SIA, in partnership with Colt, has been awarded the contract to connect Hungarian central securities depository Keler to Target2-Securities (T2S). 

Owned by the Central Bank of Hungary (CBH) and by the Budapest Stock Exchange (BSE), Keler migrate to T2S in the third phase planned for September 2016, and will be among the first central securities depositories (CSDs) in Central and Eastern Europe to access the platform directly. 

SIA and Colt have recently completed the successful implementation of their connectivity solution. This will enable Keler to commence the functional test phase in line with the migration framework.

SIA and Colt’s network infrastructure enables institutions to connect to the new European platform for the settlement of transactions in securities, guaranteeing total security and confidentiality in the transmission of data.

“2015 is going to be an exciting year for the T2S programme. We are proud that a large proportion of the volume of traffic in wave one will be carried by SIA-Colt, but this is only the very beginning of the pan-European migration process to the single platform," said Hugh Cumberland, capital markets solution manager, Colt. 

“I am convinced that we have selected a network solution that best suits the needs of the Keler Group, and thereby we enhance our capabilities and offering to meet the deadline for T2S Settlement as well”, said Gyorgy Dudas, CEO of Keler. 

”With the SIA-Colt support, we will offer regional investor CSD services including standardised T2S settlements, safekeeping and optional ancillary solutions. Our safekeeping in Central-Eastern Europe will be provided by direct CSD links, while our asset and local currency services will be supported by professional partners.”

According to forecasts from the ECB, T2S will be capable of handling a daily average of over 1 million securities transactions, also contributing to a significant reduction in cross-border settlement costs.

SIA and Colt were awarded one of the two Value Added Network Service Provider licenses for T2S by the European Central Bank (ECB).