ICMA welcomes Geffen Report on faster settlement of financial trades in the UK
28 March 2024 ICMA welcomes the report released today by the Chairman of the UK Accelerated Settlement Taskforce (AST), Charlie Geffen (the “Geffen Report”). ICMA has been a member of the AST since its inauguration in December 2022, and an active contributor to the constructive discussions. While the report reflects the Chairman's personal views and conclusions, we recognise the positive evolution over the past months which have led to an overall more balanced report that ICMA can broadly support.
In particular we welcome:
(i) The more realistic timeline provided, with a target date in 2027,
(ii) the possibility for a narrow scope of instruments which would exclude instruments settled outside of the UK, such as Eurobonds; and
(iii) a relatively flexible mandate given to the newly established Technical Group (TG), an open and expert forum largely driven by market practitioners, of which ICMA forms part.
We look forward to further productive work over the next months within the TG and associated subgroups, and towards the Final AST report which is to be published later this year.
While we believe that the case for T+1 in Europe needs to be weighed more carefully, taking into account the significant risks, challenges and costs as well as longer-term benefits arising from such a move, we are keen to continue to play an active and constructive role in the discussion, both in the UK and the EU.
Accelerated Settlement Taskforce - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
