Euroclear Consolidates Settlement Platforms in Three European Markets

Euroclear has launched the ESES (Euroclear Settlement of Euronext-zone Securities) platform. This signifies the first time that market participants in three EU markets (Belgium, France and the Netherlands) can process all fixed-income, equity and other domestic securities transactions using the same platform. Clients no longer have to pay substantially more to settle cross-border transactions between counterparties in these three markets as they now function operationally as one.

With ESES, cross-border transactions between counterparties in Belgium, France and the Netherlands are processed as domestic transactions. As a result, Euroclear is eliminating in the ESES markets the complexities, risks and excess costs of cross-border transactions as identified by the Giovannini Group, the European Commission and many others in the public and private sectors.

“ESES is an outstanding achievement both in terms of the client benefits delivered as well as its significance as a multi-market settlement platform initiated by and built in close consultation with users. It also marks the completion of the second of three phases in Euroclear’s settlement infrastructure framework for a ‘domestic market for Europe’, which will ultimately cover more than 65% of the Eurotop 300 equity markets and approximately 50% of all European domestic debt outstanding,” said Ignace R. Combes, Chairman of Euroclear Belgium, Euroclear France and Euroclear Nederland, in a press release.