Time of Formal Award and Time of First Execution
The Time of Formal Award is the time at which pricing is finalized for a new issue.
•For competitive bid underwritings, this is when the issuer formally selects the underwriter.
•For negotiated issues, it is when the bond purchase agreement is signed.
Time of First Execution means the time the underwriter plans to execute its first transactions (sales) for the new issue. In general, the Time of First Execution must be at least two business hours after all required information has been transmitted to the MSRB and Depository Trust Company (DTC).
Around the time that the underwriter applies for a CUSIP number, issuers must apply for new issue eligibility at a registered securities depository. A securities depository is a facility where securities are deposited and held for ease of transfer between owners. Transactions are cleared and settled in a depository. Municipal securities are almost exclusively held in the DTC.
Underwriters of a municipal securities issue must apply no later than one business day after they are formally awarded the securities or, with a negotiated sale, after a bond purchase agreement has been signed (the Time of Formal Award). The DTC requires various documents to conduct an initial review of eligibility criteria. When all the documents have been submitted and approved, the DTC adds the CUSIP numbers to its master file, and the securities become eligible for DTC services. The issue is then ready to be packaged and sold.
In addition to filing for a CUSIP number, underwriters must also register to use the New Issue Information Dissemination Service (NIIDS).
NIIDS is an electronic system operated by the Depository Trust and Clearin