Netting of Financial Contracts Act, 1995
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Interpretation. |
1.—In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires— | |
“Minister” means the Minister for Finance; | ||
“Bank” means the Central Bank of Ireland; | ||
“the Companies Acts” means the Companies Act, 1963 , and every enactment which is to be construed as one with that Act; | ||
“financial contracts” means— | ||
(a) interest-rate contracts as follows— | ||
(i) single-currency interest rate swaps, | ||
(ii) basis swaps, | ||
(iii) forward-rate agreements, | ||
(iv) interest-rate futures, | ||
(v) interest-rate options, | ||
(vi) other contracts of a similar nature, | ||
(b) foreign-exchange contracts and contracts concerning gold, as follows— | ||
(i) cross-currency interest-rate swaps, | ||
(ii) spot foreign exchange contracts, | ||
(iii) forward foreign-exchange contracts, | ||
(iv) currency futures, | ||
(v) currency options, | ||
(vi) other contracts of a similar nature, | ||
(vii) contracts concerning gold of a nature similar to subparagraphs (i) to (vi), | ||
(c) (i) securities lending and securities borrowing contracts, | ||
(ii) sale and repurchase agreements, including reverse repurchase agreements, in relation to securities, | ||
(d) contracts of a nature similar to those specified in paragraph (a) (i) to (v) or paragraph (b) (i) to (v) concerning other reference items or indices relating to— | ||
(i) equities and bonds, | ||
(ii) precious metals except gold, | ||
(iii) commodities other than precious metals, | ||
(e) contracts which are combinations of contracts specified at paragraphs (a) to (d), | ||
(f) any contract included by virtue of section 2 , and | ||
(g) contracts of a similar nature, as specified by regulations under section 3 ; | ||
“money” includes money in a currency other than the currency of the State; | ||
“netting” means the termination of financial contracts, the determination of the termination values of those contracts and the set off of the termination values so determined so as to arrive at a net amount due, if any, by one party to the other where each such determination and set off aforesaid is effected in accordance with the terms of a netting agreement between those parties; | ||
“netting agreement” means an agreement between two parties only, in relation to present or future financial contracts between them— | ||
(a) providing, inter alia, for the termination of those contracts for the time being in existence, the determination of the termination values of those contracts and the set off of the termination values so determined so as to arrive at a net amount due, and | ||
(b) which may provide for a guarantee to be given to one party on behalf of the other party solely to secure the obligation of either party in respect of the financial contracts concerned, and | ||
(c) which may provide for the set off against the net amount due under paragraph (a) and that amount only of— | ||
(i) any money provided solely to secure the obligation of either party in respect of the financial contracts concerned, | ||
(ii) the proceeds of the enforcement and realisation of any collateral in the form of— | ||
(I) securities or other property provided, or | ||
(II) money, securities or other property provided solely to secure the obligation of the guarantor under paragraph (b), | ||
solely to secure the obligation of either party in respect of the financial contracts concerned; | ||
“master netting agreement” means an agreement between two parties only, in relation to netting agreements between them— | ||
(a) providing, inter alia, for the set off of the net amounts due under two or more netting agreements between them, and | ||
(b) which may provide for a guarantee to be given to one party on behalf of the other party solely to secure the obligation of either party in respect of the netting agreements concerned, and | ||
(c) which may provide for the set off against the net amount due under paragraph (a) and that amount only of— | ||
(i) any money provided solely to secure the obligation of either party in respect of the netting agreements concerned, | ||
(ii) the proceeds of the enforcement and realisation of any collateral in the form of— | ||
(I) securities or other property provided, or | ||
(II) money, securities or other property provided solely to secure the obligation of the guarantor under paragraph (b), | ||
solely to secure the obligation of either party in respect of the netting agreements concerned; | ||
“party” means a person constituting one of the parties to an agreement. |