KELER Központi Értéktár Zártkörűen Működő Részvénytársaság

KELER Központi Értéktár Zártkörűen Működő Részvénytársaság (KELER Zrt.) is Hungary’s central securities depository, providing issuance, safekeeping, registration, and settlement services for dematerialized securities across equities, debt, and investment funds. It operates the domestic securities settlement system, supports delivery-versus-payment in Hungarian forint via the central bank’s payment infrastructure, and connects to TARGET2-Securities for selected euro-denominated settlement, while maintaining cross-border links that enable custody and settlement in foreign markets. The institution delivers issuer services including ISIN allocation as Hungary’s National Numbering Agency, corporate actions processing, shareholder registry maintenance, and general meeting support, alongside services for market participants such as account management, asset servicing, and standardized connectivity through SWIFT and online interfaces. KELER’s participant base typically includes credit institutions, investment firms, custodians, fund managers, and issuers, subject to membership, technical, and operational requirements that reflect EU standards; it offers omnibus and individually segregated account structures in line with the Central Securities Depositories Regulation (CSDR), and applies settlement discipline measures such as penalty calculation and reporting. A wholly owned subsidiary, KELER CCP, acts as the central counterparty for various Hungarian markets, but the depository and CCP functions are legally and operationally distinct. Supervised by the Magyar Nemzeti Bank, KELER is authorized under CSDR and publishes rulebooks, fee schedules, and participant disclosures on governance, protection of client assets, and risk controls. Operationally, it supports standard European settlement cycles (including T+2 for most liquid instruments), handles corporate events and income distribution, and provides messaging and reporting aligned with ISO standards to facilitate straight-through processing. The service model is conventional for a European CSD, with clear separation of core depository functions, defined access criteria, and fee-based tariffs for account maintenance, settlement, asset servicing, and issuer-related activities; prospective participants can expect a formal onboarding process, compliance checks, technical certification, and integration testing before activation. Potential users should review current tariffs, settlement cut-offs, connectivity options, and any market-specific constraints, especially where cross-border settlement, currency handling, or corporate action processing deviates from international norms.