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Securities Lending

Introduction​

The CDM is a data model that provides a standard format for financial products and transactions in the capital markets industry. It is intended to improve data quality, increase efficiency, and reduce costs by creating a common language that enables automated trade processing and reduces the need for costly customisations.

The International Securities Lending Association (ISLA) have been working with securities financing subject matter experts to model components in the CDM for the Securities Lending market.

Scope​

A securities lending transaction involves the loan of securities by one party (the "lender") to another (the "borrower"), often facilitated by a brokerage firm or agent, with the borrower providing collateral and paying a fee.

Securities lending products, trades and transactions can all be represented using the types, structures and functions in the CDM. The legal agreements that govern the trades can also be described and attached to the trades themselves.

The model supports open or term cash and non-cash collateralised loans, using either fixed or floating rates, on a principal or agency basis. Core lifecycle events including trade execution, settlement, returns, allocation and reallocation are supported, with a basic billing function also provided.

Core elements in Securities Lending​

There are several types, attributes and functions that should be used to describe securities lending products and lifecycle events. The core elements
required are described in this section, with examples of their usage.

Cash Collateral​

In a cash loan, the lender lends the borrower the requested securities, and the borrower provides cash as collateral against the securities that they are borrowing.

Loans against cash collateral are formed as a ContractualProduct that includes an InterestRatePayout for the cash collateral, held under economicTerms->collateral, and an AssetPayout for the security being lent, held under economicTerms->payout.

The collateralType under collateralProvisions should be set to "Cash" to define this as a cash collateralised loan. These types can be found under the economicTerms->collateral type.

An example showing the location of the payouts for the cash collateral and the security being lent is provided below:

"economicTerms": {
  "payout": {
    "assetPayout": [ 
      {
        ...
      }
    ]
  },
  ...
  "collateral": {
    "collateralProvisions": {
      "collateralType": "Cash"
    },
    "collateralPortfolio": [ {
        "collateralPosition": [ {
            "product": {
              "contractualProduct": {
                "economicTerms": {
                  "payout": {
                    "interestRatePayout": [
                      {
                        ...
                      }
                    ]
                  }
                }
              }
            }
        } ]
    } ]
  },
  ...
}

Non-cash Collateral​

In a non-cash loan, the lender lends the borrower the requested securities, and the borrower provides collateral in the form of other securities or products.

Loans against non-cash collateral are formed as a ContractualProduct that includes an AssetPayout for the non-cash collateral, held under economicTerms->collateral, and another AssetPayout for the security being lent, held under economicTerms->payout.

The collateralType under collateralProvisions should be set to "NonCash" to define this as a non-cash collateralised loan. These types can be found under the economicTerms->collateral type.

An example showing the location of the payouts for the non-cash collateral and the security being lent is provided below:

"economicTerms": {
  "payout": {
    "assetPayout": [ 
      {
        ...
      }
    ]
  },
  ...
  "collateral": {
    "collateralProvisions": {
      "collateralType": "NonCash"
    },
    "collateralPortfolio": [ {
        "collateralPosition": [ {
            "product": {
              "contractualProduct": {
                "economicTerms": {
                  "payout": {
                    "assetPayout": [
                      {
                        ...
                      }
                    ]
                  }
                }
              }
            }
        } ]
    } ]
  },
  ...
}

Cash Pool​

In a cash pool loan, the lender lends the borrower the requested securities, and takes cash as collateral from a cash pool held by the lender on behalf of the borrower.

Loans against cash collateral are formed as a ContractualProduct that includes an InterestRatePayout for the cash collateral, held under economicTerms->collateral, and an AssetPayout for the security being lent, held under economicTerms->payout.

The collateralType under collateralProvisions should be set to "CashPool" to define this as a cash pool collateralised loan. These types can be found under the economicTerms->collateral type.

Please see the preceding example for a securities lending trade collateralised using cash for an example of where the payouts can be found.

Defining Collateral​

When non-cash collateral is used as collateral on a trade then it needs to be defined in the AssetPayout of the product. This can be done using the security type under securityInformation.

The details of the security should be entered in the attributes held within the security->productIdentifier type, being the identifier and the source.

Parties, Party Roles and Counterparties​

The parties on a trade are defined in Party objects. These can be the lender and the borrower (i.e. the counterparties) or custodians or agency lenders.

Details of each party should be defined in its own Party object. The role of each party can be defined in the PartyRole type. Using metadata keys and references each Party can then be associated to its role.

The counterparties on a trade can be defined using the Counterparty type. This abstracts the role of each counterparty away from the actual parties on the trade, allowing them to be set as either "Party1" or "Party2". The counterparties must reference a Party object which can again be done using metadata to avoid duplication.

Payer and Receiver​

The InterestRatePayout and AssetPayout types must also define the payer and receiver under the payerReceiver type.

The payer and receiver must reference the counterparties on the trade using their roles on that trade i.e. either "Party1" or "Party2". The counterparty under the tradableProduct can be used to set which of the Party objects is which party.

In securities lending the borrower is considered the payer as they are providing the collateral (either cash or non-cash), and the lender is the receiver of the collateral.

Interest Rate, Price, Quantity and Value​

The key factors that affect the earnings on a securities lending trade are the interest rate, price, loan quantity and loan value. These are all held in the priceQuantity type, which is represented as a list, allowing multiple items
to be specified.

Note: where a trade has multiple lots associated to it, each tradeLot can have a different priceQuantity associated to it, allowing each lot to have its own factors defined.

A securities lending trade will need to include a minimum of two items in the priceQuantity list - one to describe the asset price and the quantity of shares of that asset; and another to describe the interest rate and the value to which the rate is to be applied.

Price and Quantity​

The priceQuantity will need to include a price that holds the asset price and a quantity that holds the number of shares on loan. It is also possible to define the security that the price and quantity are associated to in the observable type.

The price will need to have its priceType set to "AssetPrice". The simplest way to express the price is using the value attribute, an example of which would be as follows:

"priceQuantity": [ {
  ...
  "price" : [ {
    "value" : {
      "value" : 25,
      "unit" : {
        "currency" : {
         "value" : "GBP"
        }
      },
      "perUnitOf" : {
       "financialUnit" : "Share"
      },
      "priceType" : "AssetPrice"
    }
  } ]
  ...
} ]

The quantity will need to define the number of shares in the value attribute:

"priceQuantity": [ {
  ...
  "quantity" : [ {
    "value" : {
      "value" : 0,
      "unit" : {
        "financialUnit" : "Share"
      }
    }
  } ]
  ...
} ]

If the security on loan is to be defined here then an observable should be included in the priceQuantity too:

"priceQuantity": [ {
  ...
  "observable" : {
    "productIdentifier" : [ {
      "value" : {
        "identifier" : {
          "value" : "GB00BDR05C01"
        },
        "source" : "ISIN"
      }
    } ]
  }
  ...
} ]

Note: the security on loan can also be defined under the product -> security details

Interest Rate and Value​

The priceQuantity will need to include a price that represents the interest rate and a quantity that holds the value that the interest rate is to be applied to.

The price will need to have its priceType set to "InterestRate". The simplest way to express the rate is using the value attribute, an example of which would be as follows:

"priceQuantity": [ {
  ...
  "price" : [ {
    "value" : {
      "value" : 0.01,
      "unit" : {
        "currency" : {
         "value" : "GBP"
        }
      },
      "perUnitOf" : {
        "currency" : {
          "value" : "GBP"
        }
      },      
      "priceType" : "InterestRate"
    }
  } ]
  ...
} ]

The quantity will need to define the value that the rate is applied to in the value attribute:

"priceQuantity": [ {
  ...
  "quantity" : [ {
    "value" : {
      "value" : 10000000,
      "unit" : {
        "currency" : {
         "value" : "GBP"
        }
      }
    }
  } ]
  ...
} ]

Dates​

There are several key dates through the lifecycle of a securities lending trade. The main ones that need to be defined are described in this section.

Effective Date​

The effective date in a securities lending trade refers to the date when the agreement or transaction between the lender and the borrower becomes binding and takes effect. It signifies the point at which the terms and conditions of the lending arrangement are legally enforceable.

The effectiveDate can be found under the product's economicTerms type.

Trade Date​

The trade date is the specific day when the order to lend securities is executed or placed in the market. The trade date marks the initiation of the transaction, while the effective date represents the point at which the agreement becomes legally binding.

Once the trade has been executed then the tradeDate under the trade type should be set to the date the trade was executed.

Settlement Dates​

The settlement date is when the securities legally change hands. In a securities lending trade, there are potentially two dates related to settlement: the security settlement date, and for a trade against cash, the cash settlement date.

The security settlement date is when the securities on the trade are legally transferred from the lender to the borrower. It is the day when the borrower becomes the holder of record of the security.

For cash trades the cash settlement date is the date when the cash payment for the borrowed securities is made by the borrower to the lender. It represents the completion of the financial aspect of the securities lending transaction.

In both instances the settlement dates are defined under the payouts associated to the trade.

For a trade against non-cash there would be two assetPayouts, one for the non-cash collateral and another for the securities being lent. At a minimum the settlementDate under settlementTerms in the assetPayout for the security being lent should be populated. However, it is recommended that the settlementDate under both assetPayout -> settlementTerms types are set.

For a trade against cash there would be an assetPayout for the securities being lent and an interestRatePayout for the cash being used as collateral. The security settlement date should be placed in the settlementDate under settlementTerms in the assetPayout, and the cash settlement date should be placed in the settlementDate under settlementTerms in the interestRatePayout.

Note: For DVP trades the cash and security settlement dates will be the same. They should still be set under the assetPayout->settlementTerms->settlementDate and interestRatePayout->settlementTerms->settlementDate types as described above.

Termination Date​

Where a trade has a termination date this can be set under the terminationDate of the product's economicTerms type. Additional details related to the termination of a trade can be placed within the terminationProvision type also under economicTerms.

The agreement governing a trade should be referenced in the contractDetails type under trade. For securities lending trades the ISLA Global Master Securities Lending Agreement can be referenced by setting the publisher to "ISLA" and the agreementName->masterAgreementType to "GMSLA". The preprint version can also be set in the vintage attribute.

These attributes are available under the legalAgreementIdentification type, an example of which is provided below:

"contractDetails": {
  "documentation": [ {
    "legalAgreementIdentification": {
      "agreementName": {
        "masterAgreementType": {
          "value": "GMSLA"
        }
      },
      "publisher": "ISLA",
      "vintage": 2010
    }
  } ]
}

Note: further details of the master agreement can be modelled in the masterAgreementSchedule which is also provided underneath the documentation type.

Haircut and Margin​

In a securities lending trade, a haircut is a reduction applied to the value of the collateral used for a loan and is generally expressed as a percentage. A margin is the initial market value of the collateral expressed as a percentage of the market price.

These concepts can be represented using attributes under collateralProvisions under the product's economicTerms.

Note: these attributes are expressed as decimal numbers. Thus a 50% haircut would be represented as "0.5", and a 110% margin would be represented as "1.1".

An example of a trade that has a 10% haircut and 105% margin would look as follows:

"economicTerms": {
  "collateral": {
    "collateralProvisions": {
      "eligibleCollateral": [ {
        "treatment": [ {
          "valuationTreatment": {
            "haircutPercentage": 0.1,
            "marginPercentage": 1.05
          }
        } ]
      } ]
    }
  }
}