The processing of domestic securities transactions in Switzerland is to be brought into line with European Union (EU) standards.
A working group – the Swiss Securities Post-Trading Council (Swiss SPTC) – has been appointed to analyse the means for realising this ambition.
Swiss ICSD SIS Sega Intersettle (SIS Group) says that the EU has established countless technical standards in recent years, in an effort to harmonise the cross-border settlement of securities transactions, thereby making it cheaper for market participants.
The Swiss now intend to participate in this development. A working group, the Swiss Securities Post-Trading Council, will formulate ways in which the EU standards can be integrated into Swiss processes and infrastructures.
The working group consists of representatives of banks, listed companies and the Swiss Bankers Association as well as the service providers SWX Swiss Exchange, SIS Group and Telekurs Financial.
The working group has been charged with analysing the technical and legal aspects of an adoption of EU standards and, if necessary, with proposing the means for its realisation. Administrative management of Swiss SPTC is in the hands of the SIS Group.
“Modern financial centres rely on complex technical infrastructures in order to trade, settle and administer their products,” says Peter Sami, CEO of the SIS Group. “For a financial centre to remain competitive, not only must its infrastructures function smoothly – they must also be easily accessible to participants from all over the world at low cost. This involves agreeing on international standards for transaction processing and data exchange and then implementing these standards globally.”
Dr. Heinrich Henckel, Chairman of the Management Committee of SWX Swiss Exchange, adds that “providing unhindered market access both at home and abroad is one of the stated aims of Swiss financial market policy. European harmonisation can give rise to obstacles in clearing and settlement. By adopting the EU standards, we can remove these obstacles. Swiss SPTC’s job is to identify the best means for doing so.”