Monte Titoli, the central securities depository in Italy, has opened an electronic link with The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation's (DTCC) depository in the US, in a bid to simplify cross-border settlement between Italy and the United States.
The link, which went live on 2 May , will initially allow investors in Italy to settle share trades in 67 US stocks traded on various Italian trading systems which are reported to Monte Titoli for clearance and settlement. Payment for shares traded will be handled outside the respective securities settlement systems.
The hook up allows electronic movement of securities rather than requiring movement of physical certificates, and in some cases can handle full delivery versus payment settlement.
The communications link is based on the European Central Securities Depository Association (ECSDA) protocol developed for linking CSDs using the ISO15022 message standards.
Giovanni Sabatini, CEO of Monte Titoli, says: "This new link will allow us to lower the costs for Italians who wish to buy or sell US stocks, which we believe will make for a more active Italian market in those shares as well as enabling our participants to transfer US securities from/to U.S.A. in real-time."
Jeffrey Smith, managing director, DTCC's international division, comments: "As the trading in US shares increases internationally, we will continue to build links to central securities depositories around the world to lower costs and streamline the steps involved in cross-border trading processing."