T+1 in the UK: Why the road ahead will be harder than the US playbook
In February 2025, the UK’s Accelerated Settlement Taskforce (AST) published its long-awaited T+1 Settlement Plan, signalling the country’s intent to shift to a one-day settlement cycle by 11 October 2027. While that date may appear comfortably distant, the reality is that the path to T+1 is likely to be far more complex than the US transition that happened last year, writes Kaisha Schnoll, vice president, trade settlements at STP Investment Services.
The US market’s move to T+1 in 2024 has offered valuable insights, yet replicating the transition in the UK is not as straightforward as copying and pasting a playbook. Structural, regulatory, and operational nuances in the UK and European markets will require market participants to navigate a web of interdependencies, heightened coordination challenges, and a diverse regulatory environment.
Different rules, different pressures
The US transition largely unfolded within a single regulatory jurisdiction. The UK, however, must plan in the context of its post-Brexit regulatory environment, navigating evolving divergence from both the EU and Switzerland. On 12 February 2025, the European Commission introduced a legislative proposal for T+1, which will now undergo negotiations within the European Council and parliament. Meanwhile, the Swiss Securities Post-Trade Council (swissSPTC) recommended a move to T+1 on 23 January 2025.
Read what our subject matter expert, Kaisha Schnoll, had to say in The Trade here.
