European institutions have been working since long time to harmonise rules and integrate market infrastructure. Settlement cycles have been increasingly converging across asset classes and Europe is becoming a leading region for the resilience of its back office, in particular as a result of the pressure to build a pan-European infrastructure. Much has been done, but the Europeanisation process is still incomplete. The event will discuss progress of two paramount initiatives: the Target-2 Securities (T2S) and the Central Securities Depositories Regulation (CSDR). After 9 years of planning, preparation and testing, the Target-2 Securities (T2S) system will go live in June 2015 offering a pan-European technical platform for DVP settlement that may facilitate cross-border securities transactions. A year away from being fully operational, the event will discuss the pending issues with T2S (such as pricing) and its interaction with ongoing financial reforms. The Central Securities Depository Regulation, instead, is the latest of a number of legislations impacting how securities are traded, cleared and settled in Europe. Among other rules, it will harmonize securities settlement periods and introduce operational requirements for CSDs. Overall, these two initiatives aim at creating a truly European post-trade infrastructure by reducing legal uncertainty and increasing competition. Another piece in the complex puzzle of a fully integrated European financial system.
The event report can be downloaded here:
http://eurocapitalmarkets.org/system/files/Event_report_back_office.pdf