BME implements new reform to Spain’s securities settlement system
17 March 2025 Spain
Image: ake1150/stock.adobe.com
Bolsas y Mercados Españoles (BME), the Spanish stock exchange, has announced a significant reform to the region’s securities settlement system.
Coordinated by Iberclear, Spain’s central securities depository (CSD), the entry of a new settlement model aims to improve efficiency and prepare for the T+1 settlement cycle by 2027.
The reform also marks a new milestone in the harmonisation of the Spanish market with European standards.
The new settlement process has come into force following the approval of Law 6/2023 on 17 March, on Securities Markets and Investment Services, and Royal Decree 814/2023 on 8 November.
The law includes the elimination of the obligation for the CSD to have an Information System for the supervision of trading, clearing, settlement, and registration of negotiable securities (Post-Trading Interface), as a mandatory element for the traceability of operations on negotiable securities from trading to final settlement.
The removal of this Information System is “one of the most significant structural changes”, as it eliminates the need to simultaneously link the management of the registry with the settlement process, “significantly reducing” operational risks and costs associated with post-trade processes, according to the BME.
This change aims to increase efficiency in the settlement of securities, simplifying and streamlining operational processes, and reducing the volume of failed operations on their theoretical settlement date.
Commenting on the change, José Manuel Ortiz, head Securities Services ad interim at SIX, says: “The implementation of this reform has been a joint effort of the entire industry. The collaboration and commitment of all stakeholders have been key to the success of the project, as well as the involvement and participation of the CNMV.
“We are very satisfied with the boost to the efficiency and competitiveness of the Spanish capital markets and their settlement system that this reform brings.”
Coordinated by Iberclear, Spain’s central securities depository (CSD), the entry of a new settlement model aims to improve efficiency and prepare for the T+1 settlement cycle by 2027.
The reform also marks a new milestone in the harmonisation of the Spanish market with European standards.
The new settlement process has come into force following the approval of Law 6/2023 on 17 March, on Securities Markets and Investment Services, and Royal Decree 814/2023 on 8 November.
The law includes the elimination of the obligation for the CSD to have an Information System for the supervision of trading, clearing, settlement, and registration of negotiable securities (Post-Trading Interface), as a mandatory element for the traceability of operations on negotiable securities from trading to final settlement.
The removal of this Information System is “one of the most significant structural changes”, as it eliminates the need to simultaneously link the management of the registry with the settlement process, “significantly reducing” operational risks and costs associated with post-trade processes, according to the BME.
This change aims to increase efficiency in the settlement of securities, simplifying and streamlining operational processes, and reducing the volume of failed operations on their theoretical settlement date.
Commenting on the change, José Manuel Ortiz, head Securities Services ad interim at SIX, says: “The implementation of this reform has been a joint effort of the entire industry. The collaboration and commitment of all stakeholders have been key to the success of the project, as well as the involvement and participation of the CNMV.
“We are very satisfied with the boost to the efficiency and competitiveness of the Spanish capital markets and their settlement system that this reform brings.”
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