With just 13 months to go until the UK and Europe transition to T+1, on 8 September 2026, we welcomed over 80 delegates to London for an ISLA Connects Educational Briefing exploring all things Accelerated Settlement.
Hosted in association with RBC Investor Services and Pirum, the event offered an unfiltered view of how T+1 is reshaping almost every aspect of the SFT trade lifecycle.
Key takeaways from the Briefing:
🔹 Fragmentation is the Ultimate Challenge: Unlike North America’s integrated market, Europe is navigating 34 CSDs, multiple currencies, and varying local cut-offs. A “one-size-fits-all” approach won’t work and CSDR penalties mean tighter operational margins and zero room for last-minute, manual workflows.
🔹Whole Lifecycle Automation: Success goes far beyond pre-matching. Firms must streamline everything from recalls and SSIs to corporate actions, netting, and collateral management. The tools already exist, now is the time to adopt and integrate.
🔹The “Adhere or Explain” Mandate: With the UK and EU SFT recommendations under regulatory oversight, firms need to actively align their target operating models now, well ahead of the 2027 testing window.
🔹Collaboration is King: Front-office trading desks and back-office operations must align closely to monitor metrics, reduce friction points, and support counterparties. The industry has previously shown how unified approaches can tackle the greatest of challenges.
🔹Looking Beyond T+1: As we re-engineer our operations for same-day realities, we must also build with an eye toward the future of T+0, tokenisation, and digital assets.
🔹Engage with Industry Partners: Leverage market knowledge including ISLA Best Practices, join working groups, and stay updated on industry developments leading up to go-live.
A massive thank you to our speakers, Emma Johnson (The ValueExchange), Tony Holland & Tina Baker (ISLA), Chris Barrand & Kyle A. Kolasingh (RBC Investor Services), Robert Frost & Zoë Balkwell (Pirum), and Alex Michaelides (UBS) for sharing their insights.
