The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), the premier post-trade market infrastructure for the global financial services industry, in collaboration with the ValueExchange, announced the publication of “Post-Trade Transformation in Europe: Why connected data flows are the key to settlement efficiency,” a new research report examining the operational challenges facing Europe's post-trade ecosystem and the opportunities for transformation as the industry prepares for the transition to T+1 settlement in October 2027. 

The report finds that, while fragmented data and workflows continue to create inefficiencies across the trade lifecycle, the move to T+1 presents a unique opportunity to modernise post-trade processing through greater automation, standardisation and workflow consolidation. It also outlines how reimagined workflows can help address long-standing inefficiencies by reducing duplication across middle- and back-office functions, creating a single source of agreed trade data, automating the flow of settlement instructions and improving visibility across the post-trade to settlement lifecycle. These capabilities become increasingly important as T+1 compresses settlement timelines by approximately 83%, leaving firms with significantly less time to resolve exceptions and operational issues.

Among the report's key findings:

• Settlement volumes across Europe increased 15% in 2025, while failed trades increased 21%, underscoring growing operational pressures. 
• Only 33% of European middle offices have invested in automated SSI storage and exchange, leaving many firms reliant on fragmented data management processes. 
• Approximately 68% of firms continue to rely on some level of manual trade matching, creating avoidable exceptions and delays. 
• Only 62% of firms appear prepared for upcoming PSET requirements, highlighting additional industry readiness challenges ahead of T+1

The report also highlights positive steps toward implementation, with the industry already investing in greater automation and standardisation. Established market infrastructure, including automated trade matching and industry reference data utilities, provides a foundation on which firms can build more connected workflows that reduce complexity and improve settlement outcomes. The research concludes that broader adoption of these capabilities, combined with increased industry collaboration, can help create a more efficient and resilient post-trade ecosystem for the future.

"The move to T+1 should not be viewed simply as a regulatory milestone, but as a catalyst for industry-wide transformation," said Val Wotton, Managing Director, Global Head of Equities Solutions at DTCC. "The research demonstrates that many of the capabilities needed to improve settlement efficiency already exist today. By reducing fragmentation, improving data consistency and connecting workflows across the trade lifecycle, the industry has an opportunity to create a more scalable, resilient and efficient operating model for the future."