Jun 20, 2012
Swiss CSD signs up to T2S
Swiss
central securities depository (CSD) SIX has become the latest to sign
the TARGET2-Securities (T2S) framework agreement.
The
move comes a week after Euroclear’s three Eurozone CSDs – Euroclear Belgium,
Euroclear France and Euroclear Nederland signed the framework agreement and
will see SIX, through SIX Securities Services, becoming the first non-EU
central securities depository to offer access to the plan for a common
technical platform for securities settlement in Europe.
It
also comes despite the Swiss National Bank’s decision that the Swiss franc will
not be available as a settlement currency in T2S, although it will enable Swiss
financial institutions to access the envisaged centralised settlement platform.
Clients
of SIX Securities Services will have direct access to the T2S platform. This
will benefit firms with lower settlement volumes, for whom the costs of accessing
T2S markets represent significant investment.
Currently,
T2S markets represent over 50% of all cross-border transactions processed by
SIX Securities Services – 15% of its total transaction volumes. The post trade
service provider offers services in 65 countries.
Commenting
on the decision, Thomas Zeeb, CEO Securities Services at SIX, explained: “This
decision is the result of almost three years of discussions and consultations
with our clients, with regulators from across Europe, and with other key
stakeholders. We have carefully crafted service concepts and propositions that
we believe will benefit both our Swiss, and our European clients. These include
improved efficiencies, enhanced collateral management and a range of other new
services.”
Reporting by Janet du Chenne, Global Custodian, an Asset International publication.