seev.031 — Corporate Action Notification

The message that notifies a securities event: cash dividend, stock split, merger, tender offer, bonus distribution. The cornerstone of ISO 20022 Corporate Action processing.

Purpose and place in the flow

seev.031 belongs to the seev (Securities Events) family covering financial securities events. The Corporate Action Notification message is the initial announcement of an event:

• cash dividend payment (CASH);
• bonus share distribution (BONU);
• stock split or consolidation (SOFF, SPLF);
• tender offers (TEND);
• merger or spin-off (MRGR, SPLI);
• conversion (CONV), exercise (EXOF), maturity (MATU) of instruments.

seev.031 is broadcast by the issuer or its agent (typically the central securities depository — Euroclear, Clearstream, DTC) to the account-holding intermediaries, which in turn pass it on to their investor clients. The chain comprises multiple successive seev.031 messages, all identified by the CorpActnEvtId that stays stable end-to-end.

XML structure

Wrapped in <Document> with the namespace, then in <CorpActnNtfctn>. Four main blocks:

• NtfctnGnlInf (Notification General Information) — notification metadata: type (NEWM new, REPL replacement, RMDR reminder), processing status.
• CorpActnGnlInf (Corporate Action General Information) — event identification: CorpActnEvtId unique identifier, EvtTp event type (CASH, DVCA, INTR, BONU, SPLF, MRGR, TEND…), MndtryVlntryEvtTp mandatory or voluntary, UndrlygScty underlying instrument (ISIN).
• CorpActnDtls (Corporate Action Details) — business details: dates (announcement, record date, ex-date, payment date), rates, amounts, ratios, options.
• AcctDtls (Account Details) — concerned account details (present when notification is targeted to an account).

Key fields

• NtfctnGnlInf/NtfctnTp — NEWM (Newly Announced), REPL (Replacement of a previous notification), RMDR (Reminder), WTHD (Withdrawn).
• CorpActnGnlInf/CorpActnEvtId — unique event identifier, max 16 chars. Stable end-to-end (issuer → custodian → investor).
• CorpActnGnlInf/EvtTp/Cd — ISO 20022 event-type code. CASH (Cash Distribution), DVCA (Cash Dividend), INTR (Interest Payment), BONU (Bonus), SPLF (Stock Split), MRGR (Merger), TEND (Tender Offer), EXOF (Expiration), MATU (Maturity).
• CorpActnGnlInf/MndtryVlntryEvtTp/Cd — MAND (Mandatory — holder is bound), VOLU (Voluntary — option), CHOS (Mandatory with Choice).
• CorpActnGnlInf/UndrlygScty/FinInstrmId/ISIN — ISIN of the underlying security.
• CorpActnDtls/DtDtls/AnncmntDt — announcement date.
• CorpActnDtls/DtDtls/RcrdDt — record date (date when the holder must hold the security to benefit).
• CorpActnDtls/DtDtls/ExDvddDt — ex-dividend date.
• CorpActnDtls/DtDtls/PmtDt — payment date.
• CorpActnDtls/RateAndAmtDtls/GrssDvddRate — gross dividend rate per share.
• CorpActnDtls/RateAndAmtDtls/NetDvddRate — net rate after withholding tax.

XML example

Quarterly cash dividend notification of EUR 2.50 per share on ACME security (ISIN FR0000120271), record date 13 May, payment date 15 May 2026:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Document xmlns="urn:iso:std:iso:20022:tech:xsd:seev.031.002.14">
  <CorpActnNtfctn>
    <NtfctnGnlInf>
      <NtfctnTp>NEWM</NtfctnTp>
      <PrcgSts>
        <Cd>
          <EvtCmpltnsSts>
            <Cd>COMP</Cd>
          </EvtCmpltnsSts>
        </Cd>
      </PrcgSts>
    </NtfctnGnlInf>
    <CorpActnGnlInf>
      <CorpActnEvtId>ACME-CASH-DIV-2026-Q1</CorpActnEvtId>
      <EvtTp>
        <Cd>CASH</Cd>
      </EvtTp>
      <MndtryVlntryEvtTp>
        <Cd>MAND</Cd>
      </MndtryVlntryEvtTp>
      <UndrlygScty>
        <FinInstrmId>
          <ISIN>FR0000120271</ISIN>
        </FinInstrmId>
      </UndrlygScty>
    </CorpActnGnlInf>
    <CorpActnDtls>
      <DtDtls>
        <AnncmntDt>
          <Dt>
            <Dt>2026-04-15</Dt>
          </Dt>
        </AnncmntDt>
        <RcrdDt>
          <Dt>
            <Dt>2026-05-13</Dt>
          </Dt>
        </RcrdDt>
        <ExDvddDt>
          <Dt>
            <Dt>2026-05-12</Dt>
          </Dt>
        </ExDvddDt>
        <PmtDt>
          <Dt>
            <Dt>2026-05-15</Dt>
          </Dt>
        </PmtDt>
      </DtDtls>
      <RateAndAmtDtls>
        <GrssDvddRate>
          <Amt>
            <Rate>
              <Amt Ccy="EUR">2.50</Amt>
            </Rate>
          </Amt>
        </GrssDvddRate>
      </RateAndAmtDtls>
    </CorpActnDtls>
  </CorpActnNtfctn>
</Document>

• NtfctnTp=NEWM: new notification.
• CorpActnEvtId=ACME-CASH-DIV-2026-Q1: stable end-to-end unique identifier.
• EvtTp/Cd=CASH: cash distribution (variant of DVCA for dividends).
• MndtryVlntryEvtTp/Cd=MAND: mandatory, no option.
• UndrlygScty/FinInstrmId/ISIN=FR0000120271: underlying.
• Dates: announcement 15 April, ex-date 12 May, record date 13 May, payment 15 May.
• GrssDvddRate=2.50 EUR: gross EUR 2.50 per share.

Versions

Common pitfalls

• Unstable CorpActnEvtId — the identifier must remain strictly identical across the chain (issuer → custodian → investor → adviser). Changing it breaks downstream reconciliations.
• Inconsistent dates — canonical order: AnncmntDt < ExDvddDt ≤ RcrdDt < PmtDt. A PmtDt before RcrdDt is rejected by T2S and CSD validators.
• Incorrect EvtTp — mixing CASH (generic Cash Distribution) with DVCA (specific Cash Dividend) causes tax-treatment errors on the holder side. Read the ISO 20022 EventType ValueSet carefully.
• No withholding tax — for international dividends, omitting NetDvddRate prevents automatic computation of local withholding and tax-treaty handling.
• REPL notification without identical CorpActnEvtId — a replacement notification (NtfctnTp=REPL) must reuse the same CorpActnEvtId as the initial one. Otherwise, downstream duplicates appear.
• Unstructured issuer address — for complex events (merger, tender offer), the PrtyDtls elements must carry structured addresses for regulatory KYC.

Related messages

• seev.032 — Corporate Action Notification Cancellation Advice.
• seev.033 — Corporate Action Movement Confirmation.
• seev.034 — Corporate Action Instruction.
• seev.035 — Corporate Action Movement Preliminary Advice.
• seev.037 — Corporate Action Movement Confirmation.
• seev.039 — Corporate Action Instruction Cancellation Request.
• seev.044 — Corporate Action Narrative.