EUROFI is holding its 2008 Annual Conference on the eve of a Eurogroup and Ecofin Council taking place in Nice under the French EU presidency, at a time when the deepening of the financial crisis calls for further steps in EU financial integration.
EUROFI recommends to define as soon as possible a target for rationalizing equities and bonds clearing operations in the EU through tougher enforcement of interoperability projects or consolidation options and to examine extension opportunities of the T2S platform. EUROFI is also suggesting further harmonization of the legal framework of securities and post-trading activities in the European Union.
EUROFI proposals, formally submitted to the EU Finance ministers will be widely discussed by leading decision makers from the industry, European governments and European institutions representatives during Eurofi Conference.
Securities infrastructures represent a major issue for the European financial integration. The current lack of integration between existing systems means that cross border securities transactions are currently four to ten time more expensive than domestic ones, generating additional costs estimated at around two billion euros each year.
In the absence of agreement on a common model for securities infrastructures at an EU level, competition between the existing platforms and consolidation of settlement through Target 2 Securities have been chosen by EU authorities to reduce extra-costs.
Ongoing developments are paving the way to more competition in trading activities but rationalization efforts need to be carried out for post trading activities which represent a significant part of the extra costs.
European initiatives in this field are not bearing fruit as fast as needed as their implementation is not always stringent enough. At the same time, securities infrastructures are undergoing a restructuring process at a global level as illustrated by recent transatlantic mergers.