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Irish Stock Exchange’s GEM Market Approved By ECB For Eurosystem Monetary Policy

Date 05/02/2013

The Irish Stock Exchange’s Global Exchange Market (GEM) has been approved by the European Central Bank (ECB) as an acceptable non-regulated market for the Eurosystem’s monetary policy.

As a result, securities listed on GEM can now be assessed under the eligibility criteria of marketable assets set down by the ECB credit assessment framework. Eligible marketable assets approved by the ECB can be pledged as collateral by counterparties and credit institutions in order to gain access to the Eurosystem’s liquidity-providing monetary policy operations and intraday credit.

GEM has been approved under the Eurosystem’s assessment of non-regulated markets which is based on three principles – safety, transparency and accessibility.

GEM joins a small number of non-regulated markets in Europe which meet the ECB’s “acceptable market” criteria. The Main Securities Market of the ISE, an EU regulated market, already meets the ECB standard.

Gerard Scully, Director of International Primary Markets, at the ISE said, “We are delighted that GEM has been deemed acceptable as a non-regulated market for the Eurosystem’s monetary policy regime. The approval of GEM should increase the potential range of securities available to financial institutions as collateral and recognises the high regulatory standards applied by the Irish Stock Exchange to the operation its debt markets.”