Euroclear has announced plans to unify post-trade infrastructure across all 27 EU member states and financial asset classes. The aim is to streamline access and reduce fragmentation across European markets, with a particular focus on strengthening both central and commercial bank money settlement channels.
Central to the initiative is a commitment to provide a single access point to all EU markets via Euroclear Bank and its six local CSDs. Euroclear Bank, which currently offers commercial bank money settlement, is expected to complete access to all member states by 2026. The next step will be to accelerate its connection to the ECB’s TARGET2-Securities (T2S) platform to also offer central bank money settlement.
The infrastructure overhaul is positioned as a response to ongoing calls for more efficiency, harmonisation, and competition in European post-trade services. According to Euroclear, increased synergies between its international and domestic entities will help simplify cross-border operations, improve asset servicing, and support capital markets integration.
Policy recommendations
In practical terms, Euroclear says the initiative will enhance access to EU capital markets for issuers, simplify post-trade handling of funds and equities, and expand the reach of its collateral management services. The company also notes ongoing work with central banks and market participants on developing digital infrastructure, though further details remain limited.
The announcement comes with a list of policy recommendations directed at EU lawmakers and regulators. Among them are calls to simplify regulation across CSDs operating in group structures, support open access and competition, and push for legal and supervisory convergence. Euroclear also highlights the importance of scaling digital asset infrastructure and aligning efforts around DLT.
