The Austrian Treasury (OeBFA) for the Republic of Austria as the issuer of Austrian Government Bonds and Treasury Bills decides which commercial banks are authorised to take part in the auction procedure. As primary dealers, the selected institutions have rights as well as obligations.
To be eligible as a primary dealer, a bank must also fulfil specific criteria. When making the decision, the OeBFA evaluates the following factors among others: capitalization, reputation, branch locations and distribution network, staff, size and turnover of fixed income portfolios denominated in euros or any other relevant currencies.
Primary dealer for Government Bonds
The most important rights of primary dealers include:
- Right to participate in auctions and syndicated tranches of Austrian government bonds
- Right to participate in buyback and exchange transactions for Austrian government bonds
- Preferred status in other issues of the Republic of Austria
- Preferred status as a counterparty of the Republic of Austria in debt and liquidity management operations
As primary dealers, institutes must fulfil the following obligations, among others:
- Obligation to participate in Austrian government bond auctions
- Active participation in secondary market trading for Austrian government bonds
- Allocation of sufficient resources for trading of Austrian government bonds
- Allocation of sufficient resources to support the Republic of Austria in its treasury operations for its debt and liquidity management
- Promotion of Austrian government bond markets by adequate analysis, research, publications, and yield forecasts
In addition, each auction participant informs the Republic of Austria about its primary and secondary market participation in Austrian Government Bonds using a standard form. These data must be made available on a monthly basis, specifying the geographical distribution, the investor base and maturities involved.
Currently, 20 banks (15 of them non-Austrian) take part in the auction procedure.
- Barclays Bank Ireland plc
- BAWAG P.S.K. Bank für Arbeit und Wirtschaft und Österreichische Postsparkasse Aktiengesellschaft
- BNP Paribas
- BofA Securities Europe SA
- Citigroup Global Markets Europe AG
- Commerzbank AG
- Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft
- Erste Group Bank AG
- Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE
- HSBC Continental Europe
- J.P. Morgan SE
- Landesbank Baden-Württemberg
- Morgan Stanley Europe SE
- Natixis
- Nomura Financial Products Europe GmbH
- Oberbank AG
- Raiffeisen Bank International AG
- Société Générale
- UniCredit Bank GmbH
- Volksbank Wien AG
Primary dealer for Treasury Bills
The most important rights of primary dealers include:
- Right to participate in auctioned and non-auctioned tranches of Austrian Treasury Bills
- Right to submit non-competitive bids
- Preferred status for other issuances of the Republic of Austria
- Preferred status as a counterparty of the Republic of Austria in debt and liquidity management operations
As primary dealers, institutes must fulfil the following obligations, among others:
- Obligation to participate in Austrian Treasury Bills auctions
- Active participation in secondary market trading for Austrian Treasury Bills
- Allocation of sufficient resources for trading of Austrian Treasury Bills
- Promotion of Austrian Treasury Bills markets by adequate analysis, research and publications
In addition, each Auction Participant informs the Republic of Austria about its primary and secondary market participation in Austrian Treasury Bills using a Harmonised Reporting format.
Currently 19 banks take part in the auction procedure:
- Barclays Bank Ireland PLC
- BNP Paribas
- BRED Banque Populaire
- BofA Securities Europe SA
- Citigroup Global Markets Europe AG
- Commerzbank AG
- Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft
- Erste Group Bank AG
- Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE
- HSBC Continental Europe
- J.P. Morgan SE
- Landesbank Baden-Württemberg
- Morgan Stanley Europe SE
- Natixis
- Nomura Financial Products Europe GmbH
- Oberbank AG
- Raiffeisen Bank International AG
- Société Générale
- UniCredit Bank GmbH
