The UK’s Accelerated Settlement Taskforce (AST) will publish target settlement rates for the first three months following the market’s move to T+1 settlement in October 2027.
The target settlement rates will be calculated using the market average from the three months preceding the implementation deadline, based on CREST settlement data.
According to the taskforce, the approach is designed to ensure expectations are grounded in actual market performance rather than a predefined or theoretical benchmark.
The move aligns with recommendation SETT04 outlined in the AST’s Final Report, published in 2025, which proposed that post-transition expectations should reflect real-world settlement outcomes.
Andrew Douglas, chair of the Accelerated Settlement Taskforce, said: “Providing a target settlement rate will be an essential North Star for the industry to work towards. Ensuring that the market maintains its current settlement success rate once we move into a T+1 world will be a key measurement of the success of the transition overall.
“To achieve this, I would restate that firms must take action now and hit the milestones set out in the Implementation Plan of February 2025. Automation is the most important piece of the puzzle in helping firms to meet shorter settlement deadlines successfully, enabling them to process trades, data and compliance checks faster than ever.”
To help firms prepare ahead of the transition, the AST said it will begin publishing a rolling three-month average settlement rate from 2027, using CREST data to provide market participants with an indicative benchmark in advance of the October 2027 deadline.