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1. a signed Application form and Declaration of Adherence to the STEP Market Convention (Annex 2 of the STEP Market Convention).

2. a completed information memorandum, including any applicable supplements (Annex 3 of the STEP Market Convention).

3. electronic copies of or active hyperlinks to the last two approved annual reports (if any) and financial accounts (consolidated, if any) or equivalent documents;

4. the auditors’s opinion on annual accounts (or refer to the above documents if included in one of them);

5. direct hyperlinks to the credit rating agencies’ website;

6. the copy of full text of the guarantee (if any). If the guarantor belongs to the category of general government (e.g. central government or local authority), the text of the guarantee can be substituted, when appropriate, by the text of the relevant rules applicable to the guarantee;

7. at the option of the issuer, any other relevant information (including but not limited to : legal opinion, rating letters regarding the issuer).

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1. Send electronic copies (pdf) of the above-mentioned documents towith 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.

2. The Secretariat will acknowledge receipt to the issuer within 3 (three) business days from the date on which the application was received.

3. The complete STEP labelling procedure will take a minimum of 13 (thirteen) business days from the date of the acknowledgement. If the label is granted, the STEP directory will be updated accordingly. Please be aware 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).

Label applicants may request assistance from the Secretariat prior to submitting their application.

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A contribution of EUR 3000 will be required annually for the programme maintenance covering the period from January to December of each year (payable annually in January).

Additionally, when applying for a new STEP label, issuers are required to pay a flat contribution of EUR 2000 in order to cover administrative costs. The maintenance contribution of EUR 3000 is prorated based on the date of the label approval.

E.g.: a new programme approved on 1 July 2017.

• Contribution in 2017: (2000 + 3000 * (6/12 months) = EUR 3500 (invoiced on 1 July 2017)
• Subsequent years: EUR 3000 (invoiced in January)

No refunds are possible for withdrawals before year end.

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a. The issuer shall update the information memorandum at least every three years + 90 days of the date of the last Information Memorandum.

b. The issuer shall update the other mandatory documents and submit them to the STEP Secretariat normally annually, and in any case as soon as they are approved, but no later than 90 days of the date of the approval.

The issuer shall urgently contact the STEP Secretariat if any delay is expected in providing the above-mentioned updates.

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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.

In the event of any change in one of the programme’s ratings, the issuer must inform the STEP Secretariat (by fax or e-mail) immediately after such change is notified to the issuer by the relevant rating agency. Furthermore, the issuer shall provide updated rating agencies’ letters to the STEP Secretariat within 21 calendar days of their receipt by the issuer.

In circumstances where only minor changes are to be made e.g. (including but not limited to) a change in programme’s ceiling, a supplemental information memorandum can be provided, which acts as an addendum to the original information memorandum.

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Electronic versions (pdf format) of the above-mentioned documents must be sent to the Secretariat via email to

• 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.