With complex, interconnected markets, the UK, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and the EU face challenges in moving to T+1 settlement. Not only are there multiple geographies, but also different processing schedules, tax systems, business models and legal frameworks to navigate, as well as 27 EU jurisdictions and over 30 central securities depositories (CSDs). However, guided by the recommendations of their respective taskforces and working groups, they have a common goal: to achieve T+1 settlement on 11 October 2027.

The UK Accelerated Settlement Taskforce published its implementation plan to transition to T+1 in February this year – the culmination of two years of detailed analysis and debate - designed by experts across the industry. Key to the UK report is an emphasis on the importance of automation in achieving timely settlement.

In June, EU lawmakers agreed on the final critical legislative changes to the Central Securities Depositories Regulation (CSDR), paving the way for the EU T+1 Industry Committee to release their T+1 recommendations on 30 June 2025. The EU roadmap addresses the most critical operational considerations, identifying focus areas including standardisation of processes, the enhancement of technology and infrastructure, and the need for regulatory support. The EU T+1 roadmap is open for consultation until end August.

Notable Similarities

The EU T+1 Industry Committee Chair, Giovanni Sabatini, has acknowledged that the EU T+1 shift will be more complicated than the 28 May 2024 U.S. move to T+1, emphasizing that strong leadership and dialogue will be key to success. That said, the similar recommendations in the EU and UK reports are encouraging – and are clearly the result of significant coordination between authorities, the respective taskforce chairs, and the industry. Overall, the UK and EU reports are complementary, with notable similarities, including:

• Both reports focus on automation, with alignment on same-day allocation/confirmation. Both stress the requirement to eliminate manual interventions across all stages of the post-trade lifecycle, investing in straight-through processing to reduce fragmentation and fostering a more unified post-trade environment.

• Broad alignment on what is in scope for T+1-including transferable securities traded on respective trading venues and those settled in registered CSDs. There is also alignment about what transactions will be exempted (privately negotiated transactions executed on trading venues, bilaterally executed transactions reported to trading venues, initial security recordings, and SFTs).

• Agreement on the importance of testing, with a commitment to readiness testing in January 2027. While a key question remains open around the possibility of industry-wide external testing, there is certainly an appetite for joint and coordinated testing between jurisdictions.

• Both reports emphasize early communication of Place of Settlement (PSET) data between brokerage, custodian and buy-side communities. The EU report specifically emphasizes that delivery of PSET data at the point of allocation ensures the early identification of discrepancies and necessary realignments.

Important Distinctions

However, there are also several important differences in the approach, the level of detail and some focus areas in each report. Key among these:

• To address operational complexity and the fragmented infrastructure ecosystem, the EU T+1 Industry Committee recommends very specific timings for various “gating events” – activities and processes that occur after trades are executed – and other settlement-related processes. By contrast, the UK report highlights just two major time-specific events: the time for completion of all allocation and confirmation processing for a given trading day, and the time at which Trade Date is be deemed to end.

• With shorter settlement cycles, it is vital that market participants move away from manual Standard Settlement Instructions (SSIs) processes. While both reports aim for a similar outcome to improve the efficiency of SSIs, the EU T+1 Industry Committee did not specifically recommend adopting the UK’s Financial Markets Standards Board (FMSB) standard and instead, will be establishing its own, new industry taskforce to devise EU market standards for SSI management and exchange.

• The EU report notes that their committee has considered the need to create a regulatory mechanism to allow for “a temporary disapplication of the CSDR cash penalties.” This means the European Commission can take measures during the T+1 migration period to temporarily suspend cash penalties where a material risk in settlement fails is identified; by contrast, no such regulatory penalty exists in the UK.

• In the EU report, there is specific mention of the need for automation of Corporate Actions buyer protection processing. In a T+1 environment, automated buyer protection functionality would ensure timely and efficient processing of buyer protection instructions, which reduces risk to the buyer and ensures investors are protected. While this is mostly manual in the EU right now, in the UK, this is already offered through Certificateless Registry for Electronic Share Transfer (CREST).

While faster settlement promises greater efficiency, it is clear the industry’s ability to implement automation and optimise post-trade processes will be critical to achieving a smooth, seamless and successful transition.

India’s depository space has turned into battleground for the best return stocks. With NSDL finally making its Dalal Street debut, all eyes are now on how the country’s two major depositories – NSDL and CDSL are stacking up against each other post-listing the listing of NSDL as well in Dalal Street. From stock performance to financials and market position, here’s a quick look at how the face-off is playing out.

NSDL rallies post debut, gains over 33%

National Securities Depository (NSDL), India’s oldest and largest depository, made a strong debut on August 6, listing at Rs 880 which is about 10% higher than its issue price.

But that was just the beginning. In just two days, the stock surged over 33%, trading around Rs 1,246 as of August 7. The rally lifted the company’s market cap past Rs 25,000 crore. With a 52-week high of Rs 1,299 already in sight, NSDL is off to a strong start.

CDSL sees mild uptick

In contrast, Central Depository Services (CDSL) the only other major player has had a muted but stable run. Its shares are currently trading at Rs 1,573, up around 1.46% since NSDL’s listing.

Over the past five days, CDSL shares rose nearly 4%. However, the one month chart shows a 10% dip. Looking longer term, CDSL is still in the green, up 21% in six months and 28% so far in 2025. The company has a market cap of nearly Rs 33,000 crore.

Battle of the businesses

NSDL, which developed digital securities back in 1996, leads in terms of assets under custody, number of companies serviced, and settlement volumes, according to CRISIL. But CDSL, launched in 1999, is no pushover, it is carved out a strong position among retail investors and dominates in terms of new demat account additions.

CDSL’s financials

Talking of CDSL’s June quarter performance, the net profit fell 23.6% YoY to Rs 102.4 crore, and EBITDA dropped over 15%. Margins also contracted to 50.4%, a sharp dip from 60% last year, mainly due to rising operational costs. Revenue growth remained flat.

NSDL’s IPO buzz still holding

The NSDL IPO raised over Rs 4,000 crore entirely through an offer for sale. It was picked up heavily by institutional investors and saw a listing pop. Though the IPO proceeds went to existing shareholders, the listing performance is keeping momentum high.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is set to launch its upgraded payment and settlement system, PRISM+, on August 19, according to confirmation from the Central Bank’s media wing.

Built on the global ISO 20022 messaging standard, PRISM+ aims to overhaul how money and government securities move across Pakistan’s financial system. The new platform introduces a faster Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system for large-value transactions and a Central Securities Depository (CSD) for managing instruments like treasury bills and Pakistan Investment Bonds.

PRISM+ equips banks with new tools to enhance operational efficiency, including the real-time transfer of high-value payments, scheduling of future transactions, priority-based processing, and live dashboards for balances and settlements. The system also automates fee and invoice calculations.

The CSD component of PRISM+ allows banks to participate in primary auctions with real-time bidding and results, trade government securities in the secondary market, and manage collateral more effectively. Additionally, the system supports open market operations, enabling SBP to inject or withdraw liquidity with instant settlement.

To ensure security, PRISM+ incorporates role-based access controls, full audit trails, and real-time alerts. It also includes liquidity-saving mechanisms to prioritize urgent payments, with dedicated reserve earmarking to ensure the uninterrupted settlement of critical systems like Raast, 1Link, and NCCPL.

Furthermore, banks will have access to an Intraday Liquidity Facility backed by eligible government securities. The platform also offers extended operating hours, faster handling of cancellations and returns, and streamlined cash operations at SBP’s Karachi office

Hana Securities announced on the 20th that it has completed the demonstration of key functions by participating in the 'Token Securities Testbed Platform Construction Project' organized by the Korea Securities Depository (KSD).

The Korea Securities Depository (KSD) has been conducting the platform construction project for eight months since October last year in preparation for the legalization of token securities. To this end, major securities firms and fractional investment companies were selected as test participants.

In this testbed, Hana Securities verified the stability and connectivity of the token securities issuance and distribution platform using the KSD's total management system, node management system, and distributed ledger system.

A representative from Hana Securities explained that significant achievements have been made throughout the entire process, from the review of token securities issuance to the establishment of distributed ledgers and the advancement of internal processing systems at securities firms. The company plans to continue preparing to secure the infrastructure and systems that can be applied immediately after the implementation of the regulations based on this achievement.

Jo Dae-heon, head of Hana Securities' digital business division, noted, "We plan to sequentially introduce various token securities products based on real assets such as real estate and K-content, in collaboration with major financial institutions."