• Bank of Montreal (BMO), the first eligible subscribing bank, issued the first SGC Notes
• Moody’s Ratings (Moody’s) assigned a Prime-1 (sf) rating to the Series BMO-521 notes
• Bank of Canada announced the addition of SGC Notes as eligible collateral under its Standing Liquidity Facility (SLF), with the intent to support the development of this new market

Canadian Derivatives Clearing Corporation (CDCC), the Central Clearing Counterparty (CCP) for exchange-traded derivative products and repurchase agreements in Canada, announced that the inaugural issuance for the Secured General Collateral (SGC) Notes program was executed and subscribed by BMO. The inaugural issuance received a Prime-1 (sf) rating by Moody’s.

SGC Notes represent an innovative financial instrument designed for Canadian institutional money market investors. They offer secured, short-term cash solutions collateralized by high-quality debt securities. As an eligible instrument within The Canadian Depository for Securities Limited (CDS), SGC Notes are easily accessible and investors can purchase the notes directly from the subscriber.

CDCC is currently working with other eligible banks and dealers, who are enabled on the Canadian Collateral Management Service (CCMS), to be onboarded as underwriters in the SGC Notes program. For the subscriber banks and dealers, SGC Notes provide a funding solution through CDCC’s critical capital markets infrastructure which has demonstrated reliability and resilience.

In June 2024, the Bank of Canada announced the inclusion of SGC Notes as eligible collateral under its Standing Liquidity Facility (SLF). The Bank previously announced in January 2025 that it is operationally ready to accept SGC Notes as collateral. This milestone represents a significant step in supporting the development of this new market.

Nick Chan, Head of Capital Allocation & Management, BMO Capital Markets, said: “SGC Notes are a meaningful step forward for Canada’s short-term funding and collateral markets. BMO is proud to help bring this innovation to market to help expand high-quality secured investment options and strengthen system liquidity.”

Karen McMeekin, President of CDCC, said: “We are extremely excited to bring this financial innovation to market to provide end investors with an additional alternative to the Canadian money market. We are proud to work with BMO, one of our key industry partners, to support this inaugural SGC Note issuance and look forward to serving our mutual clients.”

Marton Szigeti, Head of Collateral, Lending & Liquidity Solutions at Clearstream, joint operator of the CCMS with TMX Post Trade Innovations (PTI) Inc., said: “We are proud that the Canadian Collateral Management Service, jointly operated by Clearstream and TMX PTI, provides the modern and efficient infrastructure that supports this innovation. Our platform is engineered to deliver the seamless collateral management capabilities that subscribers like BMO depend on. By providing the critical backbone, we are reinforcing our commitment to fostering greater liquidity, security, and resilience across the Canadian financial landscape.”

Source: CDCC