Following a successful pilot, Swift is preparing to launch a service aimed at enhancing transparency in post-trade processing and reducing settlement failures.
Swift Securities View is expected to become widely available next year, tackling one of the industry’s most pressing challenges. Currently, the lack of visibility after a securities transaction complicates the tracking of all steps in its lifecycle across various intermediaries, increasing the risk of a security being misplaced by the time of completion.
This issue contributes to settlement failures that cost the industry approximately $3 billion annually, according to Swift, along with regulatory penalties introduced by the Central Securities Depository Regulation in Europe earlier this year.
Swift Securities View provides market participants with a comprehensive view of all steps in the settlement journey, enabling them to identify trades that are at risk of failing. This includes the early detection of discrepancies between buy and sell instructions, allowing for proactive measures.
The service employs an ISO-standard Unique Transaction Identifier that links messages related to the same securities flow, facilitating automated tracking of both sides of the transaction by all involved market participants—akin to the tracking of a package via a postal delivery service.
Vikesh Patel, head of securities strategy at Swift, states, “Swift Securities View does more than just empower our customers to identify and rectify discrepancies in settlement transactions; it establishes a new industry standard that could significantly transform the sector, much like Swift gpi has done for cross-border payments.”
The pilot program included participants such as ABN Amro Clearing Bank, BlackRock, BNP Paribas, BNY Mellon, Citi, Credit Suisse, Euroclear, Euronext, HSBC, JPMorgan, Northern Trust, Optiver, Pershing, and SEB.
Steve Wager, executive manager and head of direct markets management at BNY Mellon, notes, “The industry’s adoption of the UTI could enable earlier matching, which is crucial for timely settlement, especially as trade settlement cycles shorten globally.”