Ongoing initiatives
The Eurosystem engages in a number of initiatives which aim to promote efficiency, innovation and transparency and ultimately achieve greater integration in financial markets in Europe. In line with its strategy, the Eurosystem is investigating ways to enhance its financial market infrastructure so that it continues to meet the needs of the market, stays ahead of cyber security challenges and keeps up with the latest technological developments.
On this page you can find information about the initiatives that are currently under investigation. The investigation is used either to consult users on the need for new services or to explore the potential of new technologies.
Eurosystem collateral management system
A single collateral management system that will be capable of managing the assets used as collateral in Eurosystem credit operations for all jurisdictions.
In line with its statute, the Eurosystem provides credit only against adequate collateral. Typically, collateral refers to marketable financial securities, such as bonds, or other types of assets, such as non-marketable assets or cash.
The ECMS will replace the individual collateral management systems currently in use by Eurosystem National Central Banks.
ECMS will be able to rely on agreed harmonised workflows while at the same time it aims to be a catalyst for harmonisation of collateral management processes among market participants.
Furthermore, moving to a single system is expected to increase efficiency in the mobilisation and management of collateral and further strengthen the level playing field among Eurosystem counterparties.
In December 2017 the Governing Council of the ECB approved the start of the realisation phase of the ECMS project, which shall be concluded with the planned go-live of ECMS in November 2022.
The Market Infrastructure Board (MIB) established an internal Eurosystem working group mandated to represent the future users of the ECMS throughout the realisation phase. Market participants will be consulted on matters that affect them.
Fintech
The ECB is exploring the impact of new technologies on financial market infrastructures.
The financial industry is experiencing significant changes due to broader usage of innovative technologies, such as artificial intelligence, big data analysis and distributed ledger technologies (DLT). Artificial intelligence unleashes opportunities for trading and market data mining, among other things. Big data analysis uses large amounts of both structured and unstructured data to extrapolate patterns and trends. And distributed ledger is a record of information, or database, put together using complex algorithms – to ensure the security and integrity of the data – and shared across a network.
The ECB has an interest in new technological developments as fintech innovations could affect its activities in the area of market infrastructure and payments.
As operator of both the payment system TARGET2 and the securities settlement platform T2S, the ECB is constantly exploring new ways to increase efficiency and embrace innovation in its market infrastructure services.
Assuming the role of catalyst for financial market integration in the EU, the ECB aims to ensure that the emerging fintech solutions do not hamper market integration by creating new fragmentation. In addition, fintech innovations may encourage the adoption of innovative market solutions to solve enduring inefficiencies standing in the way of market integration in Europe.
As an overseer promoting safe and efficienct market infrastructures and payment instruments, the ECB needs a solid understanding of how the adoption of DLT could affect the entities it monitors.
The Harmonisation Steering Group has set up a task force to explore the potential impact of fintech on post-trade harmonisation in T2S and collateral management. The task force made up of market experts on fintech innovation, cyber security and post-trade processes.
The ECB is also conducting a joint research project with the Bank of Japan to capitalise on the experience both institutions have in exploring and testing the possible uses of DLT.
- Securities settlement systems: Delivery versus payment in a distributed ledger environment – Stella project report phase 2(March 2018)
- Project Stella second report - leaflet(March 2018)
- Payment systems: liquidity saving mechanisms in a distributed ledger environment – Stella project report (September 2017)
- Digital innovation in financial markets
- Digital Base Money: an assessment from the ECB’s perspective (speech by Yves Mersch, 16 January 2017)
- Distributed ledger technology: role and relevance of the ECB (speech by Yves Mersch, 6 December 2016)
- Distributed ledger technology: hype or history in the making? (article in MIP OnLine, 26 September 2016)
- Distributed ledger technology – panacea or flash in the pan? (speech by Yves Mersch, 25 April 2016)
- IN FOCUS: Distributed ledger technology (22 April 2016)
- Distributed ledger technologies in securities post-trading (Occasional Paper Series, April 2016)