What is the difference between statement basis SETT, TRAD and CONT?

SETT reports positions as actually settled. TRAD reports positions as of trade date, including trades not yet settled. CONT reports positions as if every instruction settled on its intended settlement date, even if it failed. Your books must be on the same basis before you compare.

Which message shows pending trades that explain an MT535 break?

The MT537, statement of pending transactions, lists instructions that have not settled with their status and reasons. Settled movements over a period are in the MT536.

Why does a delivery fail when the MT535 shows enough securities?

Because part of the aggregate is not available. Look at :93B::NAVL and the sub-balances in sequence B1b: blocked, pledged, on loan or blocked for a corporate action. Only the available quantity can be delivered.

What is the ISO 20022 equivalent of the MT535?

semt.002, the custody statement of holdings. The MT536 maps to semt.017 and the MT537 to semt.018.

A security is missing from today’s MT535. Is the position zero?

Not necessarily. Check :22F::CODE: a delta statement (DELT) lists only changes. Also check whether the ISIN changed after a corporate action or the position sits in another safekeeping account.

Securities settlement

MT535 positions do not match my books: how to reconcile

Written and maintained by ZagTrader. Last reviewed 21 October 2026. How this page is sourced and checked

An MT535 (statement of holdings) shows what the custodian holds for you at a point in time, on the basis named in :22F::STBA. Most breaks against your books are not errors but timing and basis differences: trades booked but not settled, corporate action entitlements not yet paid, and securities held but blocked. The MT536 and MT537 explain most of them.

What it means

Sequence A of the MT535 tells you how to read the numbers. :98a::STAT is the date and time the positions refer to. :22F::STBA is the statement basis: SETT means actual settled positions, TRAD means trade date positions, and CONT means contractual settlement date positions, counting instructions as settled on their intended date even if they failed. :22F::STTY says whether it is a custody (CUST) or accounting (ACCT) statement, :22F::CODE whether it is complete (COMP) or only changes (DELT), and :22F::SFRE how often it is sent, including intraday (INDA).

Each holding sits in sequence B1 with the ISIN in 35B. :93B::AGGR is the total holding. :93B::AVAI and :93B::NAVL split it into available and not available. Sequence B1b breaks the holding into sub-balances such as blocked (BLOK), blocked for a corporate action (BLCA), pledged (PLED), on loan (LOAN), collateral out (COLO), out for registration (REGO), and pending deliveries or receipts (PEND, PENR, PECA, PEDA). How an account servicer populates these varies, so read its statement guide once and note it.

Your own books are usually kept on a trade date basis: a purchase counts from the day it was traded. A custodian statement on a settled basis will not show it until it settles. The difference between the two is exactly the set of trades still pending, which the custodian reports in an MT537 (statement of pending transactions). The MT536 (statement of transactions) lists what did settle during a period, so you can roll yesterday’s position forward to today’s.

In ISO 20022 the same reports are semt.002 (custody statement of holdings), semt.017 (transaction posting report, like the MT536) and semt.018 (pending transactions report, like the MT537).

Common causes

Basis difference: the statement is SETT and your books are trade date, so every unsettled trade is a break. Pending and failing trades (PEND, PENF) appear in the MT537.
Corporate actions: your books recognise an entitlement on the ex-date or record date, the custodian credits it on the payment date. Stock events such as BONU or SPLF, and ISIN changes after a merger, are typical.
Blocked or encumbered positions shown inside the aggregate: securities blocked after a voluntary corporate action instruction, pledged, lent or used as collateral. They are held, but not available to deliver.
Timing and cut-off: the statement was produced before end of day, in a different time zone, or before late settlements were posted. Compare :98a::STAT with the time of your books snapshot.
Account or place differences: holdings split across sub-safekeeping accounts (sequence B when :17B::CONS//Y), several places of safekeeping in 94a::SAFE, or a position held at a different custodian.
Delta statements read as complete: with :22F::CODE//DELT a missing ISIN means no change, not a zero position. An :17B::ACTI//N statement means there are no holdings to report at all.

How to fix it

Read sequence A first: statement date and time, basis (STBA), complete or delta (CODE), and the safekeeping account. Bring your books to the same basis and the same cut-off before comparing.
Compare position by position on account plus ISIN, using :93B::AGGR. List every difference.
For each difference, look in the latest MT537 for pending receipts and deliveries in that ISIN. Settled basis plus pending receipts minus pending deliveries should give your trade date position.
Check the MT536 for movements since the last statement that your books do not have yet, or have twice: late settlements, reversals, internal transfers and corporate action postings.
Check open corporate action events on the ISIN: entitlements booked but not yet paid, or paid by the custodian but not yet booked by you. The MT566 confirms what was paid.
Read the sub-balances for blocked, pledged or loaned quantities. They explain why a position is held but not available, and often why a delivery fails with LACK.
Escalate what is left to the custodian with the ISIN, quantity, statement reference (:20C::SEME) and your evidence. See how to read a custody statement.

Common MT535 breaks and where the explanation usually is

Break	Typical cause	Where to look
Books higher than statement	Purchase traded but not settled (settled basis)	MT537 pending receipts; MT548 statuses
Statement higher than books	Sale traded but not settled, or a receipt your books missed	MT537 pending deliveries; MT536 settled movements
Same total, delivery fails	Part of the holding blocked, pledged or on loan	Sub-balances in sequence B1b of the MT535
Difference equal to an entitlement	Corporate action booked on ex-date, paid later	MT564 for the event, MT566 for the payment
ISIN missing from statement	Delta statement, new ISIN after an event, or position at another custodian	`:22F::CODE`, MT564 or MT566, your account list
Difference that clears next day	Statement cut-off earlier than your books	`:98a::STAT` and the statement frequency

Example

An end of day custody statement from CUSTGB2LXXX on a settled basis. ZagTrader Test Bank’s books show 150,000 and 80,000 shares. The first holding agrees but 15,000 shares are blocked for a tender offer instruction. The second shows 40,000 because a 40,000 share purchase is failing and appears in the MT537.

{1:F01CUSTGB2LAXXX0000000000}{2:I535ZAGTAEADXXXXN}{4:
:16R:GENL
:28E:1/ONLY
:20C::SEME//ZTH26102300001
:23G:NEWM
:98A::STAT//20261023
:22F::SFRE//DAIL
:22F::CODE//COMP
:22F::STTY//CUST
:22F::STBA//SETT
:97A::SAFE//ZAG-SAFE-0001
:17B::ACTI//Y
:17B::CONS//N
:16S:GENL
:16R:SUBSAFE
:16R:FIN
:35B:ISIN AEZAGT000016
ZAGTRADER TEST PJSC
:93B::AGGR//UNIT/150000,
:93B::AVAI//UNIT/135000,
:93B::NAVL//UNIT/15000,
:16R:SUBBAL
:93C::BLCA//UNIT/NAVL/15000,
:16S:SUBBAL
:16S:FIN
:16R:FIN
:35B:ISIN AEZAGT000024
ZAGTRADER TEST PROPERTIES PJSC
:93B::AGGR//UNIT/40000,
:16S:FIN
:16S:SUBSAFE
-}

Open this example in the parser

:22F::STBA//SETT: only settled positions. A trade date ledger will differ by every pending trade.

:93C::BLCA//UNIT/NAVL/15000, is a sub-balance: 15,000 shares are held but blocked for a corporate action, so only 135,000 are available.

:17B::CONS//N says this is not a statement of sub-safekeeping accounts: it covers the account in sequence A, which is why sequence B names no account of its own.

Questions

What is the difference between statement basis SETT, TRAD and CONT?: SETT reports positions as actually settled. TRAD reports positions as of trade date, including trades not yet settled. CONT reports positions as if every instruction settled on its intended settlement date, even if it failed. Your books must be on the same basis before you compare.
Which message shows pending trades that explain an MT535 break?: The MT537, statement of pending transactions, lists instructions that have not settled with their status and reasons. Settled movements over a period are in the MT536.
Why does a delivery fail when the MT535 shows enough securities?: Because part of the aggregate is not available. Look at :93B::NAVL and the sub-balances in sequence B1b: blocked, pledged, on loan or blocked for a corporate action. Only the available quantity can be delivered.
What is the ISO 20022 equivalent of the MT535?: semt.002, the custody statement of holdings. The MT536 maps to semt.017 and the MT537 to semt.018.
A security is missing from today’s MT535. Is the position zero?: Not necessarily. Check :22F::CODE: a delta statement (DELT) lists only changes. Also check whether the ISIN changed after a corporate action or the position sits in another safekeeping account.

Messages involved

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