The Organisations represented by the Federation of European Securities Exchanges (FESE), the European Association of Central Counterparty Clearing Houses (EACH) and the European Central Securities Depositories Association (ECSDA) agreed on 7 November 2006 on a Code of Conduct for Clearing and Settlement, which was presented to and signed by EU Commissioner Charlie McCreevy on the same day.

The signing exchanges, clearing houses and central securities depositories share the objective of achieving greater efficiency and further integration of European capital markets. The objective of the Code of Conduct – in line with the objectives of the European Commission – is therefore to allow investors to trade European securities within a consistent, coherent and cost-efficient European framework.

The Code of Conduct covers the following areas:

• Price transparency, to help customers understand and compare prices and services.
See implementation report

• Standard unilateral access between Organisations and interoperability, to enhance the ability of Organisations to interconnect and ultimately increase freedom of choice for market participants.
See Access and Interoperability Guidelines

• Service unbundling and accounting separation, to facilitate competition, increase customer choice and provide relevant information on the services provided.
See Letter to Commissioner McCreevy confirming succesful implementation of this phase.

The implementation phase of the Code is currently under way and is subject to the following timeframe:

Furthermore, the undersigning Organisations understand that the Commission is considering proposing the extension of the self-regulatory approach from cash equities to other asset classes and service providers once the Code has entered into force. This review will take place at the time of implementation of the Market in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID), further enhancing the objectives pursued by the Commission in MiFID.