Europe: Euroclear, Clearstream to upgrade ‘bridge’ between ICSDs
Euroclear Bank and Clearstream Banking Luxembourg has jointly announced a programme of improvements to the automated daytime ‘Bridge’ between the two international central securities depositories (ICSDs).
Delivery of the first enhancement, which is scheduled for January 2007, will improve overall settlement efficiency for the ICSDs’ respective clients and increase the capacity for same-day transaction settlement and securities financing across the Bridge.
Further details about future upgrades to the Bridge will be communicated in due course. Specifically, the initial enhancement to the daytime Bridge will:
increase settlement opportunities, particularly for trades settling on T+0, for clients with the addition of three new file exchanges of settlementrelated information in the afternoon (from 7 to 10 times per day); Clearstream Banking Luxembourg and Euroclear Bank are committed to making continuous improvements to the Bridge in order to support international capital market professionals with fast, efficient and reliable settlement between the ICSDs. The ICSDs have established a forum to define and deliver further enhancements to the Bridge in line with market needs. This initiative aims to maximise same-day financing and transaction-management possibilities for the global market place across the Bridge. Martine Dinne, Chief Executive Officer, Euroclear Bank, commented: “The evolving interoperability between Euroclear Bank and Clearstream Banking Luxembourg is a shining example of market-driven co-operation. We are committed to working with Clearstream on future developments that increase efficiency and liquidity, while reducing risk for the market.” Jeffrey Tessler, Chief Executive Officer, Clearstream, said: “Today’s joint announcement is testament to the efforts of both Euroclear Bank and Clearstream to meet the needs of global clients across multiple time zones. This programme of improvements will benefit clients by allowing them to use the infrastructure to efficiently support their trading and collateral management activities.” –www.theasianbanker.com (September 29 2006)–