Primary Dealers (OEVT) and Other Auction Participants(OMP)

The placement of OT in the primary market is ensured by a group of financial institutions to which IGCP, E.P.E. has granted the status of Primary Dealers (OEVT) or Other Auction Participants (OMP).

The status of OEVT and OMP is granted on the basis of an assessment of the capability of the financial institutions to consistently place and trade Portuguese Government debt instruments in international, European or domestic markets, ensuring the access to a regular investor base and contributing to the liquidity of these instruments in the secondary market.

Primary Dealers (OEVT) – financial intermediaries, recognized by IGCP, E.P.E. for their capacity to place OT and to ensure liquidity in the secondary market of these securities. These institutions are entitled to:

• exclusive access to the non-competitive phase of auctions;
  
• preference in the formation of syndicates;
  
• privileged hearing in matters of common interest;
  
• exclusive access to OT buyback auctions;
  
• access to the OT repo window of last resort;
  
• preference in transactions related to the active management of government debt.

 Their main duties are:

• to actively participate in the OT primary market, subscribing a share of no lower than 2 per cent of the amount placed at the competitive phase of auctions (the compliance with this duty is assessed for a 2-year period);
  
• to actively participate in the OT secondary market, acting as market makers in one of the recognised electronic platforms (MTS, BrokerTec and BGC), maintaining a share of no less than 2% of this market's turnover (the compliance with this duty is assessed for a 2-year period);
  
• to provide information and act as advisers to IGCP, E.P.E. in the monitoring of financial markets.

Other Auction Participants (OMP) – other institutions that may contribute to the development of the Portuguese Government debt market, which do not fulfill all the requisites of Primary Dealers. This may be considered as a first step in acquiring the OEVT status.

OMP are granted access to the competitive phase of the auctions, with the obligation of buying bonds in at least two of the year's auctions but they could also participate as marker taker in the secondary market on the electronic platforms.