KSD - Korea Securities Depository

08/29/2023 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/28/2023 18:55

KSD and Euroclear to sign an Agreement on the Omnibus Account Services for Korea Treasury Bonds and Monetary Stabilization Bonds

1. Overview

□ On 28 August 2023, Korea Securities Depository (KSD) signed a CSD agreement with Euroclear in Brussels to establish and operate omnibus account services for Korea treasury bonds (KTBs) and monetary stabilization bonds (MSBs).

* An omnibus account is opened at KSD under the name of Euroclear, as an international central securities depository (ICSD), which allows for the integrated custody and management of Korean government bonds on behalf of offshore investors without having to use segregated accounts in Korea.

□ The signing ceremony was held in the Euroclear headquarters and attended by the Chairman and CEO Soonho Lee of KSD, the CEO Peter Sneyers of Euroclear, and the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Jeong-hyun Ryu to the Kingdom of Belgium and the European Union.

ㅇ "I am convinced that the omnibus account will serve as a cornerstone for advancing the globalization of the Korean capital market by making KTBs more liquid and actively utilized," said Mr. Soonho Lee. "We will continue the great work and make the best efforts to ensure thorough system development which will commence promptly in the near future."

ㅇ "We are delighted to be taking this next step with the Korean market. We have been working together with the KSD, the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the domestic regulators with a shared vision to provide a solution for international investors to access efficient and safe settlement of local Korean government bonds. Our link will also allow KTBs to be eligible on our triparty platform.," said Mr. Peter Sneyers. "As a Financial Market Infrastructure, we will continue to support and work with the market with a commitment to create an ecosystem for growth as we move closer to the launch of the Euroclearable link."

ㅇ "Today's signing will become a significant milestone in the ROK-Belgium cooperation for capital market development," said Ambassador Jeong-hyun Ryu. "I would like to express my deep gratitude and congratulations to both organizations for their dedicated efforts to enhance the external credibility of the Korean capital market."

2. Future Plans

□ KSD and Euroclear will leverage the contract signing to build a strong momentum and expedite the system development for omnibus account services.

ㅇ The service is scheduled to go live within the first half of 2024 after linkage development and participant testing, and best efforts will be made to launch the service at the earliest possible time.

□ The service launch is expected to contribute to providing offshore investors with the ease of market access and expanding the liquidity and utilization of KTBs and MSBs.