Post-trade activities

Post-trade management is a prerequisite for a well-functioning securities market

Safe, efficient and well-functioning post-trade management is an important prerequisite for the functioning of the Swedish securities market. The post-trade area includes a number of activities and matters, from clearing and settlement of securities to the processes regarding issues of securities and other corporate events.

Current issues in the post-trade area

SRD II, CSDR & EMIR

The post-trade management of securities transactions has undergone major changes over the past decade. New regulations, mainly at EU level, have emerged and have had to be implemented by the association’s members as well as different infrastructure companies.

Among the regulations that are important for the post-trade area are the Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD II), the rules on settlement discipline under CSDR, and EMIR. Post-trade issues are also discussed within the framework of the EU’s overall project regarding the Capital Markets Union.

T2S

In September 2021, the Riksbank decided that the preferred direction going forward is to use the Eurosystem’s platform for securities settlement, T2S, read more here. If the Riksbank formally decides to use T2S, that would mean that the settlement of Swedish securities will no longer take place on Euroclear Sweden’s current platform in Sweden, but on the ECB’s platform in Frankfurt. That would implicate a major change for the post-trade activities on the Swedish market and the Swedish market would have to work intensely for many years to come to prepare for moving settlement to T2S. Most markets in the euro area, as well as Denmark, currently settle securities on T2S. In parallel, work is underway to achieve greater harmonisation with other countries in the EU in the post-trade area.

The Association’s work

The Swedish Securities Markets Association works with issues related to the implementation of new regulations in the area, as well as with practical and operational issues. Among other things, the Association continuously reviews and adapts relevant self-regulation, informs regulators and authorities in Sweden and at EU level of the Association’s and its members’ positions, and responds to consultations from regulators and authorities in Sweden and at EU level. The Riksbank’s policy decision regarding T2S means that both the Association’s members and secretariat will be working intensely with related issues.