The Settlement Finality in Payment and Securities Settlements Systems Law (Amendment) Law, 99 of 2011 and the Banking Business and Securities Transfer (Amendment) Law, 103 of 2011 align Cyprus domestic banking legislation with Directive 2009/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directives 98/26/EC on settlement finality in payment and securities settlement systems and 2002/47/EC on financial collateral arrangements as regards linked systems and credit claims. The changes incorporate the definitions of "interoperable system", "system operator" and "business day" included in the Directive and extend the scope of the Banking Business and Securities Transfer Law, 64(I) of 1997 to cover "credit claims", which are defined as in the Directive.
The Banking Business and Securities Transfer (Amendment) Law also facilitates the transfer of covered securities operations and the underlying assets following the enactment of the Covered Securities Law, 130(I) of 2010, which established the legal framework for issuance of covered bonds in Cyprus. The Banking (Amendment) (No 2) Law, 104 of 2011 amends the provisions of the Banking Laws of 1997 to 2011 relating to banking secrecy and reorganisation and winding up of credit institutions to take account of the covered securities regime.
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