Euroclear has announced that its Finnish central securities depository (CSD) will join the pan-European settlement system, TARGET2-Securities (T2S), in November 2022, five years after it intended to.
The CSD has been delaying its migration to T2S while it rolled out a new system, Infinity, a standards-based settlement and safekeeping platform for all assets in the book-entry system of Euroclear Finland.
It had originally planned to move to T2S in February 2017, alongside Germany, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia, but delayed until September 2017 due to the revised timetable for Infinity releases, before this latest announcement set a date much further into the future.
Key stakeholders have endorsed the timing, which is set to coincide with the launch of European Collateral Management System (ECMS), ensuring that access to collateral eligible securities in Euroclear Finland’s safekeeping continues smoothly from day one.
Euroclear said that joining T2S completes Finland’s multi-year transformation journey, during which the company has undertaken a comprehensive infrastructure renewal programme and reformed its processes and procedures to meet the requirements of the evolving European settlement landscape.
Last year, Euroclear Finland implemented market infrastructure technology provided by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), replacing its core legacy system.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all stakeholders for a good cooperation in reaching this decision,” said Hanna Vainio, CEO, Euroclear Finland.
“Just like in the previous stages of the Infinity program, we will work together with clients to ensure a smooth transition to T2S for the whole market. With our CSDR license and renewed infrastructure, we are now well positioned for better serving our Finnish, Nordic and global clients.”