TARGET2-Securities activity in 2022

6 June 2023

The European Central Bank (ECB) has published the 12th TARGET2-Securities (T2S) Annual Report, which covers the activity, performance and main developments of the system over the course of 2022. The report also describes changes in T2S settlement data and confirms the continued operational stability and efficiency of T2S.

In 2022, T2S settled over 181 million transactions with a total value of €184.19 trillion. On average, the system settled 707,000 transactions with a total value of €716.67 billion each day. Compared with 2021, the data for 2022 show an increase of 3.30% in the value of settled transactions and a decrease of 2.91% in the volume of settled transactions.

An important milestone for T2S occured on 1 February 2022, with the offical introduction of the penalty mechanism after the Central Securities Depositories Regulation settlement discipline regime entered into force. The penalty mechanism’s functionalities support the T2S central securities depositories (CSDs) in complying with their obligations under the settlement discipline regime, allowing for cash penalties for settlement fails to be calculated and reported to the connected CSDs and their communities. In 2022, T2S participants paid an average of 1,075,222 cash penalties per month for late matching and settlement fails in relation to their euro activities. The anticipated improvements to settlement efficiency following the settlement discipline regime entering into force has not yet materialised. The reasons behind this, as well as potential adjustments, are being discussed between stakeholders and regulators.

The implementation of T2S Release 6.0 represented another milestone in the evolution of T2S. Release 6.0 introduced a wide range of functional changes and software fixes, including the new Eurosystem Single Market Infrastructure Gateway interface and other common components that were developed for the go-live of the T2-T2S consolidation project.

TARGET2-Securities is the European platform for harmonised securities settlement services that process securities transactions against central bank money. It applies a single set of rules, standards and tariffs to the 19 CSDs across 20 European markets that use the system. The platform processes securities transactions in both euro and Danish kroner.