CDS Sponsored for the endorsement process to become a Pre-Local Operating Unit as part of the Global LEI System

Canada's securities depository to collaborate with DTCC to expand role in global financial infrastructure

TORONTO, Sept. 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ - CDS Clearing and Depository Services Inc. (CDS), Canada's national securities depository, clearing and settlement hub, today announced that the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has agreed to sponsor CDS towards endorsement as a Canadian Pre-Local Operating Unit ("Pre-LOU") under the Global Legal Entity Identifier System (GLEIS). By sponsoring CDS, the OSC has agreed to assist CDS with the endorsement process.

Global regulators have undertaken the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) initiative to strengthen the world's financial system. CDS' role, once endorsed, will be that of a Pre-LOU in Canada. The Regulatory Oversight Committee (ROC), a committee of regulatory authorities from around the world, has assigned the four-digit prefix #9278 to CDS as a sponsored Pre-LOU in Canada.

The #9278 prefix will only become operational upon receipt of the ROC's endorsement of CDS as a Canadian Pre-LOU. Until that endorsement is received, CDS will direct entities wishing to register for an LEI from the CDS Securities Management Solutions Inc. website (www.cdssolutions.ca) to the Global Markets Entity Identifier (GMEI) utility registration portal, operated by the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) in collaboration with SWIFT.

CDS Securities Management Solutions Inc. (CDS Solutions), an operating subsidiary of CDS, has entered into a strategic collaboration with DTCC. Once endorsed as a Pre-LOU by the ROC, CDS will offer Canadian entities LEI-issuance in collaboration with DTCC's GMEI utility. Until endorsement is received, entities are invited to visit the CDS Solutions website for more information on how to obtain an LEI.

"CDS is pleased to enter this partnership with the GMEI utility, the industry leading Pre-LOU, and looks forward to completing the Pre-LOU endorsement process with the guidance of the OSC", said Jean Desgagné, President and CEO of CDS. "This new role will allow us to expand the scope of CDS's service offerings to strengthen Canada's markets, enhance our international competitive position and enable regulators and customers to more effectively manage systemic and counterparty risk."

"DTCC and CDS have had a long history of working together, including operating the highest volume interface between central securities depositories", added William Hodash, Managing Director, DTCC. "Given the interconnectedness of the markets and our client base, collaborating on LEI and leveraging each other's capabilities and investments, is a natural evolution of our relationship."

The implementation of a Canadian Pre-LOU precedes the Canadian market's approaching October 31, 2014 deadline to begin reporting certain securities transactions to registered trade repositories using LEIs to identify all trade counterparties. This deadline follows the November 14, 2013, publication of OSC Rule 91-507 - Trade Repositories (TR) and Derivatives Data Reporting (DR). The Rule requires the use of an LEI to identify trade counterparties, the goal of which is to bring greater transparency to the OTC derivatives market and act as a precursor for future rules.

About TMX Group (TSX: X) and CDS Securities Management Solutions Inc.

TMX Group's key subsidiaries operate cash and derivative markets and clearinghouses for multiple asset classes including equities, fixed income and energy. Toronto Stock Exchange, TSX Venture Exchange, TMX Select, Alpha Group, The Canadian Depository for Securities, Montreal Exchange, Canadian Derivatives Clearing Corporation, NGX, BOX Options Exchange, Shorcan, Shorcan Energy Brokers, Equicom and other TMX Group companies provide listing markets, trading markets, clearing facilities, depository services, data products and other services to the global financial community. TMX Group is headquartered in Toronto and operates offices across Canada (Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver), in key U.S. markets (New York, Houston, Boston and Chicago) as well as in London, Beijing and Sydney. For more information about TMX Group, visit our website at www.tmx.com. Follow TMX Group on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tmxgroup.

CDS Securities Management Solutions Inc. (CDS Solutions) is a subsidiary of TMX Group. CDS Solutions offers depository-related services to issuers and their agents and facilitates securities issuance and registrar and paying agent-related activities. CDS Solutions is dedicated to promoting the use of un-certificated issues and electronic payment as an efficient and secure alternative to paper certificates and cheques. For more information about CDS Solutions, visit our website at www.cdssolutions.ca.

About DTCC's Global Markets Entity Identifier (GMEI) utility

The Global Market Entity Identifier (GMEI) utility, formerly known as the CICI utility, is DTCC's (The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation's) Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) solution offered in collaboration with SWIFT. GMEI is designed to create and apply a single, universal standard identifier to any organization or firm involved in a financial transaction globally and was developed in response to the financial crisis of 2008-2009 after governments and regulators called for new financial market regulation.

DTCC and SWIFT designed the GMEI utility with the assistance of a consortium of 14 global financial services organizations led by the Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA). It is designed to meet global requirements across all asset classes. The solution went live in August 2012, and has since been endorsed at a global level by the Regulatory Oversight Committee (ROC), the global group of regulators established by the Group of 20 (G20) and the Financial Stability Board (FSB) to oversee development of the Global LEI System. This endorsement means that codes assigned by the GMEI utility are now recognized as LEIs by all of the more than 50 regulators that are members of the ROC.

The GMEI utility operates as a pre-Local Operating Unit within the Global LEI System. The website for the GMEI utility is www.gmeiutility.org.

About DTCC

DTCC has operating facilities and data centers around the world and, through its subsidiaries, automates, centralizes, and standardizes the post-trade processing of financial transactions for thousands of institutions worldwide. With over 40 years of experience, DTCC is the premier post-trade market infrastructure for the global financial services industry. From operating facilities, data centers and offices in 15 countries,

DTCC, through its subsidiaries, automates, centralizes, and standardizes the post-trade processing of financial transactions, mitigating risk, increasing transparency and driving efficiency for thousands of broker/dealers, custodian banks and asset managers worldwide.

User owned and industry governed, the firm simplifies the complexities of clearing, settlement, asset servicing, data management and information services across asset classes, bringing increased security and soundness to the financial markets. In 2013,

DTCC's subsidiaries processed securities transactions valued at approximately US$1.6 quadrillion. Its depository provides custody and asset servicing for securities issues from 139 countries and territories valued at US$43 trillion. DTCC's global trade repository processes tens of millions of submissions per week.

SOURCE TMX Group Inc.