Clearstream International and Euroclear Bank have signed an agreement to supplement the existing overnight bridge with a new daytime transaction processing capability between the two settlement systems.
The new daytime link for multiple, intra-day exchanges of securities and cash deliveries will commence next year, and will operate manually until an automated solution is available by the end of 2001, the companies say.
Increased efficiency and liquidity, and the potential to distribute new issues of securities on a same-day basis, will be the main benefits of the daytime link, claim the companies.
The rival European depositories have been subject to intense pressure from market participants to develop closer links. In a joint statement, Euroclear and Clearstream say the mutual agreement to evolve the bridge "is a tangible commitment by both organisations to collaborate more closely on developments that will add value to the market".