European Central Bank Taps SIA-Colt for Target2-Securities Connection

The ECB-pioneered project is aimed at creating a harmonized pan-European landscape for the settlement of domestic and cross-border securities transactions. The first migration wave to the new platform was in June 2015, with the second phase scheduled for March 2016.

Colt and SIA will provide the ECB with the networking infrastructure to connect to the platform, after receiving one of the two Value Added Network Service Provider licenses. The ECB is scheduled to join the infrastructure in June this year.

"After the success of the first T2S migration phase, with a large proportion of the data traffic being carried by SIA and Colt, we are very pleased to be working on this project with the European Central Bank," says John Loveland, VP of capital markets at Colt. "Colt and SIA will provide the ECB with a fully-managed, high-performance, highly-scalable T2S connectivity and messaging solution, with guaranteed service levels ─ enabling them to focus on their core business instead of the underlying infrastructure."

Colt and SIA have previously worked in partnership to faciliate T2S access for BNP Paribas Securities Services, Deutsche Bundesbank, and Hungarian central securities depository Keler.