INTERVIEW | With post-Brexit pressure to repatriate euro swap clearing to the EU having been one of the central issues facing CCPs in recent years, we speak with Euronext’s Alessio Mottola about the macro themes he and fellow panellists will explore at  PostTrade 360 conference from 2–3 September 2026 — including the state of the CCP market and the strategic moves reshaping it.

Europe’s CCPs landscape has moved from a stable competitive environment into an era of strategic repositioning. This is Alessio Mottola’s key observation since the last CCP panel at PostTrade 360 in 2024. “It was stable —— but now, all of a sudden, things are becoming very dynamic from a competitive perspective,” notes the Euronext Clearing CEO.

It’s not just CCPs — CSDs and CCPs alike are living through a moment of real competitive intensity. If post-trade were a sport, the league has just been upgraded: what once felt like a local fixture is now playing out at continental level, with bigger stakes, faster play, and no shortage of new contenders.

Regulation is one of the loudest whistles at kick off. In particular the EMIR 3.0 Active Account Requirement (AAR) that EU derivatives traders must keep and use an active clearing account at an EU‑based CCP to reduce reliance on major non‑EU clearing houses – a mandate  that is going to reshape the EU versus UK dynamic in derivatives. First AAR reporting submission due, covering activity from June 2025 onward. “That space has always been dominated by the UK, so the mandate for active accounts in euro-denominated interest rate derivatives places European CCPs somewhere they’re not used to being — which creates real space for them to compete and provide more competitive services,” says Mottola.  

On the cash equity side, alternative clearing structures are consolidating share , particularly the preferred CCP model, which has been part of the European cash equity landscape for some years. What is changing is the pace at which it is gaining market share, .The competitive dynamics this creates for traditional CCPs are also significant  observes Mottola.

And there’s the multi-asset dimension. CCPs are migrating new asset classes onto their platforms — becoming more multi-asset class, multi-market. “We at Euronext Clearing just launched a new segment on power derivatives, which is a testament to the transformational journey CCPs across Europe have embarked on that gives them better competitive positioning.”

Finally, there’s tokenised collateral. A first concrete institutional move has already happened: as of 30 March 2026, the Eurosystem now accepts DLT-issued securities as eligible collateral for credit operations. “This will have implications for how CCPs offer tokenised collateral to cover margins and fund contributions,” states Mottola. “It’s a first step, but it’s created real space for growth — and CCPs will have to look into it very specifically going forward.”

Which infrastructure users will be most impacted?

Mottola believes there are three types of audiences. 

First and foremost, the clearing members — banks, broker-dealers, trading firms, proprietary trading firms, and increasingly buy-side clients —This group has a strong interest in understanding how CCPs are competing to deliver better services, drive innovation, and potentially lower costs. “When competition increases in an industry where it has historically been limited — as is the case with CSDs and CCPs — the expectation is that costs come down. The decisions clearing members take in the next 12 to 18 months will define the next decade of liquidity across Europe,” asserts Mottola. “Once you position yourself, establish your CCP relationships and CSD setup, it’s a medium-to-long-term investment that will reshape how liquidity is allocated and reused across European market infrastructure.”

Second, market infrastructure peers. Mottola’s first PostTrade 360 was 2025, and he was struck by the quality of the speakers and by how central CSDs and CCPs were to the discussions. “Market infrastructures  technology providers, and peers will all be keen to understand the potential ahead of them.”

Third, regulators and policymakers. They’re not only shaping the conditions of this competition — but they’re also being shaped by it. Here, Mottola points directly to the topic of cash interoperability across CCPs under the Market Integration and Supervision Package (MISP): there’s a direction of travel toward deeper, more harmonised oversight and a more unified capital market, with stronger, centralised supervision to reduce fragmentation across the EU — “but how it translates into national law and how it’s actioned at local level remains open,” he says. “Regulators are closely monitoring developments  in this area and have set out clear policy objectives, while discussions on implementation continues to evolve.. They’ll be keen to understand how CCPs, banks, and market infrastructures are responding — and how the industry will shape the next phase of enforcement.”

Beyond MISP: what on the near-term horizon will make the September panel stand out?

One development Mottola believes has very good timing: on 6 July 2026, ESMA published preliminary findings of the AAR and the first annual report of the joint monitoring mechanism. For the very first time, the industry will have actual data on how much clearing is moving back to the EU as a result. That, says Mottola, will tell industry whether the requirement was just an academic exercise — where firms opened an account because they were mandated to, but nothing actually moved — or whether it genuinely switched volumes into Europe and delivered a competitive advantage for European CCPs over their UK counterparts. “It’s a real milestone, and it’s well-timed for the panel discussion.”

The second development is the Eurosystem’s decision to accept DLT-issued securities as eligible collateral. “It’s not tokenised collateral at CCP level yet, but it sets a precedent that can genuinely shape the industry conversation,” says Mottola. “The recurring question from CCPs is: should we start accepting tokenised collateral, and what are the implications for risk management? It also raises significant regulatory questions. Together, these two forces represent a major development.”

• For more information about the PostTrade 360° conference 2-3 September 2026 and to register, click here