Clearstream Joins T2S Initiative

CSD to support move to pan-European settlement platform.

Clearstream has announced that its German central securities depository (CSD), Clearstream Banking AG, will join the Target2-Securities (T2S) initiative.

T2S aims to create a pan-European platform for securities settlement, with the aim of reducing post-trade operational risk in cross-border transactions. The initiative has been proposed by the European Central Bank, with Clearstream being among of the first of the major CSDs to subscribe.

"T2S will drive the harmonization of post-trade processes across Europe. It can bring huge benefits to the market and we have therefore been supporting T2S since the beginning of the project in 2006," says Jeffrey Tessler, CEO at Clearstream International SA. "T2S will result in of the commoditization of European settlements and is a significant investment for our industry. Over the last months, we have been developing our business approach for a world with T2S. We decided to join T2S as we are confident that we can continue to serve our customers at the right price, delivering excellent service levels with an unrivalled product and services portfolio."

The platform is scheduled for a tentative go-live date in 2015, with Clearstream aiming to provide a central, focal access point as part of the program.

"We believe we are well positioned to become the natural entry point to T2S in Europe," adds Mark Gem, member of the Clearstream International executive board with responsibility for group strategy. "With the German CSD as part of our group, Clearstream will account for nearly 40 percent of T2S settlement volumes in the Eurozone. Clearstream's customers will benefit from our value-added services in the space of collateral management and asset servicing that are second to none. We are looking forward to moving on with T2S and to playing a leading role in building this critical component of European market infrastructure."