20 May 2010 | Recommendations in light of the market disruption on THB settlement

The Bank of Thailand has declared on 19th May that 20th May, Thursday and 21st May,Friday, would be non-business days for reasons of public safety. As such, there would be both settlement and payment delays for contracts maturing on these 2 non-business days.

The SFEMC recommends market participants to extend the maturity of expiring contracts on 20th and 21st May to the next business day on 24th May, Monday for transactions which involve onshore payments in Thailand. However, for offshore settlements in USD which are not affected by Bangkok holidays, SFEMC  recommends settlement to continue on schedule on 20th May or 21st May without any delays.

For USD settled transactions whose FX valuations are scheduled for 20th May or 21st May, the market conventions would usually provide for valuations to be moved to the next business day, i.e. 24th May, and settlement would happen as soon as practicable thereafter, but no later than 2 business days after valuation, i.e. 26th May.  SFEMC recommends this approach unless a different approach has been expressly provided for in any bilateral agreements between the parties concerned.

The committee strongly encourage relevant parties to adopt this recommendation to facilitate a rapid and efficient resolution.