partial delivery

A situation that occurs when one broker does not meet his/her part of the contractual obligation to deliver all securities at an agreed upon date. If two brokers agree that 2,000 shares will be delivered on December 2 and only 1,700 shares are delivered, this would be considered a partial delivery. If a broker fails to deliver all the securities by the specified date, the purchasing broker may delay payment until all the securities have been delivered.