Connecting EU markets across asset classes

Brussels, 15 July 2025 - Euroclear today unveils a comprehensive plan to establish a true single market for post-trade services across asset classes. This initiative, aimed at enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of European market infrastructure, will support the Savings and Investments Union's (SIU) ambitions and ensure Europe remains the 'go-to place' for investors and issuers globally.

Euroclear's ambitious project will bring a number of significant benefits, including providing seamless connectivity across the single market, encouraging healthy market competition, promoting financial stability and fostering innovation and accelerated technology adoption. To do so, Euroclear builds on the know-how, scale and global connectivity of its unique model: combining the leading international Central Securities Depository (Euroclear Bank) with its six local CSDs in Europe. This open-model positions Euroclear as Europe’s gateway to the world - enabling it to connect global markets, drive innovation and unlock further efficiency.  

Euroclear commits to provide a single point of access to all 27 member states across all financial asset classes – equities, fixed income and all types of funds, by:

• offering both central bank money and commercial bank money access to all EU CSDs by accelerating the full connection of Euroclear Bank to the European Central Bank’s TARGET2-Securities (T2S) platform
• delivering more efficient and integrated services through enhanced synergies between Euroclear’s local CSDs as well as with Euroclear Bank

This action plan will see Euroclear continue to invest in infrastructure and services that contribute to a more efficient single market.

• Providing a pan-European infrastructure for issuers seeking access to a broad investor ecosystem, deep liquidity and cost-effective issuer services.
• Enhancing post-trade infrastructure to channel retail and institutional investment towards equities, mutual and alternative fund products.
• Building on our leading collateral management solutions to enhance liquidity and stability in global financial markets.
• Working with central banks and market participants on the development of next-generation digital infrastructure.

To implement this action plan, Euroclear’s focus will be to complete Euroclear Bank’s commercial bank money access to all 27 EU member states by 2026. In parallel, we will accelerate Euroclear Bank’s connection to T2S to offer central bank money access thereafter.

Valérie Urbain, Euroclear’s CEO, commented: "The key to more liquid and effective capital markets in Europe is through driving market openness, interconnectivity and maximising choice for users. Only under these conditions can European markets truly thrive and remain competitive at a global level. Today, we are committed to making Euroclear the single entry point for all asset classes including funds, fixed income and equities across the 27 member states."

Euroclear has been actively contributing to the financing of the European economy and integration of European markets over decades. Today, as the largest CSD group in Europe, Euroclear holds over 50% of all securities issued in the EU and represents over 60% of EU settlement turnover.

To support these efforts, Euroclear has outlined several policy priorities and recommendations for European policymakers and market participants. These include enabling FMI group integration and regulatory simplification, strengthening open access and competition, fostering legal and regulatory convergence, optimising settlement and asset servicing, scaling digital assets and DLT infrastructures and enhancing supervisory consistency.

Euroclear sits at the centre of the European securities markets while maintaining one of the world’s largest ecosystems connecting issuers and investors. The group serves as the entry point to the majority of equity and debt securities across Europe.

Euroclear has been part of many milestones in the integration of European markets over decades.

CSD group consolidation
The CSDs in Belgium, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom, together with Euroclear Bank, the leading International Central Securities Depository (ICSD), which also acts as the CSD for Irish securities, have been incorporated into a single pan-European group structure consolidating the majority of CSD activity in Europe.

Operational integration
The formation of the ESES common platform – 15 years ago – bringing together CSDs in Belgium, France and the Netherlands has created Europe’s largest multi-jurisdictional CSD platform. This enables the use of one operational account to settle in the three markets and eliminates all complexities and excess costs between counterparties in these Member States.

Full CSD legal consolidation
Today Ireland does not need to have a national CSD. Through the incorporation of Irish securities in Euroclear Bank, Euroclear implemented a unique model of full CSD consolidation in Europe, which could serve as a reference for future efforts.

Asset class integration
Euroclear plays a central role in a range of market integration solutions across asset classes, including in fixed income, collateral, equities and investment funds to facilitate efficiencies and economies of scale in Europe.

A single market for debt issuance – home of the Eurobond
Eurobonds offer a single European market for debt issuance today and with a track record of over 60 years. Euroclear is the leading place of issuance and deposit of these instruments. The Eurobond structure allows European companies to access a vast investor community without having to seek financing in a third country. Consequently, Eurobonds play an important role in the growth of EU markets, the international use of the euro and in retaining and expanding issuers in the EU.

A pan-European DLT infrastructure
Euroclear’s Digital Financial Market Infrastructure (D-FMI) platform, based on DLT, is the first to issue digital native securities in full compliance with EU rules for listed securities. As of July 2025, it is the platform with the highest volume of digital native securities issued in Europe (second at the global level).

Euroclear group is the financial industry’s trusted provider of post trade services. Guided by its purpose, Euroclear innovates to bring safety, efficiency and connections to financial markets for sustainable economic growth. Euroclear provides settlement and custody of domestic and cross-border securities for bonds, equities and derivatives and investment funds. As a proven, resilient capital market infrastructure, Euroclear is committed to delivering risk-mitigation, automation and efficiency at scale for its global client franchise. The Euroclear group comprises Euroclear Bank, the International CSD, as well as Euroclear Belgium, Euroclear Finland, Euroclear France, Euroclear Nederland, Euroclear Sweden, Euroclear UK & International.