The launch of the Single Settlement Engine (SSE) in Euroclear Bank has been completed. The SSE is part of Euroclear’s objective to harmonise services on a consolidated processing platform, merging five Euroclear group settlement platforms into one.
The SSE was launched in Euroclear France on 29 May 2006, followed by CRESTCo on 28 August 2006. During product internal product testing, only minor disruptions to the availability of Euroclear Bank client reporting occurred.
Thee SSE aims to perform the core function of securities settlement, i.e. positioning and booking of cash and securities transfers. It is the foundation onto which all IT systems within the Euroclear group will be consolidated. A new settlement-optimisation processing module has been introduced with the SSE, offering technical netting of cash and securities positions.
The next step in Euroclear’s migration to a single platform is the launch of ESES (Euroclear Settlement for Euronext-zone Securities). Using the SSE as its foundation, ESES will serve as a single processing solution to process both domestic and cross-border fixed-income and equity transactions in the Belgian, Dutch and French markets as if they were a single market. ESES will be launched in Euroclear France at the end of this year and in Euroclear Belgium and Euroclear Nederland in the second quarter of 2008.
Euroclear will then enter the final phase of consolidation onto the single platform serving all Euroclear group markets. Starting with custody-related processing in late 2008, all components of the single platform are scheduled to be completed in 2009/2010.