Piero Cipollone: Next-day securities settlement, tokenisation and the transformation of Europe’s financial infrastructure

Although the remarks are not binding, they matter for firms planning settlement-cycle changes, digital asset strategies and cross-border operating models. Compliance teams should treat this as an early signal: map exposure to a potential EU/EEA T+1 migration, review settlement risk controls, client disclosure, reconciliation, FX funding and collateral processes, and assess how tokenised securities or DLT-based settlement could affect custody, legal certainty and operational resilience. Actionable next steps include a gap assessment against T+1 readiness, engagement with industry working groups and ECB/ESMA consultations, vendor and CSD due diligence, and governance over tokenisation pilots.

Firms should also consider DORA and outsourcing obligations, cyber and interoperability risks, and the need for clear legal opinions on digital asset ownership. Opportunities exist for early movers that can offer faster settlement, improved collateral mobility and tokenised product capabilities, but only with robust controls and regulatory engagement. RegCanary will monitor follow-up policy signals and implementation timelines.