Article 15 Money settlements

1.   A SIPS operator settling one-sided payments in euro shall ensure that final settlement takes place in central bank money. A SIPS operator settling payments for other SIPS shall endeavour to enable such other SIPS to settle even in emergency situations.

2.   A SIPS operator settling two-sided payments or one-sided payments in currencies other than euro shall ensure that final settlement takes place in central bank money where practicable and available.

3.   If central bank money is not used, a SIPS operator shall ensure that money settlements take place using a settlement asset with little or no credit and liquidity risk.

4.   If a settlement takes place in commercial bank money, the SIPS operator shall monitor, manage, and limit credit and liquidity risks arising from the commercial settlement banks. In particular, the SIPS operator shall establish and monitor adherence to strict criteria for its settlement banks that take account of, among other things, their regulation and supervision, creditworthiness, capitalisation, access to liquidity, and operational reliability. The SIPS operator shall also monitor and manage the concentration of credit and liquidity exposures to the SIPS’s commercial settlement banks.

5.   If a SIPS operator conducts money settlements on its own books, it shall minimise and strictly control its credit and liquidity risks.

6.   If a settlement takes place in commercial bank money, a SIPS operator’s legal agreements with any commercial settlement banks shall state clearly: