Brussels, 17/4/2003 (Agence Europe) - The group of financial experts presided over by Alberto Giovannini has put forward a strategy to encourage the integration of cross-border systems for clearing and settlement, concluding transactions on securities and derivatives. In its second report on clearing and settlement, the group has drawn up a list of measures that could be taken to overcome, within three years, the 15 major obstacles identified at the end of 2001. In turn, the report identifies those responsible, whether public or private, for each initiative.
From among a dozen measures, the experts propose tackling the technological obstacles by requesting the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift) to define a protocol common to the different providers of clearing services, a measure deemed a priority by the parties during consultations held by the Commission. The European Central Securities Depositories Association (ECSDA) will be responsible for harmonizing settlement deadlines. National authorities should coordinate their plans within the Council to overcome legislative and fiscal obstacles preventing the free provision of services linked to securities transactions.
'The obstacles must be replaced by a set of technical directives, contract agreements, rules, regulations and legislation', opined Alberto Giovannini in the introduction to his report. He states that 'contrary to certain fears, it is not a matter of implementing a politically sensitive plan, since it is easy to identify within this plan the allocation of costs and benefits; the second far exceed the first'. The group insists on the 'urgency of the measures' and the need to set 'realistic but tight' deadlines in order to carry out the measures.
The Giovannini report and its second annexe with the list of measures to be taken are available in English on the European Commission's website (europa.eu.int/comm/economy_finance/publications/ giovannini/clearing_settlement_arrangements140403.pdf)