Article 38 Protection of securities of participants and those of their clients

For each securities settlement system it operates, a CSD shall keep records and accounts that shall enable it, at any time and without delay, to segregate in the accounts with the CSD, the securities of a participant from those of any other participant and, if applicable, from the CSD’s own assets.

A CSD shall keep records and accounts that enable any participant to segregate the securities of the participant from those of the participant’s clients.

A CSD shall keep records and accounts that enable any participant to hold in one securities account the securities that belong to different clients of that participant (‘omnibus client segregation’)

A CSD shall keep records and accounts that enable a participant to segregate the securities of any of the participant’s clients, if and as required by the participant (‘individual client segregation’).

A participant shall offer its clients at least the choice between omnibus client segregation and individual client segregation and inform them of the costs and risks associated with each option.

CSDs and their participants shall publicly disclose the levels of protection and the costs associated with the different levels of segregation that they provide and shall offer those services on reasonable commercial terms. Details of the different levels of segregation shall include a description of the main legal implications of the respective levels of segregation offered, including information on the insolvency law applicable in the relevant jurisdictions.

A CSD shall not use for any purpose securities that do not belong to it. A CSD may however use securities of a participant where it has obtained that participant’s prior express consent. The CSD shall require its participants to obtain any necessary prior consent from their clients.