18/06/25 (Agence Europe) – On Wednesday 18 June, negotiators from the European Parliament and the EU Council reached an agreement on the European Commission’s proposal to shorten the settlement period for securities transactions in the EU from October 2027. The deadline will be reduced from a maximum of two working days (‘T+2’) to no later than one working day after the trade date (‘T+1’) for trades executed on EU trading venues. However, the co-legislators have provided an exemption for certain ‘securities financing transactions’ (SFTs), such as securities lending and temporary repurchases. “The exemption should only apply if SFTs are documented as single transactions composed of two linked operations”, the EU Council said. The agreement still has to be formally confirmed before it comes into force. (BD)