currencies or other widely traded
currencies. The NCBs having received the authorisation to
accept these assets and the lists of such assets are set out in
Annex V.

The authorisation by the ECB is subject to the following
conditions:

(i) preservation of operational efficiency and the exercise
of appropriate control over the specific legal risks
relating to such assets and over the mechanisms to
prevent such assets from being used in monetary
policy operations;

(ii) these assets shall not be used on a cross-border basis
(i.e. counterparties may use such assets only to receive
funds directly from the national central bank which
has been authorised by the ECB to grant intraday credit
against these assets);

set

(iii) in addition, these assets shall only be used by partici-
pants to secure intraday credits granted by the relevant
NCB and may not be used to secure overnight credit.
In case intraday credit secured by these assets needs to
be extended overnight, the assets in question need to
be substituted with collateral eligible for monetary
policy operations as prescribed under the relevant
guidelines of the ECB. If extension of overnight credit
occurs without
such assets being simultaneously
substituted with eligible collateral for monetary policy
operations, penalties
in accordance with the
following will be imposed on such participant. If the
participant commits the violation described above for
the first time within any 12-month period, then the
relevant NCB shall promptly impose a penalty on that
participant calculated at a rate 2,5 percentage points
above the marginal lending rate on the amount of the
overnight credit secured by these assets. Should the
participant repeatedly be in such violation, then the
penalty interest rate applied to that participant would
be increased by a further 1,25 percentage points each
time such a violation were to occur within the 12-
month period referred to above. Should an investment
firm or a credit
institution referred to in Article
3(f)(1)(iv) commit the violation described above, only

(h) T a r g e t

r e i m b u r s e m e n t s c h e m e

1. Establishment of a Target reimbursement scheme

this Guideline,

In the event of malfunctioning of Target, and by way of
derogation from Article 8 of
the
following rules, constituting the Target reimbursement
scheme, shall apply. For the purposes of the scheme and
its application, the terms ‘reimburse’,
‘reimbursement’
and ‘reimbursement payments’ are used to denote the
payments made to participants under the scheme in
order to adjust and address certain negative effects of
malfunctioning as specified in the following.

The reimbursement scheme is not intended to exclude
the possibility for participants to avail themselves of
other legal means to claim compensation in a case of
malfunctioning. Participants should either (i) accept the
arrangements of the scheme, and any receipt of reim-
bursement payments thereunder, without any further
the
legal action; or (ii) reject
scheme if the participant instead wishes to seek other
legal means for compensation of damages, to the extent
such is possible. Any reimbursement payment under the
scheme shall be made on condition that the receipt of
such payment is in full and final settlement of all the
participant's claims arising from the specific payment
affected by the malfunctioning.

the arrangements of

2. Scope of application of the scheme

(a) For cases of malfunctioning which negatively affects
both domestic and cross-border payments,
the
scheme shall apply to both categories of affected
payments and be the only such Target reimburse-
ment arrangement offered by the members of the
ESCB. Conversely, NCBs may apply alternative
regimes for cases of malfunctioning which only
affects domestic payments within the malfunc-
tioning national RTGS system.

(b) The scheme is only available to the sending partici-
pants and/or the receiving participants of a national
RTGS system that have had recourse (subject to
Articles 3(h)(5) and 3(h)(6)) to the standing facilities
due to the malfunctioning of Target. The scheme
does not cover indirect participants, unless such
indirect participants have had recourse to the
standing facilities due to the malfunctioning of
Target.

3. Conditions for eligibility under the scheme

(a) As a condition for a sending participant

to be
eligible to receive reimbursement under the scheme,
it must be able to establish that it has entered a
payment order (i) which was not processed on the
returned without
same day, or
successful completion on the same day due to the
malfunctioning of Target, or (iii) which triggered the
debiting of the sending participant's account for the
payment order entered into a national RTGS system

(ii) which was

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thereafter neither executed nor
but which was
returned on the same day due to the malfunc-
tioning. In the case of a stop-sending status of a
national RTGS system, a sending participant may,
alternatively, not have been able to enter a certain
payment order. Such a participant may still lodge a
claim under the scheme provided that the partici-
pant can submit supporting evidence to the NCB of
its national RTGS system that shows to the satisfac-
tion of the ESCB that it had the intention to enter
the payment order in question but was unable to do
so due to the malfunctioning and the stop-sending
message.

(b) As a condition for a receiving participant to be
eligible to receive reimbursement under the scheme,
it must be able to establish that it was expecting to
receive a payment through Target as a result of a
payment order entered into a national RTGS system
on the relevant date (or otherwise as provided for
under Article 3(h)(3)(a)) and that it did not receive
such payment on the relevant date due to the
malfunctioning of Target.

4. Rules regarding the calculation of reimbursement under

the scheme

(a) In the event of malfunctioning of Target,

the
sending participant may have a temporary excess of
liquidity with the sending NCB, whilst the NCB of
the receiving participant may have to provide the
amounts of the failed payment to that receiving
participant. Therefore, the deposit facility may be
activated in the first case, and the marginal lending
facility in the second case. In both these cases, the
rates applied are more favourable to the ESCB than
the market rate (which, for the purposes of the
is considered to be the main refinancing
scheme,
operations rate).

(b) The amounts to be reimbursed to the participants
under the scheme shall be determined by applying:

(i) the difference in rate from day to day between
the main refinancing operations rate and the
rate applied by the Eurosystem for amounts lent
or deposited under the standing facilities (the
marginal lending rate or the deposit rate, respec-
tively);

(ii) to the amount representing the effective use of
the relevant standing facility by the sending or
the receiving participant and up to the amount
of the payment orders not processed as a result
of the malfunctioning of Target,

for the period starting at the date of the entering of
the payment order until the date when the payment
order was or could have been successfully completed
(the ‘period of malfunctioning’).

(c) For a sending participant, the scheme shall exclude
from reimbursement any amounts such a partici-
pant has used for the fulfilment of reserve require-
ments and any amounts representing losses the
participant may have incurred in depositing excess
funds in the market.

(d) For a receiving participant, the scheme shall exclude
from compensation any amounts
representing
losses the participant may have incurred due to
borrowing in the market.

(e) The scheme shall not cover any losses incurred as a
result of any underlying contractual or other
arrangements that any participant may have with
another participant or any other third party.

(f) Reimbursement payments under

the scheme to
sending or receiving participants shall be made by
the NCB/ECB of the malfunctioning national RTGS
system.

5. Additional rules regarding calculation of reimbursement

under the scheme in particular cases

(a) A sending participant of the national RTGS system
of a participating Member State which is a counter-
party to the Eurosystem monetary policy operations
shall receive reimbursement under the scheme for
losses incurred due to such a participant remaining
with non-remunerated current account holdings
with its respective NCB where such holdings result
from the malfunctioning of Target, provided that
the participant in question (i) has already fulfilled its
reserve requirements; and (ii) is no longer able to
access the Eurosystem's deposit facility on the day in
question as a result of the malfunctioning.

(b) For participants of the national RTGS system of a
participating Member State that are not monetary
policy counterparties and/or have no access to the
standing facilities, the following shall apply:

(i) a sending participant which has remained in
excess of funds with its NCB at the end of the
day due to a malfunctioning of Target shall
receive reimbursement at a rate representing the
difference from day to day between the main
refinancing operations rate and the interest rate
applicable to the amount of funds which have
not been sent as a result of the malfunctioning
and which have,
therefore, remained in the
settlement account at its NCB for the period of
malfunctioning;

(ii) a receiving participant which was expecting to
receive a payment through Target shall receive
reimbursement at a rate representing the differ-
ence from day to day between the main refi-
nancing operations rate and the interest rate
applicable
to amounts borrowed from the
respective NCB, or overdrafts on the settlement
account at its NCB, in respect of the amount of
funds not received as a result of the malfunc-
tioning for the period of malfunctioning. For
such a receiving participant that has remained in
a debit position with its NCB at the end of the
day,
the applicable penalty rate
above the marginal lending rate for such a spill-
over of intraday credit into an overnight posi-
tion, stipulated by the applicable RTGS rules,
shall be waived (and disregarded in future cases
of spillover) to the extent that the spill-over can
be attributed to the occurrence of the malfunc-
tioning.

that part of

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(c) The scheme shall also apply where a sending partici-
pant is unable to recover funds which have been
debited to its RTGS account, but which are subse-
quently blocked overnight
in the national RTGS
system due to malfunctioning, in which case reim-
bursement shall be made for the period until such
funds are returned to the sending participant. The
basis of payments in respect of such unavailability
of funds for a sending participant shall be the main
refinancing operations rate.

6. Application of the scheme to participants of national
RTGS systems of non participating Member States

(a) For sending participants of a national RTGS system
of a non-participating Member State, only the
participants that have incurred additional positive
end-of day balances with their respective NCB due
to a case of malfunctioning may receive reimburse-
ment under the scheme as set out in the following:

(i) any limit to the remuneration on the aggregate
amount of overnight deposits on the RTGS
accounts of such participants with the NCB of a
non-participating Member State shall be disre-
garded to the extent that such amount can be
attributed to the malfunctioning;

(ii) the rate of interest in respect of deposits that
shall be used for the calculation of reimburse-
ment payments to the sending participants of a
national RTGS system of a non-participating
Member State shall be the main refinancing
operations rate;

(iii) the reimbursement payment shall represent an
amount equal to the difference from day to day
between the main refinancing operations rate
and the deposit rate, respectively, for the period
of malfunctioning and applied to the amount of
the marginal increase of the deposit that such a
sending participant will have with its respective
NCB as a result of the malfunctioning.

(b) For receiving participants of national RTGS systems
of non-participating Member States, that part of the
applicable penalty rate above the marginal lending
rate, stipulated by the applicable RTGS rules in case
of spillover of intraday credit into overnight, shall
be waived (and disregarded in future cases of spill-
over) to the extent that the spill-over can be attrib-
uted to the malfunctioning. The occurrence of such
spillover shall be ignored for the purpose of access
to intraday credit and/or continued participation in
the national RTGS system concerned. The reim-
bursement payments under the scheme shall be
calculated so as to reach a result whereby such a
receiving participant will be paid at a rate repre-
senting the difference from day to day between the
main refinancing operations rate and the marginal
lending rate on the overdraft caused by the malfunc-
tioning for the period of malfunctioning.

7. Procedural rules

(a) Any request for reimbursement lodged by a partici-
pant shall be supported by the necessary informa-
tion in order to enable a proper assessment thereof,
including:

(i) name, address and status of the participant (i.e.
whether or not the participant is a counter-
party for Eurosystem monetary policy opera-
tions);

(ii) time,

and

place

other

circumstances
the relevant
surrounding the submission of
payment order to an NCB/ECB or system oper-
ator or of the relevant transmission through
Target;

(iii) name

of

and

address

counterparty
(receiving participant in case the claimant is a
sending participant and sending participant in
case the claimant is a receiving participant);

the

(iv) amount

for which recourse to the standing
facility of the Eurosystem was made (or equiva-
lent amounts for participants in national RTGS
systems of non-participating Member States, or
equivalent amounts for participants in national
RTGS systems of participating Member States
that are not monetary policy counterparties)
and evidence that such recourse to the standing
facility took place due to the malfunctioning of
Target;

(v) if applicable, the amount of any non-remun-
erated funds on a current account holding
which remained with an NCB/ECB owing to
the closure of the deposit facility and a confir-
the reserve requirements have
mation that
already been fulfilled;

(vi) if applicable, the amount of funds blocked in
the Target system and returned to the partici-
pant on a later value date;

(vii) the amount and calculation of the claim made

for reimbursement by the participant.

(b) Requests

for

reimbursement

shall be submitted
within four weeks of the date of the malfunctioning
in question. If a request is duly submitted in time
but deemed incomplete, then the claimant will be
required by the NCB of the national RTGS system
where the claimant is a participant to provide the
additional information needed within a time frame
of two weeks.

(c) Participants shall submit any requests for reimburse-
ment to the NCB/ECB where the participant placed
the payment order or was to receive the payment,
irrespective of where in the various components of
Target the malfunctioning occurred.

(d) The NCB/ECB of the malfunctioning national RTGS
system shall be the manager of the reimbursement
procedure
received by other
claims
NCBs/ECB will be transmitted to it for assessment.

and all

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(e) In order to ensure a harmonised approach and a
level playing field, the final assessment of the reim-
bursement requests received under the scheme shall
be carried out under
the
Governing Council of the ECB in close cooperation
with the NCB of the malfunctioning national RTGS
system.

the responsibility of

(f) The NCB/ECB of the malfunctioning national RTGS
system shall communicate the outcome of
the
assessment in respect of each claim to the partici-
pants concerned and the other NCB/ECB involved
promptly and no later than 18 weeks after the
malfunctioning, unless the Governing Council of the
ECB decides otherwise and such decision is commu-
nicated to the participants concerned.

(g) Reimbursement payments to the participants shall
be made at, or as soon as reasonably practicable
after, the time of the communication of the assess-
ment to the participants, and in any event not later
than five months after the malfunctioning, unless
the Governing Council of the ECB decides otherwise
and such decision is communicated to the partici-
pants concerned.

(h) Payments to be made to Target participants under
the reimbursement scheme shall be made in accord-
ance with the national laws and procedures applic-
able to the abovementioned paying NCB/ECB. There
shall be no interest payable on the amount of reim-
bursement under the scheme in respect of the time
period between the occurrence of
the case of
malfunctioning and the actual payment of reim-
bursement to the participant.

2. To effect a cross-border payment, the sending NCB/ECB
shall credit
the receiving
the inter-NCB account of
NCB/ECB held at the sending NCB/ECB; the receiving
NCB/ECB shall debit
the
the inter-NCB account of
sending NCB/ECB held at the receiving NCB/ECB.

3. All inter-NCB accounts shall be maintained in the euro

unit.

(c) O b l i g a t i o n s o f

t h e s e n d i n g N C B / E C B

1. Verification

The sending NCB/ECB shall without delay check all
details contained in the payment order which are neces-
sary in order for the payment to be executed, in accord-
ance with the technical provisions and specifications
referred to in Article 4(a). If syntactical errors or other
grounds for rejecting a payment order are detected by
the sending NCB/ECB, the latter shall handle the data
and the payment order in accordance with the RTGS
rules of its national RTGS system. Each payment passing
through interlinking shall have a unique identifier to
facilitate message identification and error handling.

2. Settlement

As soon as the sending NCB/ECB has checked the
validity of a payment order as referred to in Article
4(c)(1), and provided that funds or overdraft facilities
are available, the sending NCB/ECB shall without delay:

(a) debit the amount of the payment order from the
RTGS account of the sending participant; and

Article 4

Interlinking provisions

The provisions of this Article shall apply to the arrangements
for cross-border payments effected or to be effected through
interlinking. Other provisions of this Guideline shall apply to
such cross-border arrangements to the extent that such provi-
sions are of relevance to them.

(a) D e s c r i p t i o n o f

i n t e r l i n k i n g

The ECB and each of the NCBs shall operate an interlinking
to enable the processing of cross-border
component
payments within Target. Such interlinking components
shall comply with the technical provisions and specifica-
tions, which are
ECB's website
(www.ecb.int) and updated from time to time.

available on the

(b) O p e n i n g a n d o p e r a t i o n o f

i n t e r - N C B a c c o u n t s

h e l d a t

t h e N C B s a n d t h e E C B

the ECB.

1. The ECB and each of the NCBs shall open an inter-NCB
account on their books for each of the other NCBs and
for
In support of entries made on any
inter-NCB account, each NCB and the ECB shall grant
one another an unlimited and uncollateralised credit
facility.

(b) credit

the inter-NCB account of

NCB/ECB, as maintained on the books of
sending NCB/ECB.

the receiving
the

The point in time at which the sending NCB/ECB has
carried out the debiting specified in (a) above shall be
referred to as the settlement time. For national RTGS
systems which apply a blocking-of funds procedure, the
settlement time shall be the point in time at which
blocking takes place as referred to in Article 3(e)(3).

For the purposes of this Guideline, and without prejudice
to the provisions regarding irrevocability referred to in
Article 3(e)(3), a payment shall become final (as defined
in Article 1 of this Guideline) in relation to the sending
participant concerned at the settlement time.

(d) O b l i g a t i o n s o f

t h e r e c e i v i n g N C B / E C B

1. Verification

The receiving NCB/ECB shall check without delay all
details contained in the payment order which are neces-
sary for the appropriate credit entry to be made to the
RTGS account of the receiving participant (including the
unique identifier in order to avoid double crediting). The
receiving NCB/ECB shall not process any payment
orders, which it knows to have been made in error or
more than once. It shall notify the sending NCB/ECB of
any such payment orders and any payments received
pursuant thereto (and shall return any such payments
received without delay).

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2. Settlement

As soon as the receiving NCB/ECB has checked the
validity of a payment order as referred to in Article
4(d)(1), the receiving NCB/ECB shall without delay:

(a) debit

the amount of

the payment order to the
inter-NCB account of the sending NCB/ECB on its
books;

(b) credit

the amount of

the payment order to the

RTGS account of the receiving participant; and

(c) deliver a positive acknowledgement to the sending

NCB/ECB.

For the purposes of this Guideline, and without prejudice
to the provisions regarding irrevocability referred to in
Article 3(e)(3), a payment shall become final (as defined
by Article 1 of this Guideline) in relation to the receiving
participant concerned at the moment at which its RTGS
account referred to in (b) is credited.

(e) T r a n s f e r o f

r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r p a y m e n t o r d e r s

Responsibility for the execution of a payment order shall
pass to the receiving NCB/ECB upon receipt by the sending
NCB/ECB of
from the
receiving NCB/ECB.

acknowledgement

a positive

(f) R e g i m e f o r e r r o r s

1. Error handling procedures

Each NCB shall comply with, and ensure that its respec-
the error
tive national RTGS system complies with,
handling procedures adopted by the Governing Council
of the ECB. The ECB shall ensure the same for the ECB
payment mechanism.

2. Additional contingency measures

Each NCB shall ensure that its respective national RTGS
system and procedures comply with the user require-
ments for the additional contingency measures, referred
to in Article 4(a), and the terms and conditions and the
procedures adopted by the Governing Council of the
ECB. The ECB shall ensure the same for the ECB
payment mechanism.

(g) R e l a t i o n t o n e t w o r k s e r v i c e p r o v i d e r

1. All NCBs and the ECB shall be connected or have an

entry point to the network service provider.

2. As between themselves, neither NCBs nor the ECB shall
assume any liability to each other for any failure of the
network service provider. It shall be the responsibility of
the NCB/ECB which has suffered the loss to claim
the network service
compensation,
provider, whereby such an NCB shall make its claim
through the ECB.

if any, against

Article 5

Security provisions

Each NCB shall comply with, and shall ensure that its respec-
tive national RTGS system complies with, the provisions of the

security strategy and security requirements for Target. The ECB
shall also ensure the same for the ECB payment mechanism.

Article 6

Audit rules

The internal auditors of the ECB and the NCBs shall assess
compliance with the functional, technical and organisational
features, including security provisions, as specified for the rele-
vant Target components and arrangements referred to in this
Guideline.

Article 7

Management of Target

1.
The direction, management and control of Target shall
fall within the competence of the Governing Council of the
ECB. The Governing Council shall be entitled to determine the
terms and conditions under which cross-border payment
systems other than the national RTGS systems may use the
cross-border facilities of Target or be connected to Target.

2.
The Governing Council of the ECB is assisted by the
Payment and Settlement Systems Committee (the ‘PSSC’) in all
matters related to the Target system. For such purposes, the
PSSC shall set up a subgroup composed of NCB representatives
for the national RTGS systems.

The daily management of Target shall be entrusted to the
3.
ECB Target Coordinator and to the NCB settlement managers:

— each NCB and the ECB shall appoint a settlement manager
for the administration and monitoring of
its respective
national RTGS system or, in the case of the ECB, the ECB
payment mechanism,

— the settlement manager shall have responsibility for the
daily management of such national RTGS system or, in the
case of the ECB, the ECB payment mechanism and for
handling abnormal situations and errors, and

— the ECB shall appoint the ECB Target Coordinator as the

daily manager of the central functions of Target.

Article 8

Force majeure

There shall be no liability on the part of the NCBs/ECB for
non-compliance with this Guideline to the extent that, and for
so long as, there is an inability to perform the obligations in
question under the Guideline, or such obligations are subject to
suspension or delay, owing to the occurrence of any event
arising from any reason or cause beyond reasonable control
(including, but not limited to, equipment failure or malfunc-
tion, acts of God, natural disasters, strikes or labour disputes);
provided that the above shall not prejudice the responsibility to
have in place the back-up facilities required by this Guideline,
to carry out the errorhandling procedures, referred to in Article
4(f), as far as possible despite the force majeure event, and to use
all reasonable efforts to mitigate the effects of any such event
while it is taking place.

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Article 9

Dispute resolution

Article 10

Final provisions

1. Without prejudice to the rights and prerogatives of the
Governing Council of the ECB, any disputes arising between
NCBs or between any NCB and the ECB in connection with
Target which cannot be settled by agreement between the
parties
involved in the dispute shall be notified to the
Governing Council of the ECB and referred for conciliation to
the PSSC referred to in Article 7(2).

2.
In the event of such a dispute between NCBs, or between
an NCB and the ECB, the respective rights and obligations to
one another in relation to payment orders processed through
Target and all other matters referred to in this Guideline shall
be determined: (i) by the rules and procedures referred to in
this Guideline and its Annexes; and (ii) as a supplementary
source in disputes concerning cross-border payments through
interlinking, by the laws of the Member State of the seat of the
receiving NCB/ECB.

This Guideline is addressed to the national central banks of
participating Member States.

This Guideline shall enter into force on 7 June 2001.

From that date, Guideline ECB/2000/9 shall be repealed and
replaced.

This Guideline shall be published in the Official Journal of the
European Communities.

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 26 April 2001.

On behalf of the Governing Council of the
ECB

The President

Willem F. DUISENBERG

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ANNEX I

NATIONAL RIGS SYSTEMS

Member State

Name of system

Settlement agent

Location

Belgium

Electronic Large-value Interbank Payment system (ELLIPS)

Banque Nationale de Belgique/
Nationale Bank van België

Brussels

Germany

Euro Link System (ELS)

Deutsche Bundesbank

Frankfurt

Greece

Spain

France

Ireland

Italy

Hellenic Real-time Money Transfer Express system (HERMES)

Bank of Greece

Servicios de Liquidación del Banco de España (SLBE)

Banco de España

Transferts Banque de France (TBF)

Banque de France

Athens

Madrid

Paris

Irish Real-time Interbank Settlement system (IRIS)

Central Bank of Ireland

Dublin

Banca d'Italia Regolamento Lordo (BI-REL)

Banca d'Italia

Rome

Luxembourg

Luxembourg Interbank Payment systems (LIPS-Gross)

Banque centrale du Luxembourg

Luxembourg

The Netherlands

TOP

De Nederlandsche Bank

Amsterdam

Austria

Austrian Real-time Interbank Settlement system (ARTIS)

Oesterreichische Nationalbank

Vienna

Portugal

Sistema de Pagamentos de Grandes Transacções (SPGT)

Banco de Portugal

Finland

Bank of Finland (BoF)

Suomen Pankki

Lisbon

Helsinki

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ANNEX II

DOMESTIC PAYMENT FEES

The price of domestic RTGS transfers in euro will continue to be determined at the national level, with reference to the
principles of cost recovery, transparency and non-discrimination and taking into account the fact that the price for
domestic and cross-border transfers in euro should be broadly in the same range so as not to affect the singleness of the
money market.

National RTGS systems shall disclose their fee structure to the ECB, to all other participating NCBs, to participants in
national RTGS systems, and to other interested parties.

Methodologies to determine the costs of national RTGS systems will be harmonised to an adequate level.

ANNEX III

CROSS-BORDER PAYMENT FEES

The fee (excluding VAT) to be charged for cross-border payments through Target between direct participants will be based
on the number of transactions sent by a participant within a single RTGS system, according to a degressive scale.

The degressive scale is as follows:

— EUR 1,75 for each of the first 100 transactions per month,
— EUR 1,00 for each of the next 900 transactions per month,
— EUR 0,80 for each subsequent transaction in excess of 1 000 per month.

For the purpose of the application of the degressive tariff, the payment volume to be considered is the number of
transactions entered into by a same legal entity within a single RTGS system or the payment transactions entered by
different entities for execution through the same settlement account.

The application of the above tariff scheme will be reviewed from time to time.

Fees are charged only by the sending NCB/ECB to the sending participants in the national RTGS system/ECB payment
mechanism (EPM). No fees are charged by the receiving NCB/ECB to the receiving participant. There will be no charge for
inter-NCB transfers,

i.e. where the sending NCB/ECB is acting on its own behalf.

Fees will cover the queuing of the payment instruction (if applicable), the debiting of the sender, the crediting of the
inter-NCB account of the receiving NCB/ECB on the books of the sending NCB/ECB, the sending of the payment settlment
message request (PSMR) via the interlinking network, the debiting of the inter-NCB account of the sending NCB/ECB on
the books of the receiving NCB/ECB, the crediting of the RTGS participant, the sending of the payment settlement
message notification (PSMN) via the interlinking network, the communication of the payment message to the RTGS
participant/receiver and confirmation of settlement (if applicable).

The cross-border Target fee structure does not cover the costs of the telecommunications link between the sender and the
national RTGS system in which the sender is a participant. The fee for this telecommunications link will continue to be
paid according to the domestic rules.

National RTGS systems may not charge any fee for the conversion of transfer orders from national currency units into
euro units or vice versa.

RTGS systems may charge extra fees for additional services they may provide (e.g. the entering of paper-based payment
instructions).

The possibility of applying different fees according to the time of execution of the payment instructions will be considered
on the basis of experience gained during the operation of the system.

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L 140/85

ANNEX IV

TARGET HOURS OF OPERATION

Target and, therefore, NCBs and national RTGS systems participating in or connected to Target, applies the following
rules with respect to the time of operation.

1. The reference time for Target shall be ‘European Central Bank time’, defined as the local time at the seat of the ECB.

2. Target will have common operating hours from 07.00 to 18.00.

3. Early opening, before 07.00, may take place after prior notification has been sent to the ECB:

(i) for domestic reasons (e.g.

in order to facilitate settlement of securities transactions, to settle balances of net
settlement systems, or to settle other domestic transactions, such as batch transactions channelled by NCBs into
RTGS systems during the night); or

(ii) for ESCB-related reasons (e.g. on days when exceptional payment volumes are expected, or in order to reduce
foreign exchange settlment risk when processing the euro leg of foreign exchange deals involving Asian curren-
cies).

4. A cut-off for customer payments (both domestic and cross-border) of one hour before the normal Target closing time
will apply; the remaining time will be used only for interbank payments (both domestic and cross-border) to transfer
liquidity between participants. Customer payments are defined as payment messages in the MT100 format, or
equivalent national message format (which would use the MT100 format for cross-border transmission). The imple-
mentation of the 17.00 cut-off time for domestic payments is to be decided by each NCB in cooperation with its
banking community. In addition, NCBs may continue to process domestic customer payments that were in a queue at
17.00.

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ANNEX V

LIST OF ‘OUT’ COLLATERAL

which can be used to collateralise intra-day credit for each NCB of a participating Member State that has declared its
intention to use certain collateral located in the country of a national central bank of a Member State which has not
adopted the euro and whose intention has been approved by the ECB pursuant to Article 3(f)(3) and Article 3(g) of the
Target Guideline:

Participating NCB

Approved use of ‘out’ collateral

DEUTSCHE BUNDESBANK

— Danish Government and mortgage credit bonds
— Swedish Government debt instruments and mortgage institu-

BANCO DE ESPAÑA

BANQUE DE FRANCE

CENTRAL BANK OF IRELAND

tions' bonds

— UK Government gilt-edged securities
— UK Treasury bills

— UK Government gilt-edged securities
— UK Treasury bills

— Danish Government and mortgage credit bonds
— Swedish Government debt instruments and mortgage institu-

tion's bonds

— UK Government gilt-edged securities
— UK Treasury bills

— UK Government gilt-edged securities
— UK Treasury bills

BANQUE CENTRALE DU LUXEMBOURG

— Danish Government and mortgage credit bonds

DE NEDERLANDSCHE BANK NV

— Danish Government and mortgage credit bonds
— Swedish Government debt instruments and mortgage institu-

tions' bonds

SUOMEN PANKKI

— Danish Government and mortgage credit bonds
— Swedish Government debt instruments and mortgage institu-

tions' bonds

— UK Government gilt-edged securities
— UK Treasury bills