Clearstream Joins Target2–Securities in Fourth Migration Wave

The largest central securities depository (CSD) to join the platform completed its migration, alongside the CSDs of Hungary (Keler), Slovenia (KDD), Slovakia (CDCP) and Austria (OeKB), comprising the fourth wave of scheduled migrations, due to finish in September this year.

The arrival of Clearstream adds 40 percent to the overall volume on the ECB's settlement platform. The successful migration of Clearstream, as the largest volume provider, means the ECB's platform now handles double the previous amount of volume ahead of the fifth and final wave in September, which includes the Baltic CSDs (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), Iberclear (Finland) and Euroclear Spain.

"The successful conclusion of the fourth T2S migration wave brings T2S very close to the finishing line, taking Europe a crucial step forward toward a harmonized settlement landscape," says Berthold Kracke, CEO of Clearstream Banking AG. "As of February 6, our clients will be able to consolidate all eligible assets at our central securities depository, Clearstream."

The ultimate objective of the T2S initiative is to implement a harmonized pan-European landscape for the settlement of domestic and cross-border securities transactions. However, previous migrations to the T2S platform have been undermined by large players such as Euroclear (wave 2) and Italian CSD Monte Titoli (wave 1) delaying their participation due to the technical issues.