- EuroCCP-cleared equities and ETFs eligible for settlement via Clearstream Banking S.A
- Freetrade first user for several European markets
Clearstream and EuroCCP have confirmed the launch of a new pan-European post-trade connection, making exchange-traded equities and ETFs that are cleared via EuroCCP eligible for settlement via Clearstream.
Analysts say centrally cleared and settled transactions have been in continuously increasing demand across the globe, providing additional safety to complex cross-border transactions. Via Clearstream’s Investor CSD solution, participants can settle their transactions for all T2S markets and the international market within one account, gaining additional liquidity and efficiency for pan-European transactions.
The UK-based investment platform Freetrade is the first customer settling a large range of markets via Clearstream in the framework of this proposal – Austria, Belgium, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden. Further T2S markets are expected to follow in the coming months.
Thilo Derenbach, Head of European Custody Product at Clearstream, said that connecting EuroCCP to their Investor CSD offering adds to Clearstream’s vision of seamless European post-trade market activities, for equities and ETFs as well as fixed-income products. “Being able to consolidate their entire trade flows within Clearstream – CCP-cleared or not – investors gain additional liquidity and efficiency for their cross-border transactions,” Derenbach said.
Other participants agreed that, as a pan-European clearing house with access to multiple CSDs across the continent, the T2S Investor CSD functionality provides a number of important benefits, including operational and funding efficiencies to market participants and end investors. “The addition of European stocks to the platform is a key step for us as we begin our expansion into Europe and beyond,” said Adam Dodds, CEO at Freetrade. “Our mission is to get everyone investing while keeping prices low. Freetrade’s direct to market access and proprietary brokerage platform helps to unlock cost-savings that we can pass onto our customers through a simple and low-cost investment experience,” Dodds said, adding that they will continue to add more European exchanges to the platform as they expand across Europe.
