The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has published a whitepaper, kickstarting discussions regarding the potential shift from a T+2 to a T+1 settlement cycle in Australia. ASX is asking industry stakeholders to share their perspectives and offer feedback on the proposal.
ASX explains in a press release that the whitepaper outlines how “Australia’s unique market structure, size, time zone, investment flows, and trading activity necessitates careful industry consideration of the risks, benefits, and costs of transitioning to T+1”.
In December 2023, the ASX Business Committee established a T+1 working group comprised of industry experts who contributed to the preparation of the whitepaper.
Weighing factors
“In putting together this whitepaper, we recognise there are various factors that will impact a decision to transition to T+1. This includes the type of service an entity provides, its own project pipeline, the cost and resourcing involved, along with potential implementation risks,” notes Clive Triance, ASX Group executive for securities and payments. “This is weighed up against the potential benefit of a prompt implementation through harmonisation of settlement and funding cycles with other leading global markets.”
Stakeholders can provide feedback on the whitepaper until 18 June. ASX plans to publish a summary of the feedback and proposed next steps in August.