CASCADE Link Guide – Switzerland
Key features
CSD link as defined under CSDRa | Yes |
Type of link | Direct |
a. CSD Regulation (EU) No 909/2014, Article 2(29).
CSD | |
Name | SIX-SIS AG |
FATCA GIIN | N8IQT4.00001.ME.756 |
LEI | 549300A3XI3YWROC2J57 |
Country of incorporation | Switzerland |
Account type | Omnibus account |
Legal account name / holder | Clearstream Banking AG |
Operational arrangements
| Yes/No | Remarks | |
| Settlement in T2S | No | |
| Settlement free of payment | Yes | |
| Settlement against payment | Yes | Eligible settlement currency: Swiss Francs (CHF). |
| Settlement Cycle CBF | Limited | Continuous settlement (Cont-SDS FoP) and RTS DvP. |
| Settlement against payment in central bank money account of CBF client | Yes | |
Short selling of entitlement | No | Short selling of income or corporate actions proceeds is not authorised for settlement in CBL. Please refer to section 4.5 of the CBL Client Handbook. |
| Bridge settlement | No | |
| Shaping facility | No | |
| Partial settlement | No | |
| Settlement penalty fees | No | In the event of delayed delivery, SIX Swiss Exchange AG foresees the possibility of generating a buy-in procedure. |
| Pre-matching | Yes | |
| Back-to-back processing | No | |
| Allegements | No | |
| Bilateral cancellation | Yes | |
| Automatic compensation | Yes | Income payments only and in CHF. |
| Registered securities | Yes | When held in CBF, registered shares are kept in the so-called “dispo positions” at SIX SIS (this corresponds to the unregistered positions at CBF). This means that the securities cannot be registered in the name of the final beneficiary. |
| Multi-market securities | No | |
| Lending and borrowing | No | |
| Proxy voting | No | |
| Investment funds | No | |
| Liquidity Hub Connect | No | |
| Sale and purchase of rights | No | |
| Repo services | No | |
| Market restrictions | Yes | Refer to Investment Regulation - Switzerland. |
| FTT | No | |
| Daily reconciliation | Yes | |
| Link eligible for use in Eurosystem credit operations | No |
Moment of entry of instructions | The rules of SIX SIS do not define the moment of entry within the meaning of the Settlement Finality Directive. |
Irrevocability of instructions | The participant can revoke instructions sent to SIX SIS until the moment at which SIX SIS debits the participant's custody account pursuant to the instruction. SIX SIS doesn’t allow unilateral cancellation after the matched status has been reached. Cancellation after matching have to be instructed by both parties (bilateral cancellation). |
Finality of instructions | The transfer of securities positions effected due to an instruction is completed when a custody account has been credited accordingly. The transfer is final with the credit; the disposing participant loses its rights in the intermediated security that was disposed of. |
Legal arrangements
The below section is based on the legal opinion obtained by CBF that was issued on 8 December 2023. The information is provided for guidance only and should not be considered in isolation or as constituting a complete or definitive legal advice on any specific matter.
No insolvency proceedings against the CSD | Confirmed |
Liability for negligence | Confirmed |
Book-entry regime with in rem rights | Confirmed |
Recognition as direct CSD account-holder | Confirmed |
Recognition of nominee concept | Confirmed |
No right of retention for the CSD | Confirmed |
Segregation of assets at the CSD | Confirmed |
No right of use | Confirmed |
No upper-tier attachments | Confirmed |
Insolvency of CSD with no impact on CBF's rights | Confirmed |
Shortfall pro-rated among holders | Confirmed |
Settlement finality in case of insolvency | Confirmed |
Record keeping period of at least 10 years | Confirmed |
CBF-eligible security types
- Government debt securities;
- Corporate bonds;
- Foreign bonds denominated in Swiss Francs;
- Equities in bearer and in listed registered form;
- Investment funds;
- Warrants.
Note: Eligible securities are securities that have been accepted bilaterally for cross-border transfer by both CBF and the relevant CSD. The eligibility of a given security, as well as the relevant CSD, can be checked by using the WSIS/CS function of CASCADE.
Depository
SIX SIS AG
Baslerstrasse 100
CH-4600 Olten
Switzerland
Cash correspondent details
| Currency: | Swiss Franc (CHF) |
| CCB name: | Schweizerische Nationalbank (SNB) |
| CBF account: | Client’s direct account at SNB or via Cash Correspondent Bank |
| Swift address: | SNBZCHZZ |
In order to settle transactions against payment in CHF with local counterparties through SIX SIS, CBF clients must open a direct account at SNB or at a cash correspondent bank connected to SNB.
Applicable deadlines:
For any purchase, the cash amount in CHF must be made available at the latest by 16:00 on SD either at SNB or by the correspondent bank.
Note: As there is no netting process, purchased securities are only credited if there is sufficient cash cover on the SNB account.
Pre-matching service
The table below summarises CBF’s pre-matching service for cross-border settlement instructions, as well as the pre-matching method and start time in the market.
| Service offered | Method employed | Start (local time) | ||
| All securities | ||||
Release of pre-matching instruction followed by a settlement instruction | Automated through SIX SIS | On receipt of instructions | ||
Passive matching service
The passive matching service is not available on this link.
Settlement times
The deadlines shown below are valid provided that the client's instructions are complete, accurate and eligible for straight-through processing (STP) in CBF and in the local market. Clients must also ensure that any necessary provision is available. If one or more of these criteria are not met, CBF cannot guarantee timely settlement.
Important note: As part of CBF’s internal compliance procedures, all incoming client instructions will be automatically scanned before entering transaction processing. Instructions that are internally flagged as requiring further manual investigation are set to status pending, with such status immediately reported to the client via their chosen media channel(s), until either being manually released for processing or rejected. In order to ensure that instructions being investigated do not miss the applicable deadlines, clients are advised to input instructions at least 15 minutes before the associated deadline.
| Instruction | Provisioning | Deadline for receipt of valid instruction a | Expected settlement results | ||||
| start | end | from | to | value | |||
| AP=Against payment FOP=Free of payment SD=Settlement date (rtp)=Real-time processing | |||||||
| Receipts | FOP | No instruction is required for a receipt free of payment. | |||||
AP | 06:00 SD | 16:00 SD | 16:00 SD | SD (rtp) | 17:00 SD | SD | |
| Deliveries | FOP | 06:00 SD | 18:00 SD | 18:00 SD | SD (rtp) | SD+1 (rtp) | |
AP | 06:00 SD | 16:00 SD | 16:00 SD | SD (rtp) | 17:00 SD | SD | |
a. All deadlines refer to online placement in CASCADE and depend on timely SIX SIS matching and sufficient cover.
Procedures for domestic counterparties
| Procedure for the domestic counterparty | Deadline | |
| Receipt in CBF | ||
| Domestic counterparties delivering securities free of or against payment in favour of a CBF client must indicate the following information in their instruction to SIX SIS: Deliver to: | Market deadline | |
- | Business Partner Identification (BPID) linked to account of receiving party in CASCADE; or | |
- | DAKV plus 8-digit account number of receiving party in CASCADE | |
| Delivery from CBF | ||
| Domestic counterparties receiving securities free of or against payment from a CBF client must indicate the following information in their instruction to SIX SIS: Receive from: | Market deadline | |
- | Business Partner Identification (BPID) linked to account of delivering party in CASCADE; or | |
- | DAKV plus 8-digit account number of delivering party in CASCADE | |
Allowed countervalue difference
A maximum difference in countervalue of CHF 27 is allowed for the matching and settlement of transactions with domestic counterparties. In the case of a discrepancy within this limit, the receiving party’s cash amount shall prevail.
Matching criteria
The following matching criteria are relevant for against payment instructions only:
- Trade date (only mandatory for deliveries to an SIX SIS counterparty);
- Deliverer’s client number (debit account);
- Recipient’s client number (receiver account);
- ISIN;
- Nominal value;
- Cash equivalent up to CHF 27.00;
- Currency;
- Settlement date;
- Beneficiary’s account (on delivery instructions);
- Ordering party’s account (on receipt instructions).
Back-to-back processing
Back-to-back processing is not available in the Swiss market. Nevertheless, same-day turnarounds are in principle possible, provided that the client sends its receipt instruction as early as possible to CBF for further processing and that securities/cash provision is available.
Management of failed instructions
In accordance with the procedures for meeting the new SIX SIS standards, unsettled receipt instructions are automatically cancelled twenty calendar days after the requested settlement date.
Instructions that have been validated in CASCADE cannot be changed. If an instruction with the status “verified” must be changed, this instruction must be cancelled and re-entered with a different instruction number. Please note that the cancellation must be carried out before the new instruction is entered.
Bilateral cancellation
If a party sends a cancellation instruction for a matched instruction it is accepted, but only executed when the other party also sends a cancellation instruction.
If only one party sends a cancellation instruction then the matched instruction will settle on the intended settlement date.
With the exception of OTC instructions where one of the counterparties is SIX SIS (CBF account 7215), if one of the counterparties instructs a cancellation either for the delivery or for the receipt instruction, then no bilateral cancellation is necessary, only a unilateral cancellation.
Registered shares
When held in CBF, registered shares are kept in the so-called “dispo positions” at SIX SIS (this corresponds to the unregistered positions at CBF). This means that the securities cannot be registered in the name of the final beneficiary.
New issues settlement
Transactions in new issues and subscriptions are settled on the day on which distribution/subscription occurs in Switzerland. For confirmation times, please refer to “Settlement times” above.
Eurex processing of underlying Swiss securities
The Eurex exercises are performed in the form of OTC transactions via the settlement system of the respective CSD. CASCADE automatically generates necessary delivery/receipt instructions that are shown as matched. No confirmation of the relevant counterparty is therefore required.
The settlement of Eurex receipt/delivery instructions of underlying Swiss securities follows the principle of the settlement of a receipt/delivery of Swiss securities from/to a Swiss counterparty.
- Eurex exercises are processed in the first same-day settlement cycle (1.SDS).
- Eurex generates both the security delivery and receipt instructions to both CASCADE and SIX SIS settlement system. Instructions are received matched.
- The cash settlement of the countervalue of the underlying securities in Swiss Francs is performed through the client's account (or appointed cash clearer) at SNB.
For additional information about this service, please contact your Relationship Officer.