JPMorgan Institutional Trust Services has initiated same-day settlement of the first euro commercial paper (ECP) issuance via Euroclear France.
JPMorgan Securities was dealer for ECP issuer Reseau Ferre De France, the owner and the manager of the French railway infrastructure, rated A1+/P1/F1+.
JPMorgan is the first issuing and paying agency (IPA) to provide automated same-day settlement to the euro market.
Ray Morison, a vice president of JPMorgan who serves as chairman of the International Paying Agents Association, says: "The combination of automated same-day settlement and the European pre-issuance messaging initiative will lay the foundation for straight-through processing for the euro market."
The European Pre-Issuance Messaging (EPIM) initiative, sponsored by Euroclear, Clearstream and The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), will reduce the time needed to obtain an International Securities Identification Number. JPMorgan settled its first ECP issue via the EPIM system on 22 July, 2002.