Italy Joins Target-2Securities After Two Month Delay

London Stock Exchange today announced Central Security Depository (CSD) Monte Titoli and its clients had successfully completed migration to the T2S platform, the long-running project by the European Central Bank (ECB) designed to create a harmonized European settlements landscape.

Originally scheduled to join alongside Romania (Depozitarul Central), Malta (Malta Stock Exchange), Switzerland (SIX SIS) and Greece (BoGS) when the platform launched in late June, the Italian market stalled when Monte Titoli expressed concern over the platform testing and requested an extension prior to joining.

"The Italian market side...were not fully comfortable with migrating to T2S on time due to the pressure that the short testing phase put on them," Mehdi Manaa, T2S programme manager at the ECB, told Sell-Side Technology in July.

Monte Titoli is the largest CSD in the first migration wave, with €3,400 billion of assets under custody.

"Monte Titoli has been a firm supporter of the T2S project from the outset," says Mauro Dognani, CEO of Monte Titoli. "The Italian market will account for around 90 percent of volumes in the first wave of T2S and represents an opportunity for Monte Titoli to expand its offering."