The UK is transitioning to a faster securities settlement cycle with trades settled one day after the transaction date (T+1). This move is part of the broader efforts to enhance the efficiency and security of financial markets.
The UK Government has accepted the recommendations of the Accelerated Settlement Taskforce, and the transition to T+1 is set to take place on 11 October 2027. This change aligns the UK with other global markets, such as EU, which is also expected to move on 11 October 2027, and the US, which already moved to T+1 in May 2024, with the aim to reduce risks associated with the current two-day settlement cycle.
“As a linchpin infrastructure within this ecosystem, we are committed to collaborating with all stakeholders towards a synchronized transition in the UK, harmonized with EU and Switzerland, thus modernizing our markets to meet evolving global practices,” Euroclear wrote.
To support the UK securities market, Euroclear is proposing a number of changes to the configuration and running of the Certificateless Registry for Electronic Share Transfer (CREST) system, including:
- amending the period where the transaction input is available and therefore the period during which matching can occur
- changes to Euroclear’s Settlement Discipline regime in relation to the Matching Discipline regime and the rebranding process
- Various minor system configuration changes required to support T+1
- testing capabilities and requirements