MT564 — Corporate Action Notification
The corporate-action notification. The central depositary or custodian announces to holders a dividend, split, tender offer, bonus issue or rights issue — with key dates, options and expected amounts.
Purpose
MT564 notifies securities holders of a corporate action: cash dividend distribution, split / reverse split, tender offer, exchange offer, bonus issue, rights issue, AGM / EGM (with a complementary seev message for the vote). It carries: key dates (announcement, ex-date, record date, payment date), the options offered (cash, securities, mixed), per-unit expected amounts, and holder eligibility (computed by the sender from positions).
Typically sent in several versions as the issuer publishes details: preliminary (loose announcement), complete (confirmed), replaced (post-confirmation change). The holder replies with MT565 to elect among the options (e.g. dividend choice with cash or stock).
Covered event types
The :22F::CAEV// tag enumerates 100+ event codes. The most common:
- DVCA — Cash Dividend.
- DVSC — Stock Dividend.
- DVOP — Dividend Option (cash or stock choice).
- BONU — Bonus Issue.
- SPLF — Stock Split.
- SPLR — Reverse Stock Split.
- RHTS — Rights Issue.
- TEND — Tender Offer.
- MRGR — Merger.
- INTR — Interest Payment (bond coupon).
- MCAL — Mandatory Call.
- REDM — Redemption (at maturity).
Sequence structure
- GENL — General Information: reference, event type (CAEV), mandatoryness (CAMV = MAND/VOLU/CHOS).
- USECU (Underlying Securities) — security details: ISIN, with ACCTINFO sub-sequence per impacted account (ELIG = eligible balance).
- CADETL (Corporate Action Details) — key dates: ANOU (announcement), RDTE (record date), PAYD (payment date), EXPD (expiry date for options).
- CACONF (Corporate Action Confirmation) — sub-sequence per offered option: CAON (option number), CAOP (option type = CASH, SECU, CASE), with CASHMOVE and SECMOVE sub-sequences for movements.
Key tags
| Tag | Name | Usage |
|---|---|---|
:20C::CORP// | Corporate Action Reference | Unique event identifier (lives beyond the message). |
:22F::CAEV// | CA Event Indicator | Event type (DVCA, BONU, TEND…). |
:22F::CAMV// | CA Mandatory/Voluntary | MAND (mandatory), VOLU (voluntary, holder may accept), CHOS (choose among options). |
:25D::PROC// | Processing Status | COMP (complete), CANC (cancelled), RESC (replaced). |
:35B: | Identification of Instrument | ISIN of the underlying security. |
:93B::ELIG// | Eligible Balance | Quantity eligible to the event on the account. |
:98A::RDTE// | Record Date | Date on which eligibility is frozen. |
:98A::PAYD// | Payment Date | Actual payment date. |
:13A::CAON// | Option Number | Option index (1, 2, 3…). |
:22F::CAOP// | Option Type | CASH, SECU, CASE (Cash and Securities). |
:19B::ENTL// | Entitlement Amount | Per-unit or aggregated expected cash amount. |
Real-world example
Cash dividend notification on Apple Inc. (200 shares held on BNP Paribas account at Clearstream, USD 1 per share, total USD 200, record date 20 May 2026, payment date 1 June 2026):
{1:F01CEDELULLAXXX0000000000}{2:I564BNPAFRPPAXXXN}{3:{108:CA20260515001}}{4:
:16R:GENL
:20C::CORP//CA20260515001-AAPL
:20C::SEME//CA20260515001
:23G:NEWM
:22F::CAEV//DVCA
:22F::CAMV//MAND
:98C::PREP//20260515103000
:25D::PROC//COMP
:16S:GENL
:16R:USECU
:35B:ISIN US0378331005
APPLE INC
:16R:FIA
:22F::MICO//A001
:16S:FIA
:16R:ACCTINFO
:97A::SAFE//12345678
:93B::ELIG//UNIT/200,
:16S:ACCTINFO
:16S:USECU
:16R:CADETL
:98A::ANOU//20260510
:98A::RDTE//20260520
:98A::PAYD//20260601
:16S:CADETL
:16R:CACONF
:13A::CAON//001
:22F::CAOP//CASH
:16R:CASHMOVE
:22H::CRDB//CRED
:19B::ENTL//USD200,00
:98A::PAYD//20260601
:16S:CASHMOVE
:16S:CACONF}:22F::CAEV//DVCA— Cash Dividend event.:22F::CAMV//MAND— mandatory (the holder cannot refuse a cash dividend).:25D::PROC//COMP— final notification, details confirmed.:93B::ELIG//UNIT/200,— 200 shares eligible on account 12,345,678.:98A::RDTE//20260520— record date 20 May 2026.:98A::PAYD//20260601— payment date 1 June 2026.:22F::CAOP//CASH+:19B::ENTL//USD200,00— single cash option, USD 200 total entitlement (USD 1 × 200 shares).
Common pitfalls
- Record date vs ex-date — the record date is the date you look at the register to freeze eligible holders. The ex-date is the date from which the security trades without the right (typically record date − 1). Distinguish them carefully.
- MAND vs VOLU vs CHOS — MAND requires no holder action: the custodian acts on their behalf. VOLU requires an explicit MT565 instruction, otherwise the default option applies. Confusing them leads to costly misses.
- Wrong eligible balance —
:93B::ELIG//is computed by the sender on the record-date position. A custodian-cut-off position ≠ record-date position (e.g. pending trades in between) can mislead the entitlement expectation. - Wrong CAEV — using DVCA for a dividend choice (which is DVOP) or TEND for a merger (which is MRGR) confuses downstream automated routing.
- Ignored revisions — an MT564 with
:25D::PROC//RESCreplaces a previous version. Not tracking the replacement leaves the asset manager with two contradictory notifications.
ISO 20022 equivalent
- seev.031 — Corporate Action Notification (direct equivalent).
- seev.033 — Corporate Action Instruction (MT565 counterpart).
- seev.035 — Corporate Action Movement Preliminary Advice.
- seev.036 — Corporate Action Movement Confirmation (MT566 counterpart).