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South Africa's principal CSD

Who we are

Strate is South Africa’s principal central securities depository and central collateral platform. Our purpose is to serve the financial market through the safekeeping of the legal, digital record of securities ownership. We provide associated settlement and asset services while facilitating the reuse of securities to benefit the economy.

Safeguarding ownership rights

At the heart of what we do, is the safeguarding of ownership rights for public and private market securities in South Africa. These records, held digitally, represent the legal record of ownership for all equities, bonds, money markets and participatory notes in collective investment schemes (ETFs) entrusted to Strate for safekeeping. As the market trusts us to independently and accurately hold the legal record of securities ownership, we are able to safeguard investors’ rights and contribute to upholding financial market stability.

Reliable operations and world-class asset services

Strate’s central securities depository – to which issuers, other market participants and all South African exchanges connect – maintains accurate records through a reliable clearing and settlement function. Our world-class asset servicing capabilities support issuers with both standard and complex corporate activities that unlock significant benefits for issuers and investors.

A cornerstone of the financial market ecosystem

We play an important role in creating efficiencies and mitigating systemic risk thereby contributing to the integrity of the financial market ecosystem. We are independent robust, sound and credible.

As a self-regulatory organisation, mandated by the Financial Markets Act, we contribute to financial market stability by establishing, maintaining and monitoring standards that uphold confidence in the market.

We help to support broader economic activity​

Building on the trust we have earned in safeguarding the legal ownership rights for securities, Strate has developed a platform to support the re-use of securities as collateral to promote economic activity. Our central collateral platform efficiently and seamlessly connects collateral givers, collateral receivers and intermediaries, to assist them in optimising capital and improving liquidity.

Trusted to deliver innovative, digital solutions

Strate is a pioneer in digitisation in South Africa, initially through our dematerialisation initiative to replace paper securities ownership records with secure digital records. Digital innovation has allowed us to integrate and connect critical players in the financial market ecosystem. This leads to integrity and trust in our markets, which ultimately supports market growth and the growth of the South African economy.

Our Integration Services offers cost-effective solutions to make it easy for entities to create, exchange and monitor digital messages.  We adhere to ISO messaging standards ensuring seamless and secure communication between market participants.

How we do things is as important as what we do

We are guided by a core set of principles that directs how we operate as a business and work together as a team to serve clients.

We strive for a culture that creates mindfulness of our purpose, performance, people, leadership, and aspirations.  Within Strate, our corporate behaviours define that ‘how we do things is as important as what we do’.

  • We are great listeners – we are attentive, we seek clarification, and we keep an open mind
  • We empower each other – by acknowledging individual contribution and progress
  • We build trust – by being able, believable, connected and dependable
  • We do the right thing – by maintaining integrity
  • We take accountability – by taking ownership of client interactions and collaborating with stakeholders to find workable solutions to challenges
  • We commit to excellence – by taking pride in serving the financial markets

Long-term

business sustainability

We follow an integrated approach to create value for all our stakeholders over the short, medium and long term.
Our strategic focus encompasses:

  • Operational excellence and resilience
  • Strong client relationships
  • Long-term business sustainability
  • High quality engaged talent
  • Digital adoption

Seamless, digital market integration

As a South African central securities depository, Strate is a licensed independent provider of post-trade services for the financial markets. 

Our services offering consists of CSD Services, Collateral Services and Integration Services.

We use global and industry leading technology platforms to enable our key services and enable market participants and clients to integrate seamlessly and digitally onto our platforms.

For more information click on the info icons.


We safeguard the legal, digital ownership rights for public and private market securities.

Connecting collateral givers and collateral receivers to enable the reuse of collateralised assets.

Efficiently connecting the financial market ecosystem through secured messages.

Strate’s state-of-the-art technology platforms are designed to facilitate two key capabilities:

1) Digital access to our core platforms irrespective of whether an issuer’s securities are traded in the public or private market and whether these trades happen on or off-market

2) Deliver the full functionality required by our core services

All Strate’s core business technology partners represent best-in-class offerings for the respective areas they service and help Strate achieve full digital adoption, enabling us to better serve the South African financial market.

Strate’s CSD Services is supported through the TCS Bancs platform, run in partnership with Tata Consulting Services.

Clearstream is the underlying technology platform for collateral services and brings efficient and accurate tracking and mobilisation of collateral and other assets through the market.

Strate’s e-Voting platform forms part of our digital issuer initiative and uses the world-class infrastructure and experience of leading technology provider Nasdaq.

Industry-wide digital market integration engagement

Strate engages with, or is represented on, a number of market associations and industry bodies with a view to exchanging information and experiences with others in a spirit of mutual cooperation.

Our aim is to promote best practice recommendations in services such as securities depository, clearance, settlement and risk management. 

Useful links

The International Securities Services Association (ISSA)

The Americas’ Central Securities and Depository Association (ACSDA)

The Africa and Middle East Depository Association (AMEDA)

Thomas Murray

The Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (ASISA)

Payments Association of South Africa (PASA)

World Forum of CSDs

Our journey

UNEXCor created
The major clearing and settlement banks and the SA Reserve Bank create UNEXCor to develop an electronic settlement system for the South African bond market
CD Limited formed
The Central Depository Limited (CD) is formed as an electronic settlement and depository operation
UNEXCor appointed as clearing house
UNEXCor appointed as clearing house for the South African bond market
1st digital settlement in SA
1st fully electronic settlement through UNEXCor and CD Limited takes place on the bond market in SA
Equities settlement reform initiated
Market participants enter into a formal agreement to initiate the design and implementation of a modern electronic clearing and settlement solution for equities in SA that would conform to G30 standards
Project “Strate” initiated
Stakeholders initiate project to introduce electronic settlement for equities in SA
Enabling legislative changes introduced
Changes to the Companies Act and the Custody and Administration of Securities Act effected to enable the dematerialisation of securities
Technology platform acquired
Project stakeholders acquire the SECOM system (the system used by the Swiss Depository, Sega Intersettle) from Tata Consultancy Services
Strate created
Share Transactions Totally Electronic Limited established as the central securities depository for uncertificated equity securities
SA Reserve Bank agrees to host the CSD settlement system
The SA Reserve Bank agrees to host the Strate settlement system and to allow direct integration between the settlement system and the RTGS system operated by the Bank
Strate successfully implements the SAFIRES settlement system
1st electronic equities settlement
Shareholders of Harmony Gold Mining Company become the first to dematerialise their securities through Strate. Strate initiates the full schedule to systematically dematerialise all securities on the JSE.
Shareholder agreement concluded
A shareholders' agreement is entered into between ABSA Bank, CitiBank, First National Bank, the JSE Ltd, Mercantile Bank, Nedbank and Standard Bank setting out the objectives of Strate
Netting model agreed
The netting model of settlement is introduced to enhance efficiency and improve liquidity while improving risk management
Corporate actions automated
Strate implements the electronic processing of corporate actions in SA
Money Market Forum established
The Money Market Forum is established and a blueprint issued for the dematerialisation of money market securities
Strate Charity Shares launched
Strate Charity Shares, an independent registered non-profit organisation, is created to address the long-standing problem of investors holding small amounts of unwanted shares
UNEXCor and Strate merge
UNEXCor merges with Strate to become SA’s only licensed CSD, settling equities and bonds
Securities Services Act implemented
The Securities Service Act is enacted
Testing of phase 1 for money markets completed
Testing of phase 1 of the money market settlement system is completed. Phase 1 includes the settlement of generic category 1 and 2 money market instruments, which are discounted and fixed coupon instruments with a fixed maturity date
1st electronic money market instrument
RMB issues the first electronic money market security through the new money market settlement system
New money market Issues accommodated
System enhancements made to allow for the electronic settlement of new issues of money market securities
New corporate actions approach implemented
The Corporate Actions Enhancement Project is implemented, significantly benefiting the market
Unlisted instruments accommodated
Strate to offer unlisted companies the benefit of dematerialisation, clearing and settlement and the processing of corporate action events
Money market settlements top R1 trillion
The settlement of dematerialised money market securities tops R10 trillion
Market consultation to refresh bond settlement
Strate enters into market consultation to replace the UNEXCor technology and move bond settlements onto an ISO platform. Business requirement specifications finalised in November 2011
Segregated depository accounts introduced
Strate introduces segregated depository accounts in SA to provide a safekeeping account structure to protect investors should insolvency proceedings be instituted against their CSD participant
Phase 2 of money market settlement system
Testing and implementation of phase 2 of the money market settlement system is completed. This Includes the settlement of category 3 (variable coupon rates with a fixed maturity date) and category 4 instruments (variable coupon rates with a floating maturity date)
Clearstream and Strate establish relationship
Clearstream and Strate sign an agreement to introduce a tri-party collateral management service to the SA market
Bonds reach 100% dematerialisation
The last immobilised bond certificate is dematerialised into the Strate environment
Strate goes private
Strate is converted from a public to a private company and the memorandum of incorporation is approved
Collateral management integrated
Strate and Clearstream successfully integrate their systems to enable the launch of a tri-party collateral management service for the SA market
TCS BaNCS MI acquired
Strate acquires the TCS BaNCS MI application to replace its existing settlement systems
IT roadmap rollout commences
Strate begins the rollout of its IT Roadmap with the first phase targeting the migration of money market securities to the new TCS BaNCS MI solution
New corporate actions model implemented
Strate introduces a new corporate action solution to improve the way in which corporate action payments are processed via the SA Reserve Bank RTGS system.
Strate becomes LOU for LEI
Strate receives approval from the Regulatory Oversight Committee (ROC) to become the Local Operating Unit (LOU) for Legal Entity Identifiers (LEI) in SA
Decision to replace SAFE and MMFE
Strate embarks on a project to replace the SAFIRES Front End (SAFE) and Money Market Front End (MMFE) applications with a Centralised Messaging Front End (CMFE)
Money markets go live on BaNCS
The electronic money market settlement system is migrated to the new TCS BaNCS MI platform, in the 1st step in the IT Roadmap to migrate all asset classes to the new platform
ZAR X appoints Strate
ZAR X, the first new stock exchange in SA in over 100 years, appoints Strate to provide settlement services
Equities settlement moves to T+3
In a project led by the JSE Ltd, the equities settlement timeline is successfully migrated from T+5 to T+3
Debt Instrument Solution implemented
Phase 2 of the IT Roadmap is completed with the transition of bond settlement processing from the old UNEXcor system to the TCS BaNCS infrastructure
A2X goes live
A2X launches as a new exchange, licensed and regulated by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority and the Prudential Authority
ETP launched
National Treasury launches the Electronic Trading Platform (ETP) for its primary dealers trading in South African government bonds
Equities settlement migrates to BaNCS
In the final step of the IT Roadmap begun in 2012, Strate migrates equity settlements off of the SAFIRES platform to the BaNCS solution
e-Voting launched
In collaboration with its technology provider NASDAQ, Strate launches its state-of-the-art e-Voting platform for the South African market
Unlisted bonds
Strate launches a digital access point built on world-class settlement and record keeping infrastructure for bi-lateral trade reporting of unlisted bonds transactions.
First virtual AGM
Strate hosts the first virtual AGM via the e-Voting platform.
Strate hosts the first virtual AGM via the e-Voting platform.
Secured interbank capability goes live on the Collateral Services platform.
Appointed money market publishing agent
The South African Reserve Bank appoints Strate as the money market publishing agent for post-trade disclosures.
Integration of the Intengo platform
Strate supports the integration of Intengo, a digital platform supporting the issuance process for debt securities in private markets.
Enable Cape Town Stock Exchange open market structure
Strate enables 4 Africa Exchange (4AX) to extend its services to the open market and relaunch as the Cape Town Stock Exchange.
Technical go-live of OTC derivatives solution
Provided a digital post-trade confirmation matching process for over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives
CSD Council established
Chaired by Strate and consisting of CSD Participants, to provide a unified approach to driving shared-value creation for the financial market ecosystem
Broadridge and Strate enhance proxy voting experience
Strate and Broadridge Financial Solutions integrated their end-to-end vote processing solutions to create a better proxy voting experience for foreign clients voting on South African listed assets
Acquired 100% of Trustlink (Pty) Ltd
Acquisition of Trustlink’s SWIFT Bureau Services business to strengthen and expand our integration service offering
Launched the Afriverse
An alternative private gateway network across Africa to communicate with all other parties on Strate’s network
Strate Edge data platform launched
A trusted, neutral point of access for market data and insights across security types, enhancing market transparency
ISS GPD and Strate streamline proxy voting experience
Strate and Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS) integrate their services to streamline the proxy voting life cycle for global and local custodian banks using ISS GPD outsource voting solutions
Successfully settled EESE’s first bond issuance
Strate supports Equity Express Securities Exchange (EESE) to open its bond market to multiple participants and operationalise its bond licence. EXEO Capital is the first to list a bond
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Strate’s executive committee is responsible for the strategic direction of the company to ensure it serves the South African financial market and adds sustainable value to stakeholders and shareholders.

AndreNortje

André Nortjé

Chief Executive Officer
Sameera Dada-8 website

Sameera Dada

Chief Financial Officer
Gregory Naicker

Gregory Naicker

Head of CSD Services
Farzana Khan

Farzana Khan

Head of Collateral Services
Rudi Steenkamp

Rudi Steenkamp

Head of Technology and Data Management
Beverley Furman

Beverley Furman

Head of Operations and Change
Pheona Härtel

Pheona Härtel

Head of Legal, Risk and Compliance
Samantha Cooper

Samantha Cooper

Head of Human Capital and Transformation

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