Which message carries the corporate action details, MT564 or MT568?

The MT564. It holds the event, options, dates, rates and balances in fields a system can process. The MT568 adds free text for anything that does not fit, and should not replace the coded details.

How do I link an MT568 to its MT564?

By the corporate action reference in :20C::CORP, which is the same in all messages about the event, together with the event code in :22F::CAEV. Some account servicers also name the MT564 in the MT568 linkage sequence with :13A::LINK//564 and its reference.

Can an account owner send an MT568?

Yes. The MT568 is bi-directional, so an investor or global custodian can send narrative instructions to its account servicer. Use it only where the MT565 has no field for the information, and agree it with the account servicer first.

How long can the narrative in an MT568 be?

Field 70F takes up to 8,000 characters in the extended character set. Longer narrative is split across several MT568s numbered in :28E: with MORE on every page except the last, which carries LAST.

What is the ISO 20022 equivalent of the MT568?

The corporate action narrative seev.038. The structured notification is seev.031, the instruction seev.033 and the confirmation seev.036.

Corporate actions and custody

MT564 vs MT568: which one carries the corporate action details?

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

The MT564 is the structured corporate action notification: event type, dates, rates, options and your eligible balance in coded fields. The MT568 is the corporate action narrative: free text for information that does not fit those fields, such as offer documents, restrictions or certification wording. Both carry the same :20C::CORP reference, which is how you put them together.

What it means

Your custodian (the account servicer) sends an MT564 when an event is announced on a security you hold. Everything a system needs to process the event has its own field: the event code in :22F::CAEV (for example DVCA or TEND), whether it is mandatory or voluntary in :22F::CAMV, the record and payment dates, the rates, each option with its number and code, the response deadline, and your balances. Free text in the MT564 is limited to 70E narrative fields of 10 lines of 35 characters each.

The MT568 carries narrative only. Its main field is :70F::ADTX (additional text) with up to 8,000 characters in the extended character set, or 70E for shorter text, alongside other narrative qualifiers such as taxation conditions, disclaimers and information to be complied with. It identifies the event (:20C::CORP, :22F::CAEV), the account and the security, but holds no dates, rates or options that a system can read.

The two are linked by the corporate action reference :20C::CORP in sequence A, which is the same in every message about the event, and by the event code. The MT568 can also point at a specific message in its linkage sequence (A1): :13A::LINK//564 with the reference of that MT564. Long narrative can be split over several MT568s, numbered in :28E: (for example 1/MORE, 2/MORE, 3/LAST; a single message is 1/ONLY).

The MT568 also works in the other direction: an account owner can send one to its account servicer with complex instructions that do not fit an MT565. Market practice discourages using it where a structured field exists. In ISO 20022 the notification is seev.031 and the narrative is seev.038; an SMPG change request describes the narrative message as limited to cases the notification cannot handle, agreed bilaterally, and not for event narrative, which belongs in the notification.

Common causes

You received an MT568 and cannot find the matching event: the MT564 has not arrived yet, was sent to another BIC or account, or your system matches on a reference other than :20C::CORP.
The MT564 says something is in the narrative (for example in :70E::ADTX) but the MT568 was filtered out or not routed to the corporate actions team.
A multi-part MT568 was processed page by page instead of being joined in :28E: order, so text is missing or out of sequence.
The MT564 was replaced (:23G:REPL) with new terms and the old MT568 text was still used.
Your team read terms from the MT568 that contradict the coded MT564 fields, and booked from the text.

How to fix it

Key every corporate action message on :20C::CORP plus the safekeeping account. Use :20C::SEME only to identify an individual message, for example in a linkage.
Process the MT564 first: create or update the event from the coded fields (event, options, dates, rates, deadlines, balances). Check :23G: for NEWM, REPL, WITH or CANC and :25D::PROC for whether the details are complete or preliminary.
Attach every MT568 with the same CORP reference to the event. Join multi-part narrative in :28E: page order and wait for LAST before treating it as complete.
Read the narrative for what the MT564 cannot carry: eligibility restrictions, documents or certifications you must provide, tax conditions, offer terms. Turn anything that needs action into a task with an owner and a date.
If the text and the coded fields disagree, do not book from the text. Ask the account servicer to correct the MT564 and keep their answer with the event.
When you instruct, use the MT565 with the same CORP reference and the option number from the MT564. Status comes back in an MT567, the result in an MT566. The corporate action lifecycle guide shows the full flow.

Example

The custodian CUSTGB2LXXX sends ZagTrader Test Bank the narrative for a tender offer that it already announced in an MT564 with the same CORP reference. The linkage points at that MT564.

{1:F01CUSTGB2LAXXX0000000000}{2:I568ZAGTAEADXXXXN}{4:
:16R:GENL
:28E:1/ONLY
:20C::CORP//ZTCA2026000123
:20C::SEME//ZTN26102000045
:23G:NEWM
:22F::CAEV//TEND
:98C::PREP//20261020100000
:16R:LINK
:13A::LINK//564
:20C::PREV//ZTN26102000044
:16S:LINK
:16S:GENL
:16R:USECU
:97A::SAFE//ZAG-SAFE-0001
:35B:ISIN AEZAGT000016
ZAGTRADER TEST PJSC
:16S:USECU
:16R:ADDINFO
:70F::ADTX//THE OFFEROR WILL ACCEPT TENDERS UP TO
10 PERCENT OF THE ISSUED SHARES. IF MORE SHARES
ARE TENDERED, ACCEPTANCES WILL BE SCALED BACK PRO RATA.
HOLDERS RESIDENT IN RESTRICTED JURISDICTIONS LISTED
IN THE OFFER DOCUMENT MAY NOT PARTICIPATE.
A SIGNED RESIDENCY DECLARATION MUST REACH US
BEFORE THE RESPONSE DEADLINE IN OUR MT564.
:16S:ADDINFO
-}

Open this example in the parser

:20C::CORP//ZTCA2026000123 is the same as in the MT564; that is the link that matters.

In the linkage, :13A::LINK//564 names the message type and :20C::PREV the MT564’s own :20C::SEME. Linkage practice differs between account servicers; the CORP reference is always there.

The proration terms and the residency requirement would not fit coded fields, which is why they come as narrative. The options, deadline and price stay in the MT564.

Questions

Which message carries the corporate action details, MT564 or MT568?: The MT564. It holds the event, options, dates, rates and balances in fields a system can process. The MT568 adds free text for anything that does not fit, and should not replace the coded details.
How do I link an MT568 to its MT564?: By the corporate action reference in :20C::CORP, which is the same in all messages about the event, together with the event code in :22F::CAEV. Some account servicers also name the MT564 in the MT568 linkage sequence with :13A::LINK//564 and its reference.
Can an account owner send an MT568?: Yes. The MT568 is bi-directional, so an investor or global custodian can send narrative instructions to its account servicer. Use it only where the MT565 has no field for the information, and agree it with the account servicer first.
How long can the narrative in an MT568 be?: Field 70F takes up to 8,000 characters in the extended character set. Longer narrative is split across several MT568s numbered in :28E: with MORE on every page except the last, which carries LAST.
What is the ISO 20022 equivalent of the MT568?: The corporate action narrative seev.038. The structured notification is seev.031, the instruction seev.033 and the confirmation seev.036.

Messages involved

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