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The Short-Term European Paper (STEP) initiative aims to foster the integration of the European markets for short-term paper through the convergence of market standards and practices. Integration will enhance market depth and liquidity and increase the diversification opportunities for issuers (both financial and non-financial institutions) and investors.
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a. STEP Market Committee
Monitors market developments and establishes and reviews the market standards on which the STEP label is based. The STEP Market Committee may amend the provisions of the Convention in accordance with the terms of the Code of Conduct of the STEP Market Committee (the “Code of Conduct”). The STEP Market Committee also provides guidance on the appropriate and consistent interpretation of the Convention.
b. STEP Secretariat
- for the day-to-day management of the STEP label;
- to grant, withhold or withdraw the STEP label on the basis of the criteria and requirements in the STEP Market Convention;
- to make available the electronic format of the information memoranda of STEP-labeled programmes and related information on the STEP website;
- to provide certain data to the ECB and the eligible data providers to produce STEP statistics;
- to act as the secretariat to the STEP Market Committee; and
- to administer the STEP Market website.
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The STEP Market Convention lays down the criteria which short-term paper programmes must fulfill to be STEP-compliant (Chapter 1- p.6 - "1. Criteria and requirements for the STEP label") and the procedures for granting and withdrawing the STEP label (Chapter 2 – p.10 - "2. Procedure for the granting and witdrawal of the STEP label").
Not at all.
But for the inclusion of the programme in the STEP statistics, it is necessary that the issuer immediately informs the relevant issuing and paying agent(s), securities settlement system(s) [SSSs] and dealer(s) that the STEP label has been granted to the programme.
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- Label of visibility and transparency
- Possible eligibility for ECB market operations
- Publication of statistics by ECB
- Limited cost for establishing the information memorandum
- Promotion of short term European market in Europe through a convergence of existing markets
- Strong support of the program by ECB/ESCB, FBE and ACI
- Benchmark information for issuer
- Potential for broadening investor base after acceptance of STEP for domestic market regulation (France, Luxemburg, Switzerland)
- Potential disadvantage in case of not being involved given strong development in the last months
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- Issuers adhere to STEP market convention - STEP Programmes are built with the same process as non labelled equivalent programmes with additional commitments from the issuer relating to transparency, frequency of update and user friendly documentation via a standard presentation designed by banking issuers
- Commitments are followed by the STEP Secretariat which monitors the granting of the label
- UCITS directive aims at transparency and investors protection: CP with STEP label is eligible as money market instrument
- All information of all issuers are available via the STEP web page - Access to the webpage is anonymous, free of access and all the process is monitored by the EBF with the logistical support of ESCB and ECB for data collection and computations
- Benchmark information for internal and external purposes (Auditors, controllers, neutral price information, etc) - Statistics on the STEP market provide a unique feature to gauge their credit exposure toward a programme, whatever the programme type.
- Promotion of short term European market in Europe through a convergence of existing markets
- Additional income through usage of the eligibility of STEP label papers (own purchase or via securities lending)
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European Central Bank's website.
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In order to apply for the STEP label for the programme, the duly authorized person(s) to represent the Issuer shall submit the following documents in English to the Secretariat:
- an application form, as set out in Annex 3 (p. 22 - "Form of Application for the STEP Label),
- the Information Memorandum, as set out in Annex 4, with its appendices (p. 23 to 26 - "STEP Standard Information Memorandum") and
- a declaration of adherence to the STEP Market Convention, as set out in Annex 5 (p. 27 - "Declaration of Adherence of the Issuer to the STEP Market Convention").
The above mentioned documents and annexes are in the STEP Convention.
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Send the electronic versions (pdf format) of the above-mentioned documents to: application@step-market.org with the
- email Subject starting with: “Application for a STEP Label: Name of the programme - Issuer Name” and;
- email body containing: Name of the issue - Description of the issue - Contact person: his/her name and his/her complete contact details.
Label applicants may request assistance from the application@step-market.org prior to submitting their application.
Please be ware of the size limit imposed to the STEP Secretariat mailbox: 10 MB.
In order to have smaller file size, please follow these instructions: When creating a pdf, set the pdf printer settings on “smallest file size” (Go in the settings of your pdf printer).
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In order to obtain and maintain the STEP label for a short-term paper programme, the issuer, the features of the programme and the Notes issued under the programme must comply with the requirements of the STEP Market Convention, including its Annexes.
The documentation of a label needs to be updated following certain conditions as described in FAQ n°12.
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Two update types exist:
a. Regular updates:
- Information Memorandum (IM) – every 3 years within 60 days of the annual accounts approval by the board of the issuer or its equivalent in the year of the requested update;
- Appendices 1 and 2 of the IM – annually within 60 days of the annual accounts approval by the board of the issuer or its equivalent.
b. Exceptional updates:
- The issuer shall update the Information Memorandum and submit it to the STEP Secretariat every time there is a significant event which changes the substance of the programme or the nature or quality of the credit risk carried by the Notes issued under the programme. More information on p. 12 - "2.3. Updates of the Information Memorandum" of the STEP Convention;
- Ratings change - the Issuer shall update the Information Memorandum and the relevant Appendices and re-submit them to the STEP Secretariat within 21 calendar days of the event. However, if the programme’s rating(s) are reported exclusively in the Rating Agencies’ letters (i.e. exclusively in Appendix 3), only the new Rating Agencies letters shall be re-submitted to the STEP Secretariat within 21 calendar days of the event.
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All depends on the type of the update to be made. See FAQ n°12.
The documents to provide are to be in their final status and signed.
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Send the electronic versions (pdf format) of the above-mentioned documents to: update@step-market.org
with the
- email Subject starting with: “Renewal/Update of STEP ID #..... : Name of the programme - Issuer Name” and;
- email body containing: Name of the issue - Description of the issue - Contact person: his/her name and his/her complete contact details.
Please be ware of the size limit imposed to the STEP Secretariat mailbox: 10 MB.
In order to have smaller file size, please follow these instructions: When creating a pdf, set the pdf printer settings on “smallest file size” (Go in the settings of your pdf printer).
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The STEP Secretariat may withdraw the STEP label granted to a programme:
- either on the initiative of the STEP Secretariat or at the issuer’s request;
- if the issuer does not comply with the Info Memorandum regular update rule (every 3 years) or whit the exceptional update rule;
- if the issuer(s), the SSS or the eligible data provider fails to comply with the STEP Market Convention.
The withdrawn programme shall immediately be removed from the list of STEP-labeled programmes.
If the withdrawal of the STEP label is made at the request of an issuer, this shall be specified on the STEP website.
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Send an email to withdraw@step-market.org with in the subject field: “Request for Withdrawal – STEP ID #... – Name of the Programme".
In the body of the, please state the reasons for your request.
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Please refer yourself to the Contact webpage.
- for the day-to-day management of the STEP label;
- to grant, withhold or withdraw the STEP label on the basis of the criteria and requirements in the STEP Market Convention;
- to make available the electronic format of the information memoranda of STEP-labeled programmes and related information on the STEP website;
- to provide certain data to the ECB and the eligible data providers to produce STEP statistics;
- to act as the secretariat to the STEP Market Committee; and
- to administer the STEP Market website.
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The on-line directory is composed of:
- the name of the programme
- the attributed STEP ID
- the outstanding amount and its currency
- the type
- the label date
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