Payment systems

Settlement systems in Spain

The Spanish interbank payment system is structured around two systems: TARGET2-Banco de España, for processing large-value payments; and the National Electronic Clearing System (SNCE), for small-value payments.

TARGET2-Banco de España came into operation on 18 February 2008 and replaced the Banco de España Settlement System (SLBE). This is the Spanish version of TARGET2 and, like its predecessor, it is a real time gross settlement system (no previous clearing). Settlement takes place in the accounts the participants hold in the common technical platform of TARGET2.

The National Electronic Clearing System is managed by Iberpay, a private company owned by the participating credit institutions. This system processes transactions conducted using retail payment instruments: transfers, cheques, direct debits, bills and various other transactions (non-standardised documents, commissions and fees on loans or documented batches, foreign currency exchange, etc.). The settlement of these transactions is conducted in the accounts the participants hold in TARGET2-Banco de España.

The securities clearing and settlement systems in Spain are integrated into the holding company called Bolsas y Mercados Españoles (BME) and are as follows:

• La Sociedad de Gestión de los Sistemas de Registro, Compensación y Liquidación de Valores, S.A. Unipersonal – which operates under the trade name of IBERCLEAR. The Spanish securities central depository is responsible for the accounting records and the clearing and settlement of securities admitted for trading on Spanish Stock Exchanges (Securities Clearing and Settlement System), on the Public Debt Book-entry Market (Book-entry System), on the AIAF Bond Market (Securities Clearing and Settlement System-Association of Financial Assets Intermediaries), and on Latibex, the Latin-American securities market in euro. IBERCLEAR manages two settlement platforms - the Book-entry System and the Securities Clearing and Settlement System. The first settles fixed interest securities (public and private) and the second settles securities traded on the stock exchange.
• The Securities Settlement System of the Barcelona, Bilbao and Valencia Stock Exchanges.
• MEFF (Spanish Financial Futures Market). MEFF acts as a market and clearing house for futures and options on gilt-edged securities and IBEX-35, as well as futures and share options. MEFFCLEAR is an entity which acts as a clearing central counterparty for transactions on fixed interest securities traded on securities markets between settling members or customers.

All Spanish securities clearing and settlement systems settle using money from the central bank, or in other words the cash settlement of securities transactions is carried out on TARGET2-Banco de España.