Navigation Path: Home > Payments & Markets > T2S
In its meeting of 15 May 2012 the ECOFIN Council reiterated its political support for the T2S project “as an important contributor for the establishment of the Single Market for securities services”.
TARGET 2 - Securities - Draft Council conclusions
The ECOFIN Council expressed its appreciation of the progress made by the Eurosystem and the relevant stakeholders, in particular the CSDs. It also highlighted the importance for T2S of the CSD Regulation, the draft of which was published by the European Commission on 7 March 2012.
The ECOFIN Council had already endorsed the T2S project back in 2007 and formulated some recommendations which T2S has subsequently followed, in particular with regard to the system’s multi-currency dimension, the project’s governance structure and the level of transparency for market participants.
Mario Draghi, President of the ECB, at the Event marking the first signatures to the T2S Framework Agreement: “The fundamental objective of T2S is to contribute to making Europe a better place to invest, by fostering a single market in post-trade services. It will make financial markets safer and more efficient, and it will increase transparency in the post-trade environment.” Speech
Peter Praet, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the Event marking the first signatures to the T2S Framework Agreement: “… after today, the spirit of the project will move from negotiation to cooperation. We will work together with CSDs to implement T2S - for the good of European financial markets.” Speech
"T2S is a chance to show that Europe can be innovative and at the forefront of new ideas", said Jean-Michel Godeffroy, Chairman of the T2S Programme Board, in an article in Global Custodian. download article
All key documents regarding T2S (functional/technical design, legal framework, other) are available
The Governing Council of the ECB is the ultimate decision-making body in the T2S project. All T2S strategic decisions made so far by the Governing Council are available
Watch our videos or download the latest ECB publications on T2S and the integration of the European market infrastructure
T2S is one of the largest infrastructure projects launched by the Eurosystem so far. T2S will improve the post-trading infrastructure in Europe by providing a single platform for securities settlement in central bank money. T2S will substantially contribute to financial integration in Europe. Find out more about the purpose, concept, technical characteristics and benefits of T2S.
The T2S project is owned and operated by the Eurosystem with the close involvement of all relevant stakeholders in the governance framework.
The implementation of T2S will significantly reshape the current post-trading infrastructure in Europe, affecting a wide variety of market players. The governance arrangements in place for the project ensure that the needs and requirements of all market stakeholders are taken into account.
Read more about the present governance of the project as well as the ongoing debate on how T2S will be governed in future more
The T2S Programme Board (PB) has been established by the Governing Council of the ECB to manage the T2S project and the relations with all stakeholders, ensuring that the T2S programme is implemented in accordance with market expectations. The members of the PB come from Eurosystem and non-Eurosystem central banks as well as from the private sector; however, they do not represent their home institutions, but act in the exclusive interest of the Eurosystem and the T2S programme. more
Currently, the Task Force on Currency Participation Agreement and Sub-group on Operational Framework (SGOF) reports to the T2S Programme Board.
The Advisory Group (AG) advises the decision-making bodies of the ECB on both technical and policy issues concerning T2S. From the very start of the project, the AG has been a very important forum for all market stakeholders to make their voices heard. The AG consists of approximately 90 members from national central banks, CSDs and end users who have signalled their interest in joining T2S. more
The AG is supported by the following substructures, also comprising NCBs, CSDs and market participants:
Harmonisation Steering Group
Sub-Group on Corporate Actions
Sub-Group Message Standardisation
Task Force on adaptation to cross-CSD settlement in T2S
The CSD Contact Group (CCG) has been appointed by the Governing Council of the ECB to prepare the contractual agreement that will formalise and regulate the relationship between the CSDs and the Eurosystem in T2S. The CCG includes representatives from the CSDs that have signed the T2S Memorandum of Understanding as well as the members of the T2S Programme Board. more
The CCG is supported by the following substructure:
Project Managers Sub-Group
To support the development and implementation of T2S, the National User Groups (NUGs) bring together providers and users of securities settlement services within their local markets. The NUGs thus form the link between the T2S Advisory Group and the different national markets and assess how these are impacted by T2S. more
The T2S Info sessions, organised by the ECB on a regular basis, serve to provide information on the progress of the T2S project to all interested stakeholders as well as to obtain the market’s feedback on current proposals. more
The ECB also organises ad hoc meetings/workshops to address particular topics and stakeholder categories. These meetings are usually open to all stakeholders and do not fall under the project's governance structure. more
T2S will significantly reshape the European post-trading landscape, thus impacting a wide variety of stakeholders. All stakeholders categories are involved in the project to the highest possible extent. more
Central securities depositories (CSDs) will move their securities accounts to the T2S platform for settlement purposes. CSDs will remain responsible for the relations with market participants. Rights and obligations of CSDs towards the Eurosystem will be regulated by the Framework Agreement, a contractual arrangement to be signed in 2012. more
T2S will bring about several benefits for European banks in terms of cost savings, efficiency gains and new business opportunities.
To ensure that T2S fulfils their needs, banks have been involved in the project since its very inception, most remarkably in the definition of the T2S User Requirements. Banks also participate in the governance of the project, both in the Advisory Group and in the National User Groups (NUGs). more
T2S will be developed and operated by the Eurosystem on a non-profit basis. The central banks of the Eurosystem are therefore key stakeholders in the T2S project.
The central banks participating in T2S will hold central bank money accounts for CSD customers on the single platform. In addition to the Eurosystem central banks, a number of non-euro area central banks have shown interest in joining T2S. Some of these are also considering the possibility to use T2S for settling securities transactions denominated in their national currencies.
All central banks that have shown interest in T2S participate in the governance structure both at the European and the national levels. more
In addition to CSDs and banks, a number of other stakeholders will be affected by T2S. To ensure that they are well informed about the project and have the possibility to flag their concerns, the T2S team of the ECB holds dedicated workshops for funds, issuers and liquidity managers. more
All stakeholders are also involved in the T2S Info Sessions organised every quarter in different European locations.
Market participants expect T2S to be a major catalyst for all initiatives ongoing in the EU to stimulate cross-border settlement harmonisation. Indeed, T2S and harmonisation go hand in hand more
Since the T2S project was conceived, the ECB T2S Team and the T2S Advisory Group have been working on various initiatives on harmonisation and standardisation. The main activities relate to messages, settlement day schedule, process efficiency, corporate actions, legal and regulatory harmonisation, shareholders transparency and investment funds. more
All T2S activities related to harmonisation are carried out in close cooperation with the other relevant EU groups, especially the EU Commission. Read more about all ongoing harmonisation activities in the field of post-trading in Europe. more
One of the crucial workstreams in the current phase of the project is pricing: in particular, how much T2S will charge for standard delivery-versus-payment (DvP) settlement. The ultimate goal is for T2S to be one of the lowest cost settlement platforms in the world.
Being a topic of high interest to all stakeholders, pricing is defined and discussed in close cooperation with the T2S Advisory Group. more
The economic impact assessment of T2S shows how an integrated European post-trading market infrastructure will have positive effects for market participants as well as the European economy in general. more
The T2S pricing structure and fee list have been defined on the basis of some principles agreed upon by the T2S Advisory Group. more
The T2S pricing structure illustrates how many different settlement service items will be charged for, and what proportion of costs will be recovered by information services, i .e. reports and queries. The pricing structure has been discussed with the market on many occasions. more
The ECB Governing Council has decided that the delivery-versus-payment price for T2S will be set at 15 cent per instruction for the period from September 2014, when T2S will go live, to December 2018, on a number of conditions. more
