Asset servicing - Belgium (NBB)
For the specific services on the Belgian market, please refer to the Market Profile – Belgium.
Please refer to the relevant CBL, CBF OneClearstream, or LuxCSD Client Handbook for information about processing, reporting and connectivity for asset servicing.
This section covers the following business processes:
- Event announcement and entitlement forecast;
- Decision management;
- Payment management;
- Transaction management;
- Proxy voting services.
Event announcement and entitlement forecast
Event announcements for NBB issued securities are created based on the information received from the asset servicing provider for this market (KBC Bank NV, Brussels).
Clearstream informs clients on an “as and if received” basis of unscheduled securities events occurring on account holdings, such as conversion, repurchase offer, put redemption, consent, exchange offer, tender offer, etc.
Event announcements are generated with both the Clearstream corporate action reference and the Corporate Action Official Reference (COAF) as applied on the market.
For further information on event announcements and entitlement forecast processing and reporting, please refer to the relevant Client Handbook and to Market asset servicing – Belgium.
Decision management
Instructions for predictable events
Clients may instruct Clearstream to carry out options foreseen in the terms and conditions of the underlying type of security. These options include, but are not limited to, bond conversions and exercises of warrants.
Instructions for unpredictable events
Clearstream collects and processes client instructions for voluntary events, such as conversion, repurchase offer, put redemption, consent, exchange offer, tender offer, etc.
For further information about decision management processing and reporting, please refer to the relevant Client Handbook and to Market asset servicing – Belgium.
Payment management
Clearstream Banking operates an X account (exempt account) in the NBB’s X/N system. Clients that hold NBB-eligible securities through Clearstream Banking and LuxCSD must do so exclusively on behalf of beneficial owners (including themselves, if applicable) that qualify for exemption from Belgian withholding tax. Hence for Belgian taxable securities, cash distributions are made gross.
Clients, that are willing to provide the necessary tax certification and confirm to exclusively hold Belgian securities on behalf of beneficial owners that qualify for exemption from Belgian withholding tax to Clearstream, will be made eligible for trading Belgian bonds deposit with the National Bank of Belgium and could thereafter benefit from withholding tax exemption via segregated X accounts.
Any agent fees charged on coupon payments on foreign securities held in Belgium will be reported to the underlying clients when applicable.
For further information on the payment management processing and reporting, please refer to the relevant Client Handbook and to Market asset servicing – Belgium.
Note: Short-selling of coupons is not allowed in the market. Therefore, if Clearstream is short of entitlement, sale instructions with TD before ex-date will be compensated gross without deducting the withholding tax; that is, at a rate of 100%.
Transaction management
Please refer to Transaction Management in T2S.
Market claims and reverse market claims
For the NBB market rules for market claims and reverse market claims, please refer to NBB Transaction management rules.
Clearstream detects and process the market claims and reverse market claims on against payment and free of payment instructions of its clients as of status matched, as follows:
Market claims and reverse market claims on CBL client transactions
Internal | Bridge | Domestic | |
Detection | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Compensation | Yes | No | Yes |
Market claims and reverse market claims on CBF OneClearstream client transactions
Intra-CSDa (CBF-CBF, CBF-CBL) | Cross-CSD (CBF – LuxCSD) | Cross-CSD (CBF – T2S counterparty) | |
Detection | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Compensation | Yesb | Yesb | Yesc |
a. Including Eurex Clearing and LION related trades (subject to specific rules).
b. Market claims and reverse market claims in non-T2S eligible currencies and securities are processed on the corresponding CBF-i or CBL account of the CBF clients.
c. Excluding non-T2S eligible currencies and securities.
Market claims and reverse market claims on LuxCSD client transactions
Intra-CSD (LuxCSD - LuxCSD, LuxCSD - CBL) | Cross-CSD (LuxCSD – CBF) | Cross-CSD (LuxCSD – T2S counterparty) | |
Detection | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Compensation | Yesa | Yesa | Yesb |
a. Market claims and reverse market claims in non-T2S eligible currency/securities are processed on the corresponding CBL accounts of the LuxCSD clients.
b. Excluding non-T2S eligible currencies and securities.
Both market claims instructions, in cash and in securities, are processed via matching settlement instructions generated on behalf of client accounts, flagged as follows:
ICP clients MT54x | DCP clients sese.023/sese.025 | |
Market claim and reverse market claim instruction | 22F::SETR//CLAI | Transaction code: CLAI |
Detected market claims are reported to clients in the Custody Market Claims report and via Claim and Reversal Advice.
Debits/credits resulting from market claims and reverse market claims compensations are reported in the Custody Market Claims report and via Claim and Reversal Advice.
The market claims and reverse market claims are visible in Xact Web Portal.
For further information on the processing and reporting, please refer to the relevant Client Handbook.
Transformations
For the NBB market rules for transformations, please refer to NBB Transaction management rules.
Clearstream detects and process the transformations on pending matched against payment and free of payment instructions of its clients, as follows:
Transformations on CBL client transactions
| Internal | Bridge | Domestic |
Detection | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Cancellation | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Re-instruction | Yes | No | Yes |
Transformations on CBF OneClearstream client transactions
Intra-CSDa (CBF-CBF, CBF-CBL) | Cross-CSD (CBF – LuxCSD) | Cross-CSD (CBF – T2S counterparty) | |
Detection | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Cancellation | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Re-instruction | Yesb | Yesb | Yesc |
a. Including LION related trades (subject to specific rules).
b. Re-instructions in non-T2S eligible currency/securities are processed on the corresponding CBFi/CBL accounts of the CBF clients.
c. Re-instructions in non-T2S eligible currency/securities.
Transformations on LuxCSD client transactions
Intra-CSD (LuxCSD - LuxCSD, LuxCSD - CBL) | Cross-CSD (LuxCSD – CBF) | Cross-CSD (LuxCSD – T2S counterparty) | |
Detection | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Cancellation | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Re-instruction | Yesa | Yesa | Yesb |
a. Re-instructions in non-T2S eligible currency/securities are processed on the corresponding CBL accounts of the LuxCSD clients.
b. Re-instructions in non-T2S eligible currency/securities.
Both re-instructions, in cash and in securities, are processed via matching settlement instructions generated on behalf of client accounts, flagged as follows.
ICP clients MT54x | DCP clients sese.023/sese.025 | |
Re-instructions in securities | :22F::SETR//as in the underlying instruction | Transaction code: as in the underlying instruction |
:22F::STCO//TRAN | Transaction condition: TRAN | |
Re-instructions in cash | :22F::SETR//CORP | Transaction code: CORP |
:22F::TTCO//TRAN | Transaction condition: TRAN |
Transformations are subject to settlement reporting.
For further information on the processing and reporting, please refer to the relevant Client Handbook.
Buyer protection
For the Belgian market rules for buyer protection, please refer to NBB Transaction management rules.
Clearstream does not introduce an automated buyer protection infrastructure. Instead buyer protection will be handled bilaterally between the counterparties, that is, outside the CSD environment.
In order to comply with the Corporate Actions standards on manual buyer protection, clients must use the Corporate Actions Joint Working Group (CAJWG) Buyer protection invocation template for corporate actions if the requested option is not the default option, referencing the corporate action, the chosen option(s), the quantity of securities and the underlying transaction in the template. The template must be sent electronically (via fax or email) to the seller.
When provided on the market, the below key buyer protection dates will be included in Clearstream MT564 Corporate Action Notifications:
- Election to counterparty deadline; and
- Guaranteed participation date.
For further information on the processing and reporting, please refer to the relevant Client Handbook.
Proxy Voting procedures
Proxy voting services are available in Clearstream for this market on a "best efforts" basis. For details about the proxy voting services offered by Clearstream, please refer to the relevant Client Handbook and, for the market specific practices, please refer to the Market Profile - Belgium.
Transaction management
Please refer to the NBB Transaction management rules.