Euroclear, in line with its strategy of reducing industry fragmentation and delivering services that optimise market wide connectivity, has today announced a strategic collaboration with software providers Meritsoft, a Cognizant business, and Taskize to launch the next generation of its EasyFocus service.

This enhanced, AI-powered platform, running on a Microsoft cloud, will deliver real-time data, insights and resolution capabilities across all of Euroclear’s Central Securities Depositories (CSDs), supporting the industry’s transition to T+1 settlement in Europe by October 2027.

EasyFocus+ aligns with Euroclear’s commitment to increase client efficiency and proximity and to advance the EU’s Savings and Investments Union (SIU) by fostering harmonisation through its open, interconnected, neutral infrastructure, whilst also driving innovation at scale by leveraging new technology and data analytics.

EasyFocus+ uses predictive analytics to accelerate the resolution of matching and settlement issues - flagging likely mismatches, identifying root causes, and resolving exceptions quickly. The new version integrates Meritsoft’s Instruction Tracking and Exception Management (ITEM) solution and Taskize’s communication and collaboration platform, providing a single, consolidated view of all settlement instructions across the Euroclear CSDs which represent over 60% of EU settlement. EasyFocus+ allows clients to reduce fails, streamline operations and benchmark their performance internally and across the industry to identify and address recurring issues.

Isabelle Delorme, Head of Product Strategy and Innovation, Euroclear group said: "As the industry adapts to evolving regulations such as T+1, we are leveraging leading-edge technologies like Microsoft Cloud and AI technology, to ensure the market is not only prepared but a step ahead. It is a harmonised and consolidated solution for every Euroclear client to help them overcome the operational challenges of a shortened settlement cycle and boost settlement efficiency. EasyFocus+ is part of our commitment to both make our clients’ life easier and to support the SIU by driving market improvements through our open, neutral infrastructure. Euroclear’s open access model gives clients a choice of interconnected international and national CSDs, supporting competition, avoiding costly silos - ultimately delivering a single, seamless interface."

Helen Adair, Taskize’s Chief Product Officer, commented: "We’ve worked closely with Euroclear and Meritsoft to devise, develop and bring something brand new to the market with EasyFocus+, a platform that turns trade data into actionable insights. But what happens when those insights reveal exceptions, queries, and friction that will delay settlement and impact T+1 resolution? That’s where Taskize comes in. Connecting our collaboration platform to EasyFocus+ will provide visibility, ownership, prioritisation, automated routing and proven faster resolution of exceptions."

John Da Gama-Rose, Head of Banking & Finance EMEA & Asia Pacific and Japan at Cognizant, Meritsoft’s parent company, added: "We are excited to be working with Euroclear and Taskize to bring EasyFocus+ to market. By integrating Meritsoft’s technology with Euroclear’s steadfast commitment to innovation, we are paving the way for a more efficient and resilient settlement ecosystem. This launch exemplifies the power of industry collaboration and innovation and is testament to Cognizant’s commitment to helping drive solutions that address complex industry challenges. Coming at a pivotal moment for the industry, this new service empowers Euroclear’s clients to navigate the transition to T+1 in Europe with confidence and agility."

DTCC was recently awarded the 2025 Global Markets Choice Awards for Best in Clearing from Markets Media, highlighting the firm’s importance and contributions to fixed income and equities clearing and settlement.

“Over the past 12 months, DTCC led the industry through some of the most significant changes to market structure in history,” said Brian Steele, DTCC Managing Director, President, Clearing & Securities Services. “We have helped to drive billions of dollars in margin savings for the industry this year by developing innovative new products, services and capabilities to support regulatory mandates and market structure changes such as T+1 settlement and expanded U.S. Treasury clearing. We are honored to be recognized as the industry leader for enhancing the resiliency and efficiency of the markets.”

Highlights from Equities Clearing & Settlement

DTCC’s equities subsidiary, National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC), which clears and settles virtually all broker-to-broker equity, corporate and municipal bond and UIT transactions in U.S. markets, has taken a leading role across several significant industry initiatives in the past year.

• Led the industry through the May 2024 U.S. move to T+1, ensuring a smooth transition for clients to an accelerated settlement cycle. T+1 has led to greater operational efficiency, increased post-trade automation, reduced manual processing, and significant risk mitigation, which has translated to significant cost savings related to reduced operational burden and potential losses from failed trades or other risks.

• NSCC recently announced it will increase clearing hours to support extended trading with implementation targeted for June 2026, subject to regulatory review and approval of any necessary rule changes. Extending clearing hours to 24x5, from Sunday 8PM ET to Friday 8PM ET, will deliver increased client value by maximizing liquidity and reducing counterparty risk as NSCC will be able to apply its central counterparty guarantee to overnight activity across different time zones for global participants.

• NSCC’s risk management and scalability capabilities have been instrumental in safeguarding firms, underlying investors and financial markets, and this is particularly apparent during periods of market volatility and stress. On April 9, NSCC achieved a new peak value of $5.55 trillion, a 6.4% increase from the previous peak of $5.22 trillion on December 20, 2024. Additionally, NSCC reached a new peak volume of 545 million transactions on April 7, a 33% increase from the previous peak of 409 million transactions during the “meme stock” event on January 27, 2021.

Highlights from Fixed Income Clearing & Settlement DTCC’s Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (FICC) has served the U.S. Treasury market since voluntary central clearing first started almost 40 years ago. FICC’s central clearing services have delivered significant value by maximizing liquidity and efficiency while maintaining robust risk management.

• In March 2025, FICC announced it was fully compliant with all SEC requirements around the U.S. Treasury clearing mandate, including final rules, enhanced access models, and the separation of house and customer activity. FICC is committed to bringing all client segments voluntarily into central clearing ahead of the mandate and has developed access models to support clients of all sizes and needs, including the Sponsored Service and the new Agent Clearing Service (ACS). FICC estimates it is already clearing nearly half of all outstanding U.S. Treasury repos covered by the SEC’s clearing requirement through the Sponsored access model.

• The volume of transactions cleared daily by FICC has grown exponentially since the SEC mandate was announced, from a peak of $4.5 trillion in 2022 to an all-time high of $11.4 trillion in April 2025. Activity through ACS, which includes significant “done away” cash transactions, also peaked at $350+ billion on April 9. FICC currently processes an average of over $10 trillion every day in U.S. Treasury activity.

• Balance sheet netting, through FICC’s efficient and systematic novation of financing transactions, has helped clients optimize capital by freeing up billions of dollars that they can use for other investment purposes. At the end of 2024, balance sheet savings across the industry, through use of the Sponsored Service, topped $900B.

“FICC is focused on providing the highest level of service to our clients, and on ensuring the reliability and the resiliency of our offerings,” said Steele. “With deadlines for expanded clearing fast approaching – December 31, 2026, for cash transactions and on June 30, 2027, for repo transactions – we are fully committed to a successful implementation. Like our efforts with T+1, we continue to work closely with the industry to educate clients on the impacts and preparations needed to ensure a smooth transition.”

Markets Media Group’s inaugural Global Markets Choice Awards was held Thursday, June 5, at Central Park Boathouse in New York City.

KDPW is implementing the CSDonDLT project which aims to gauge the impact and added value of implementing solutions based on distributed ledger technology (DLT) in central securities depository services. The first step in this direction is to create a solution to enable the settlement of OTC transactions using blockchain.

The CSDonDLT project and the accompanying White Paper present new current experiences and observations of KDPW regarding the potential and benefits of using blockchain as a supplement and functional extension of the traditional capital market infrastructure.

The White Paper is available on https://www.csdondlt.kdpw.pl/en/index.html

The CSDonDLT project will result in the implementation of an additional complementary layer of the depository and settlement system based on blockchain. At this stage, the solution under development focuses on the settlement of OTC transactions, covering the safe-keeping and unencumbered transfer of securities as well as the atomic settlement of transactions within the DLT layer. Full interoperability of both layers of the depository and settlement system will enable smooth transfers of securities from the traditional layer to DLT and vice versa.

In KDPW’s opinion, blockchain allows to redefine and create new models for the safe-keeping and transfer of assets and to build trust between market participants in a shared and distributed IT system.

“Traditional capital market infrastructure, while effective, efficient and secure, is marked by significant complexity and centralisation of processes. Each transaction requires the cooperation of multiple entities and the reconciliation of data stored in separate IT systems operated by market participants. In this context, distributed ledger technology (DLT) is a promising solution that can significantly improve the functioning of capital markets by increasing efficiency while reducing risks and transaction costs. The fundamental value of DLT is a single, unalterable, transparent ledger shared by all market participants while maintaining confidentiality and professional secrecy,” said Maciej Trybuchowski, President and CEO of KDPW and KDPW_CCP.

With a single distributed system shared by all market participants, DLT-based systems would theoretically eliminate intermediaries in the execution of market processes. However, the exclusion of professional intermediaries from the value chain brings a number of new risks. The presence of institutions such as central securities depositories, banks, and investment firms is essential to ensure the stability of capital markets. These entities play a key role in managing systemic risk, protecting investors, and meeting regulatory requirements, including those arising from KYC (customer identity and risk profile verification) and AML (anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing).

The presented project is an important step towards the modernisation and development of the domestic capital market infrastructure, responding both to global trends and to initiatives undertaken by other European markets in the implementation of innovative technologies and new business and operating models.

“The White Paper available on the KDPW website is an invitation to market institutions, including primarily KDPW participants, to join the CSDonDLT project, cooperate and make a joint effort to improve innovation in the Polish capital market. The participation of a wide range of capital market institutions in co-creating a DLT infrastructure integrated into the current ecosystem, and consequently offering clients the possibility of maintaining separate securities account functionality in the blockchain network, may indeed open up new opportunities for the development of services and of the market as such,” said Maciej Trybuchowski.

The transformation of infrastructure and market models should primarily focus on integrating innovative technologies with existing structures in order to maximise the benefits of DLT while protecting the stability and security of the financial system. This approach makes it possible to achieve economies of scale and leverage the strengths and advantages of new and traditional models. This, in turn, contributes significantly to the cutting edge of the Polish capital market in Europe, both with regard to traditional financial instruments and in terms of creating synergies between this market and the dynamically developing financial services on cryptoasset markets.

“We at KDPW see DLT not as a threat to traditional institutions but as an opportunity for their transformation and adaptation to the requirements of the modern digital economy. KDPW’s experience with distributed technologies confirms that it is possible for blockchain-based solutions to coexist harmoniously with legacy market structures. The key to success is the integration, not the elimination, of professional intermediaries and financial institutions, which play and will certainly continue to play a key role in ensuring market stability, efficiency and security, including investor protection,” added Mr Trybuchowski.

In the face of dynamic regulatory and technological changes, Poland has an opportunity to develop its own complementary capital market model which on the one hand takes into account local specificities and on the other hand is open to cross-border applications. We are ready to play a leading role in this process, and we invite market institutions to jointly design a future based on a modern, secure and competitive capital market infrastructure. **

Korea Securities Depository Unveils Pilot Platform Ahead of Security Token Rollout

Korea Securities Depository (KSD) has launched a pilot platform, the "Testbed Platform," in preparation for the introduction of the security token (ST) system. The institution plans to fully implement the system once the relevant legislation clears the National Assembly.

KSD announced on the 25th that the launch of the testbed platform represents its first step toward establishing infrastructure for the security token framework. Under the proposed legislation, security tokens will be categorized as a form of electronic securities, with blockchain-based distributed ledgers officially recognized as electronic registry accounts. Acting as the official electronic registration institution, KSD will play a key role in managing the total issuance of security tokens and supervising relevant activities.

Key Features of the Testbed Platform

The newly launched testbed platform integrates three core components: a Total Volume Management System, a Node Management System, and a Distributed Ledger System. These elements will enable KSD to assess the platform’s technical stability and operational compatibility by collaborating with various participating institutions.

Since October 2024, KSD has been developing the testbed platform, a process that spanned approximately eight months. It selected eight participating entities, including securities firms and fractional investment companies, for trials, and has successfully completed two rounds of connectivity tests with external distributed ledgers.

Preparing for Seamless Implementation of Security Token Infrastructure

A KSD representative emphasized the importance of refining the system through the testbed. “We plan to transition the platform to an official operating environment in line with the legislative timetable for the security token framework. Concurrently, we will enhance our infrastructure and update subordinate regulations to ensure a smooth implementation of the system,” the official stated.

The testbed platform is positioned as a critical step toward building a robust and advanced infrastructure for South Korea's forthcoming security token ecosystem.