Market infrastructure - International (CBL)
Institutions and organisation
Clearstream Banking defines international securities as follows:
- Securities that are underwritten and distributed by an international syndicate of investment banks; and/or
- Securities that are offered at issuance on a significant scale simultaneously to investors in more than one country.
Stock Exchange
Most international debt securities are listed on the following stock exchanges (ranked according to the number of issues listed):
- Luxembourg Stock Exchange;
- London Stock Exchange;
- Dublin Stock Exchange;
- Zürich Stock Exchange.
Most internationally traded instruments are traded “over the counter”, in particular via e-trading platforms.
Settlement system
International securities may be primarily issued in and deposited either with the ICSDs (Clearstream Banking and Euroclear Bank) or with national CSDs.
Numbering agency
For international debt securities that are primarily issued in and deposited with the ICSDs, Clearstream Banking also acts, jointly with Euroclear Bank, as numbering agent to allocate “XS” International Securities Identification Numbers (ISINs)1.
Regulatory structure
There are no regulations specific to the international securities market. However, all institutions that are involved in this market are supervised by their national regulators. In parallel, international securities may be submitted to various regulatory initiatives (such as the EU Financial Services Action Plan, the EU Directives on Prospectus and Transparency) or local withholding taxes.
In the course of the international market’s history, associations have been formed and have contributed to the shaping of a regulatory framework, such as the following (the list is not exhaustive):
The Association of National Numbering Agencies (ANNA1 - www.anna-web.com)
Founded in 1991, the responsibilities of the ANNA are to make available to its members, and to the securities industry as a whole, an ISIN in a uniform structure for use in any application in the trading and administration of securities in the securities market.
The Bond Market Association (BMA - www.bondmarkets.com)
Incorporated as The Public Securities Association in 1976, this organisation changed its name to The Bond Market Association in 1997.
The BMA is the trade association representing the debt markets. As the industry’s “voice”, the BMA speaks for the global bond industry, advocating its positions and representing its interests in New York, Washington, D.C., London, Frankfurt, Brussels and Tokyo; and with issuer and investor groups worldwide.
The BMA’s main objective is to foster improvement in the legislative, regulatory, educational and market practice arenas for all participants in bond markets.
In recent years, the BMA has sponsored specialised industry forums, such as the European Securitisation Forum, the American Securitization Forum and the Asset Managers’ Forum, whose membership further broadens the BMA’s activities and diverse representation of the fixed income market.
The European Central Securities Depositories Association (ECSDA2 - www.ecsda.com)
Founded in 1997, the objective of the ECSDA is to offer solutions and provide advice at an international level on technical, economical, financial, legal and regulatory matters to reduce risk and increase efficiency in custody, pre-settlement and settlement arrangements for securities and related payments across Europe for the benefit of issuers, investors and market participants.
The European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA - www.efama.org)
Founded in 1974, the EFAMA is the pan-European umbrella organisation of the investment funds industry of the EU Member States and Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey.
The International Capital Market Association (ICMA - www.icma-group.org)
Formed by the merger of the International Securities Market Association (ISMA) and the International Primary Market Association (IPMA), effective July 2005, the ICMA has a broad franchise across the primary and secondary sectors of the international capital markets. The ICMA has the financial and organisational resources in keeping with the size and scope of a single market and the globalisation of financial markets more generally.
The International Capital Market Services Association (ICMSA2 - www.icmsa.org)
Formerly the International Paying Agents Association (IPAA) and founded in 1994, the responsibilities of the ICMSA are to promote the highest standards of practice within the industry, maintain communication and consultation with comparable industry organisations and consider relevant developments in the international capital markets and money markets.
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1. For further information on ISIN allocation, please refer to the guidelines published on the official website of the Association of National Numbering Agencies scrl ( www.anna-web.com ), of which Clearstream Banking is a member.
2. Clearstream Banking is a member of the ECSDA and of the ICMSA.