January 11, 1996 Mr. Walter J. Robertson Director of Compliance National Association of Securities Dealers 1735 K Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20006 Dear Mr. Robertson: The Bureau of the Public Debt is occasionally asked whether the Treasury will defer issuance of Treasury securities purchased at auction by customers until after the issue date. This letter provides an interpretation of the Department of the Treasury's auction rules (Uniform Offering Circular, 31 CFR Part 356) that answers this question. Based on the inquiries we have received on this matter, it is our understanding that the question of deferred issuance has generally been first posed by a counterparty, such as an institutional customer, to a submitter -- either a dealer or depository institution (DI). The counterparty has generally sought to have delivery of the Treasury securities deferred, because of an unforeseen circumstance or legal situation, until the day after the issue date. This question has arisen both prior to an auction and during the period between the close of an auction and the issue date of the securities. The timing of the question is important in determining the available options discussed below. For purposes of this letter, the meaning of "customer" is the same as the definition of that term in the Uniform Offering Circular. Section 356.2 of the auction rules defines "customer" as "a bidder on whose behalf a depository institution or dealer has been directed to submit or forward a competitive or noncompetitive bid for a specified amount of securities in a specific auction." A customer is evidenced by its name appearing on a tender or a customer list supplied by a submitter of an auction tender. Treasury's Policy The Treasury will not defer issuance of auction awards to bidders, regardless of whether they are customers or submit their bids directly. The Uniform Offering Circular, together with the offering announcement, sets out the terms and conditions under which the Treasury sells and issues marketable Treasury securities to the public (31 CFR § 356.10). Auction customers, like all other bidders in Treasury auctions, make offers to purchase Treasury securities under the terms by which they are being offered. Inherent in these terms is the requirement that successful bidders take delivery of the awarded securities on the issue date. Therefore, the Treasury will not defer delivery of Treasury securities beyond the issue date. Prior to the Treasury Securities Auction If a counterparty, such as a client of a dealer or DI, indicates, prior to the auction, that it wants to purchase Treasury securities with delivery to take place after the issue date, the dealer or DI may conduct a when-issued transaction for the desired delivery date. The customer request may not be met by submitting a customer bid in the auction, since the Treasury delivers securities purchased at auction only on the issue date. To fulfill the when-issued transaction, the dealer or DI may obtain the Treasury securities from a secondary market trade or through an auction purchase. If the securities are obtained through a Treasury securities auction, the amount of the bid must be included in the dealer's or DI's proprietary bid. Accordingly, the counterparty would not be listed as a customer on the dealer's or DI's customer list. The amount of the auction purchase would be considered to be a purchase by the dealer or DI, not a purchase by the counterparty. After the Acceptance of an Auction Bid Once a customer bid has been accepted into a Treasury securities auction, that bid may not be changed to a proprietary bid of the dealer or DI. Since a customer is also a bidder, upon the acceptance of a customer bid, the customer becomes responsible for paying "the settlement amount for any securities awarded to it in the auction" (31 CFR § 356.16) and for taking delivery of the securities on the issue date as stated in the offering announcement. Ownership records of the submitting dealer or DI, such as customer accounts (17 CFR §§ 240.17a-3(a), 450.4(c), 404.2(a) or 404.4(a)), must reflect customer purchases as belonging to the customer, not the submitter or intermediary. If, after the deadline for the submission of bids but prior to the issue date, a customer indicates to its submitter (a dealer or DI) that it cannot take delivery of its auction award until after the issue date, the submitter and customer may agree to enter into a transaction that would accommodate the customer's request, provided that any such arrangement meets the requirements that: (1) on the issue date, the submitter will accept delivery of the securities on behalf of the customer, and (2) the submitter will remit payment to the Treasury on behalf of the customer upon delivery of the securities on the issue date. Even though an accommodating transaction may be effected, the relevant securities records maintained by the dealer or DI must reflect that the Treasury securities are owned by the customer as of the issue date. The submitter also has the option of refusing the customer's request to effect an accommodating transaction. Regardless of whether a submitter enters into or refuses any such accommodating transaction in response to a customer's inability to pay for or take delivery of awarded securities pursuant to Treasury's auction rules, the submitter should notify the Federal Reserve Bank to which the tender was submitted of the course of action taken. If there are any questions about this or any other matter concerning this interpretation, the Government Securities Regulations Staff may be contacted at (202) 219-3632 for further guidance. This letter is being sent to all Federal Reserve Banks and Branches, the National Association of Securities Dealers, the New York Stock Exchange, and the appropriate financial institution regulatory agencies. In the case of the Federal Reserve Banks, please distribute copies of this letter to auction participants that submit customer bids to your office. In the case of the regulatory agencies, the NASD, and the NYSE, please send copies to the major auction participants that you supervise. Sincerely, Kenneth R. Papaj Director, Government Securities Regulations Staff cc: Stephanie S. Wolf Vice President and Assistant General Counsel Public Securities Association Anne Meister Federal Reserve Liaison Officer This letter was also sent to the following: Ms. Pauline Chen Vice President Federal Reserve Bank of New York 33 Liberty Street New York, New York 10045 All Federal Reserve Banks and Branches (except Helena); and Ms. R. Julie Olson Assistant Chief National Bank Examiner Office of the Comptroller of the Currency 250 E Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20219