SIFMA today issued its 2015 and 2016 holiday schedules for full and early market closes for the trading of US dollar-denominated fixed-income securities in the United States and the United Kingdom. SIFMA will publish its 2016 recommendations for Japan in early 2015.
The recommendations apply to trading of US 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. Early closes will not affect the closing time for settlements.
The 2015 U.S. calendar includes two changes from standard practice:
- Friday April 3, 2015 (Good Friday): Good Friday is normally a close recommendation. However, in 2015, Good Friday falls on the first Friday of the month and the BLS is scheduled to publish the March 2015 employment data on that date. Consistent with past SIFMA practice (last occurred in 2012), the proposed calendar recommends an open with a NOON close for Good Friday 2015 on Friday, April 3.
- Friday July 3, 2015 (observance of Independence Day): The NY Fed is scheduled to be open that day and the NYSE is scheduled to be closed. Thus, it is recommended that primary dealer firms provide limited funding desk staffing in order to accommodate potential NY Fed operations. This recommendation is consistent with the approach taken in 2009 when this last occurred.
The full 2015 and 2016 holiday recommendations for the US and UK are listed on SIFMA's Website at www.sifma.org/Services/Holiday-Schedule.