Settlement failures on Express II, the new overnight net processing system introduced by Italian depository Monte Titoli, are being blamed for a 50% plunge in government bond trading volumes.
The new system, developed by SIA, and introduced in December last year for bonds issued by private entities, was last month extended to cover Government-issue securities and shares.
The first serious problems emerged last week when the system rejected 13% of the trades sent to it for overnight processing. This led to a backlog of settlements which has caused traders to hold back from taking new positions in the market.
Giovanni Sabatini, chief executive of Monte Titoli says the agency is working with SIA to increase processing power and stabilise the system, in an effort to clear the backlog and return to normal capacity by the end of this week.