T2S and CBF Release – Information on the production launch in June 2024 – Update
Note: This Announcement, originally published on 15 December 2023, has been updated to specify the scope of the release and to confirm the implementation in the T2S Test environment. Changes have been highlighted.
Clearstream Banking AG, Frankfurt1, informs clients about the upcoming TARGET2-Securities (T2S) Release R2024.JUN in June 2024. Along with the implementation of the T2S Release, CBF will introduce functional modifications. According to the T2S Release Concept, the release will be deployed on
the weekend 8 and 9 June 2024
for business day Monday, 10 June 2024
T2S Release R2024.JUN – Scope
With the T2S Release in June 2024, six Change Requests (CRs) will be introduced in production. They have already been approved at T2S Steering Level. In the event of urgency and if priority is given, further functional updates might be authorised by the Operational Managers Group (OMG). If such changes are announced by T2S, CBF will inform clients in due time.
With this Announcement, CBF informs clients about the scope elements for T2S Release R2024.JUN and indicates if the modification might impact CBF clients acting in ICP and / or DCP mode:
- Overview T2S Change Requests
The report attached shows six approved T2S Change Requests (CRs). More details on these requirements can be found in the related ECB documentation2. - Problem Tickets (PBIs)
CBF regularly reviews the lists of pending PBIs provided by T2S. The analysis of the list published beginning of April 2024 shows that currently ten T2S Problem Tickets (PBIs) might impact CBF’s clients operating in DCP mode. Five further PBIs can affect ICPs and DCPs. - Transition plan
The installation of the T2S Release into production is planned for the second weekend in June 2024. The deployment will be executed via the “Release Weekend Schedule”. In line with the deployment approach of previous T2S Releases, the schedule of the T2S Operational Day will be modified due to the implementation activities. The deployment will start once the end of day procedure (“T2S End of Day”) on Friday, 7 June 2024, has been completed. In May 2024, CBF aims to provide an indicative timeline for changes in the operational day during the deployment weekend.
The table below provides an overview of the important T2S milestones within the next months:
T2S Service Transition Plan
Activity for T2S Release R2024.JUN | Date |
Deployment of R2024.JUN to Pre-production | Friday, 12 April 2024 |
End of testing of R2024.JUN scope elements in Pre-Production | Wednesday, 22 May 2024 |
Market Infrastructure Board (MIB) approves the R2024.JUN deployment to Production | Tuesday, 28 May 2024 |
Deployment of R2024.JUN to Production | Saturday, 8 June 2024 |
CBF enhancements for T2S Release R2024.JUN
CBF aims to mitigate the impact on clients operating in ICP mode as much as possible. Functional enhancements delivered by T2S will be included in CBF's scope of services. CBF will adapt functionalities and the automated connectivity channels (Swift, MQ or File Transfer) according to the future service level.
Based on the analysis of the T2S Change Request documentation provided by T2S, the adjustments that will be effective for clients in ICP mode will be implemented by CBF with only minor impact on clients.
T2S-0757-SYS “T2S should apply a 20-day transformation period for instructions subject to COSD
The T2S Change Request T2S-0515-URD, implemented with the T2S Release 2.0 in June 2018, has fulfilled the requirement of the Corporate Action Joint Working Group (CAJWG) which allows for up to 20 T2S settlement days after maturity date new instructions in the matured security to be accepted, and matched, but still open instructions to be transformed by the settlement CSD in charge.
With the CR T2S-0757-SYS, T2S will also apply this rule to instructions that are subject to a settlement restriction or CoSD blocking set by the settlement CSD. Previously, T2S deleted these instructions after maturity date. After the T2S release in June, these instructions will also be accepted or will be available for transformation for further 20 T2S settlement days.
Previously, CBF manually transformed the instructions that were deleted after maturity date by T2S due to a "settlement restriction" or "CoSD blocking". With the introduction of this CR, CBF will automate the process. CBF clients will only be marginally impacted. In future, the reporting of these transformations will correspond to the format of automatically transformed instructions: The T2S Actor reference of the underlying instruction is specified in the field :70E::SPRO// after the letter sequence TR.
Clients operating in DCP mode are recommended to check the impact of the T2S CRs implementation on their systems.
Client simulation
In the light of the service update to the T2S functionalities, clients can decide to enter regression test cases in the CBF Client Simulation environment (IMS23) in the period from 13 May to 5 June 2024. The already established static data for CBF accounts and the related connectivity settings in IMS23 remain unchanged. For regression testing, send an email to t2s-support@clearstream.com to be registered as tester and to receive more details about the simulation requirements.
The updated software for T2S Release R2024.JUN has been installed successfully on Friday, 12 April 2024, in the T2S Pre-Production Environment (UTEST).
Contact
For further information, clients may contact Clearstream Banking Client Services or their Relationship Officer. Questions related to the technical connection can be addressed to Connectivity Support. Particular questions related to the production launch in June 2024 will be routed to and answered by the experts of the T2S Release Management.
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1. This Announcement is published by Clearstream Banking AG (CBF), registered office at Mergenthalerallee 61, 65760 Eschborn, Germany, registered with the Commercial Register of the District Court in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, under number HRB 7500.
2. Details about the scope elements of T2S Release R2024 JUN are published on the ECB's website.