What’s happening – and when?
European markets will move from a T+2 to a T+1 settlement cycle on 11 October 2027, applying across the 27 European Union (EU) member states, the UK, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway. The transition follows North America's move to T+1 in 2024, with Hong Kong, Turkey, and markets in Latin America expected to follow in the coming years.
Why is Europe moving to T+1?
The move aims to reduce settlement risk, as well as margin, collateral and liquidity requirements, while using modern technology to minimize the time needed to support those actions. To reach an enhanced custody and settlement process, asset managers and financial institutions are expecting a ripple effect across their securities trade lifecycle, from foreign exchange to trade matching models and ETFs.
What’s different from the 2024 US transition?
Unlike the US, the European transition will involve change across multiple jurisdictions which, in some cases, have their own currencies and market infrastructures. Three differences stand out:
- Fragmented market infrastructure — Europe operates multiple settlement systems with differing deadlines and local practices, rather than the single infrastructure the US transition relied on.
- Multiple currencies and time zones — funding and foreign exchange must be coordinated across markets that don't share a trading day, with far less time to do it.
- A simultaneous, multi-jurisdiction go-live — the EU, UK, and Switzerland transition on the same day, so readiness has to hold across every market at once.
Where should asset managers and banks be focused?
As European markets prepare for the transition from a T+2 to T+1 settlement cycle, industry participants are prioritizing automation and improving processes that remain manual or inefficient. This will help meet the heightened demands and constrained timelines inherent in the move to shorter settlement cycles.
With 80% less processing time, anything still handled manually is where firms should look first — trade instruction, matching, and settlement. We began our own project work in 2025 and are building and testing through to conversion, so clients aren't adapting on the day."
Have questions or need help in your European T+1 preparations?
Contact Derek Coyle, Rachel Fahey or Adrian Whelan.
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