SCHEDULE 3 of FSFR: Market Activities
1. Operating an Exchange
(1) Operating an Exchange means operating a facility which functions regularly and brings together multiple third party buying and selling interests in Investments, in accordance with its non-discretionary rules, in a way that can result in a contract in respect of Investments admitted to trading or traded on the facility.
(2) The facility referred to in (1) may be organised on a temporary or permanent basis and can be an order driven system, a quote driven system or a hybrid of such systems that enables the market to operate electronic trading or trading by other means.
2. Operating a Clearing House
(1) Operating a Clearing House means operating a facility where confirmation, clearance and/or settlement of transactions in Investments are carried out in accordance with the nondiscretionary rules of the facility, under which the Person operating the facility:
(a) becomes a Central Counterparty (“CCP”); or
(b) provides a book-entry Securities Settlement System (“SSS”), regardless of whether or not such a Person also operates a Central Securities Depository.
(2) In (1):
(a) “confirmation” means verifying the terms of a transaction and checking that Investments, cash or both, including margin, are available to secure the exposure arising from the transaction;
(b) “clearance” means transmitting and reconciling orders prior to settlement and establishing settlement positions, including the calculation of net positions arising from transactions in Investments; and
(c) “settlement” means the completion of a transaction with the aim of securing the timely discharge (whether by performance, compromise or otherwise) of the rights and liabilities in relation to the transaction.
(3) In (1)(a), a Person operates as a CCP where it:
(a) ensures the performance of open contracts relating to Investments made on a facility for trading Securities; and
(b) does so by interposing itself between counterparties to such contracts by becoming either the buyer to every seller, or the seller to every buyer.
(4) In (1)(b), a Person operates an SSS where it operates a system which enables Investments held in accounts to be transferred and settled by book entry according to a set of predetermined multilateral rules.
(5) Acting as a Central Securities Depository in (1) means holding Investments in uncertificated (dematerialised) form to enable book entry transfer of such Investments for the purposes of clearing or settlement of transactions on its own facility and on any other similar facility.