TARGET2-Securities (T2S)
TARGET2-Securities, or T2S, is the Eurosystem platform that settles securities transactions in central bank money. Securities and cash change hands at the same moment, a method called delivery versus payment. Banks and brokers keep their securities accounts at a central securities depository and their cash accounts at a central bank, and T2S moves both in one step.
According to the European Central Bank, 24 central securities depositories from 23 European countries are connected to T2S, which settles in euro and Danish krone. On an average day about 800,000 securities transactions settle on the platform. A bank reaches all of these markets through a single settlement platform with one set of rules.
What is TARGET2-Securities?
T2S is a settlement engine that works on behalf of the connected depositories. The central securities depository, or CSD, keeps the record of who owns a security, provides custody and pays out dividends and interest. It sends its settlement instructions to T2S, and the national central bank holds the dedicated cash account that T2S debits and credits. Participants usually reach the platform through their CSD or central bank and exchange ISO 20022 messages.
T2S also gives credit during the day. With auto-collateralization, a buyer without enough cash receives central bank credit against eligible securities, so the trade can settle instead of waiting. Partial settlement lets part of a large instruction settle when only some of the securities are available, and optimization algorithms search for chains of instructions that settle together.
T2S platform: launch and operation
T2S went live on 22 June 2015 with the depositories of Malta, Greece, Romania and Switzerland, according to the Deutsche Bundesbank. Italy followed on 31 August 2015, and further waves moved the remaining markets until February 2017. Clearstream Banking AG, the German CSD, is one of the connected depositories.
Four central banks built the platform and operate it together: the Deutsche Bundesbank, the Banque de France, the Banca d'Italia and the Banco de España. T2S belongs to the TARGET Services of the Eurosystem, next to T2 for large-value payments and TIPS for instant payments, and it shares their liquidity and collateral management.
T2S calendar and closing days
T2S settles transactions on every business day from Monday to Friday. For euro settlement it is closed on 1 January, Good Friday, Easter Monday, 1 May, 25 December and 26 December. Banks plan the intended settlement date of every euro trade around these six days, because no delivery versus payment in euro takes place on them.
T2S fees and EU bonds
The Eurosystem charges EUR 0.195 for each delivery-versus-payment instruction, plus a temporary surcharge of EUR 0.04 per instruction that applies since 1 January 2019, as listed by the ECB. The European Commission settles the bonds it issues for the EU and Euratom through T2S as part of its EU Issuance Service.
T2S, Pontes and settlement on DLT
On 21 September 2026 the Eurosystem launched Pontes, which links distributed ledger platforms with TARGET Services. Wholesale trades in tokenized assets can now settle their cash leg in central bank money while the securities stay on the ledger. Ledger Insights names Clearstream among the four DLT operators connected at launch.
For tokenized securities this closes a gap that T2S alone does not cover, because T2S settles only securities held at a connected CSD.
Upcoming events on securities settlement and market infrastructure
Is T2S a central securities depository?
No, T2S settles transactions, while custody and asset servicing stay with the CSD that holds the securities account. A participant needs an account at a connected CSD and a dedicated cash account at a connected central bank.
Which currencies does T2S settle?
T2S settles in euro and in Danish krone. Another currency can join when its central bank connects to T2S and offers the currency on the platform.
When did T2S start?
T2S went live on 22 June 2015, and the last migration wave of the connected markets followed in February 2017.
TARGET2-Securities and Finance Loop
Finance Loop covers T2S and securities settlement in its Investment & Digital Assets track, and the link between DLT platforms and central bank money in its Payments & Digital Money track. Finance Loop brings people from banks, central banks and market infrastructures together at events in Frankfurt, the seat of the ECB and the Bundesbank, and in Munich, Berlin and Hamburg.
Finance Loop is a professional network and has the goal of driving the institutional use of emerging technologies in finance, such as AI, digital payments, cloud and blockchain solutions. Finance Loop helps its members build skills and personal networks in these fields: Investment & Digital Assets, Payments & Digital Money, Digital Infrastructure & Sovereignty, and Risk & Compliance.