The path is clear from today’s third-day settlement (“T+2”) to second-day (“T+1”) in the United States equities market, and 2023 is suggested as the year for completion. As heavyweight market institutions have informed regulators that they see no preventive obstacle, news site Global Custodian calls the move to T+1 “all but assured”.
“The announcement brings the shortened settlement time much closer to a reality, with the proposed timeline suggesting a completion by 2023,” comments Global Custodian, as the news site observes that three important organisations are now explicitly supporting a shortened settlement cycle for US equities.
It is the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), the Investment Company Institute (ICI), and central securities depository DTCC who have said to regulators that they see “obstacles and challenges”, yet none significant enough to prevent the shift.
“The benefits of halving the settlement cycle have been identified as increased efficiencies, reduced risk and improved use of capital, especially in periods of high volatility,” Global Custodian summarises – but also sees reason for caution:
“The impacts of the shift are far-reaching, beyond just a reduction of risk and settlement fails, there are also documentation impacts and a domino effect for corporate actions, securities issuance, and implications on coordination for mutual fund portfolio securities and investor shares.”