Speech by Mark Francis, interim director of wholesale markets sell-side, at UK Accelerated Settlement Taskforce industry event.
T+1 settlement: improving market efficiencyWe are fully supportive of the UK moving to a T+1 settlement cycle for securities trades. Our letter to the Prime Minister on supporting growth highlighted that 'accelerating adoption of securities settlement in 1 day (T+1) … will make markets more efficient'. We also see other benefits arising from T+1, including improved liquidity, better use of capital and the reduction of risks for market participants.The move to T+1 is aligned with our strategic objective to ensure markets function well. It also supports our strategy and wider commitment to strengthen the UK’s position in global wholesale markets while supporting growth and innovation. Throughout the event today, we have also heard the strong case set out by others for T+1.