When Pierre Francotte became General Manager of Euroclear in 2000, the business was operated by Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of New York under contract with Euroclear plc, the user-owned Euroclear entity.

Since then, Euroclear has grown six-fold in assets under custody, twelve-fold in the value of securities settled and twenty-fold in the number of transactions settled. Euroclear took over Morgan's operating role with the creation in 2001 of Euroclear Bank, the international central securities depository. Under Pierre Francotte's leadership, Euroclear greatly expanded over this period by attracting central securities depositories for seven European markets, as well as EMXCo and Xtrakter, two specialist service providers in the funds and transaction matching fields, respectively, to join the Euroclear group.

Commenting on his decision, Pierre Francotte said: "Euroclear is an exceptionally strong and successful company, which has continuously contributed to the safety and soundness of the financial markets, to the development of the global securities markets and to the creation of a low-cost, low-risk post-trade environment for the benefit of issuers and investors.

It has been a true privilege for me to be at its helm for close to a decade.

I personally believe that ten years is the maximum length of time for a CEO to be leading this company and that it is a practice of good corporate governance to now pass the baton. We have been preparing the transition to new leadership for some time. I am confident that Euroclear will become even stronger and more successful under the leadership of my successor, thanks to the great wisdom and strong guidance of the Chairman and the Board, and the exceptional quality and depth of Euroclear management and staff. I will, of course, be supporting the management transition once the Board has selected Euroclear's new CEO, whether internally or externally."

Sir Nigel Wicks, Chairman of Euroclear, said: "Shareholders, the Board of Directors, staff and clients have many reasons to be grateful to Pierre Francotte for his great achievements during his ten years of successful leadership as Chief Executive Officer of the Euroclear group. His wise stewardship has seen unprecedented transformation in the group's systems and operations, range of client services and geographical reach. He has also built a strong and effective management team and staff that will carry Euroclear forward with even more achievements in the years to come. Pierre's strategic vision and intellectual insight, coupled with his determination and drive, have led to Euroclear becoming a major player in its field. The Board understands why, after 10 years as Chief Executive Officer, Pierre has decided to move on and we thank him for all he has contributed during his time with us."