The Asset Management Group would like to inform its members and its Weekly Report readership of SIFMA’s modification to its recommended early market close for Friday, April 6.
SIFMA Modifies Good Friday 10:30 a.m. Recommended Early Close to 11:00 a.m. to Harmonize with the Futures Markets
Contact: Katrina Keller, 646-637-9281 or kkeller@sifma.org
New York, NY -- The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) has modified its previous early close recommendation from 10:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., EDT, on Friday, April 6, for the trading of U.S. dollar-denominated fixed-income securities in the United States in observance of the Good Friday holiday. SIFMA has modified its previous Good Friday recommendation in order to harmonize its trading recommendation with the Chicago Board of Trade’s and Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s Good Friday holiday schedules. SIFMA is making an early close, rather than a full close, recommendation due to the scheduled release of Bureau of Labor Statistics’ March 2007 employment data the morning of April 6.
SIFMA also recommends that Friday, April 6, not be treated as a good settlement day for secondary market transactions in U.S. government securities, federal agency debt and mortgage-backed securities, corporate bonds, and municipal bonds. As well, SIFMA recommends for U.S. government and federal agency debt a T+2 settlement cycle for trades entered on Friday, April 6. SIFMA is making no settlement recommendations for money market transactions.
SIFMA also notes the following regarding April 6:
- The Chicago Board of Trade’s pit will close at 10:00 a.m. (CDT) and e-cbot will close at 10:15 a.m. (CDT). (See: CBOT Holiday Schedule)
- The Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s trading floor for CME Foreign Exchange and CME Interest Rates will close at 10:00 a.m. (CDT) and CME’s CME® GLOBEX® for CME Foreign Exchange, CME Interest Rates, and CME Housing will close at 10:15 a.m. (CDT) (See: CME Holiday Schedules)
- The Depository Trust Company will be open for money market instrument settlement processing. (See: DTC Press Release: 2007 Holiday Schedule)
- The Fixed Income Clearing Corporation will be closed. (See: FICC “Important Notice)
- The National Securities Clearing Corporation will be closed. (See: NSCC “Important Notice”)
- The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board will be closed.
- For the purposes of TRACE reporting, the NASD will be closed. (See: NASD 2007 TRACE Holiday Calendar)
- The Federal Reserve Bank of New York will be open. (See: Holidays Observed by the Federal Reserve, 2007-2011)
These recommendations apply to trading of U.S. dollar-denominated government securities, mortgage- and asset-backed securities, over-the-counter investment-grade and high-yield corporate bonds, municipal bonds and secondary money market trading in bankers’ acceptances, commercial paper and Yankee and Euro certificates of deposit.
SIFMA’s recommended early and full market closes are recommendations only; each member firm should decide for itself whether its fixed-income departments remain open for trading. All SIFMA recommendations are subject to change due to market conditions.
The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association brings together the shared interests of more than 650 securities firms, banks and asset managers. SIFMA’s mission is to promote policies and practices that work to expand and perfect markets, foster the development of new products and services and create efficiencies for member firms, while preserving and enhancing the public’s trust and confidence in the markets and the industry. SIFMA works to represent its members’ interests locally and globally. It has offices in New York, Washington D.C., and London and its associated firm, the Asia Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, is based in Hong Kong.