This is the first time a common authorization, supervision and regulatory framework for CSDs has been instituted at a pan-European level.

Following the cross-border merger, from today, Nasdaq CSD has joined the pan-European securities settlement platform TARGET2-Securities (T2S), a major financial infrastructure project initiated by the European Central Bank. T2S brings benefits to the European post-trade industry and makes cross-border settlements easier and more efficient.

The merger of Nasdaq’s Baltic CSDs aims to increase the competitiveness of the post-trade ecosystem in the Baltic region and ensure more integrated securities trading and post-trade services for companies and investors in the Baltics and abroad. The legal entity of Nasdaq CSD will be based in Latvia, with local branches in Estonia and Lithuania. Client servicing and local business will continue in all three countries as before.

“A few years ago the Baltic CSDs embarked on a path of strategic change driven by the CSDR and T2S pan-European regulatory and infrastructure initiatives. Today that vision is being fulfilled. Our ambition to operate as a regional CSD under a single license, as Nasdaq CSD, is a natural response to the changing CSD landscape across Europe,” says Arminta Saladžienė, VP and Head of Nasdaq Securities Services and Chair of the Supervisory Council of Nasdaq CSD. “We look forward to leveraging opportunities for smart and sustainable growth, being powered by modern technology, connected to T2S and operated with maximum efficiency.”

“With the consolidation of the national CSDs, the migration of Nasdaq CSD to T2S, the new core CSD IT platform and the start of the operations under the CSDR regime, the Baltic securities market is undergoing one of the biggest transformations in its history. Success would not have been possible without effective partnership with the regulators, central banks, market participants and other stakeholders across the region and beyond,” notes Indars Ascuks, Head of the Nasdaq Baltic Market and CEO of Nasdaq CSD. “We believe that these changes will increase the competitiveness of the Baltic securities market and create valuable synergies for all participants.”

“T2S has played a key role in building an integrated securities settlement market in Europe, increasing the efficiency and safety of post-trade services. Having joined T2S, Nasdaq CSD, along with the other CSDs that participate in T2S, now benefits from, among other things, collateral saving and liquidity optimisation opportunities. I also believe that the consolidation of infrastructures by Nasdaq will bring further efficiency gains for the region,” says Marc Bayle de Jessé, Director General Market Infrastructure and Payments of the European Central Bank.