SIA and Colt Win Tender for T2S Access Network
SIA and Colt have won the tender for the licence for the design, creation and management of the new network infrastructure to connect central depositories (CSDs), Eurosystem central banks and leading European bank groups to Target 2 Securities (T2S). The licence was awarded by European Central Bank (ECB).
The T2S project was conceived in 2008 by the ECB and will be managed by four central banks: Banca d’Italia, Deutsche Bundesbank, Banque de France and Banco de Espana. It will create a single European platform for the settlement of domestic and cross-border securities transactions and integrate post-trading infrastructures, which are still fragmented 10 years after the introduction of the single currency. T2S is one of the initiatives for the creation of the single European market, which follows the introduction of the euro, Target 2, single euro payments area (SEPA) and the Payment Services Directive (PSD).
The delivery of the new T2S platform is planned for mid-2015. According to ECB figures, T2S will process a daily average of over 1 million securities transactions with positive effects on the costs of cross-border settlements, where it is forecast there will be a significant reduction.
“This important success provides confirmation of our central role in Europe in the design and creation of infrastructures for financial and central institutions and recognition of a ‘made in Italy’ technology that is on equal terms with that of foreign players,” said Massimo Arrighetti, chief executive officer (CEO) of SIA. “This result demonstrates our ability to compete on the market with internationally recognised companies. At the same time, it contributes to the creation of a network of excellence aimed at ongoing innovation and system improvement which is the objective of our partnership strategy.”