SIA in partnership with Colt awarded contract to connect Hungarian CSD KELER to TARGET2-Securities
- Value Added Network Service Providers SIA and Colt will enable the Hungarian Central Depository KELER to access the new single European platform for the settlement of transactions in domestic and cross-border securities
- KELER will be among the first CSDs in Central and Eastern Europe to connect directly to the ECB platform
- Recent successful implementation of SIA and Colt’s infrastructure enables KELER to start T2S functional test phase in line with migration framework
Milan and London, March 4th, 2015
SIA, in partnership with Colt, has been awarded the contract to connect Hungarian central securities depository KELER to TARGET2-Securities (T2S), the new single European platform for the settlement of transactions in domestic and cross-border securities.
Owned 53.33% by the Central Bank of Hungary (CBH) and 46.67% by the Budapest Stock Exchange (BSE), KELER provides wholesale services and infrastructure to the players and intermediaries of the Hungarian Capital Markets. It will migrate to TARGET2-Securities 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 value added network infrastructure enables CSDs, central banks in the Eurosystem and the leading banks operating in Europe to connect to the new European platform for the settlement of transactions in securities, guaranteeing total security and confidentiality in the transmission of data, along with the highest standards of reliability, performance and service continuity.
TARGET2-Securities, a project promoted by the ECB which will be managed by four central banks (Banca d’Italia, Deutsche Bundesbank, Banque de France and Banco de Espana), is one of the initiatives for the creation of the single European market following the Euro, TARGET2, SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) and PSD (Payment Services Directive). According to forecasts from the European Central Bank, TARGET2-Securities 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), demonstrating their leadership in the financial services sector, strong network and service presence across Europe and proven experience in the supply and management of ‘mission critical’ solutions.
“The success in the KELER bid, in partnership with Colt, further strengthens SIA’s position at international level and particularly in Central and Eastern Europe where we have a portfolio of around 60 customers. This project confirms SIA’s ability to complete, in a short timescale, innovative and complex projects that permit our customers to focus exclusively on their business. Our technology infrastructures will carry the securities transactions of Hungary, a country with positive economic growth trends in which we are already operating through our subsidiary SIA Central Europe”, commented Gian Bruno Mazzi, Senior Vice President of SIA.
“Together with SIA, we are delighted to announce that Hungarian CSD KELER has chosen our service to connect to the ECB platform,” says Hugh Cumberland, Capital Markets solution manager, Colt. “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 1 will be carried by SIA-Colt, but this is only the very beginning of the pan-European migration process to the single platform. As we continue to invest in expanding our global Colt Capital Markets offering, the services we provide to underpin Europe’s payment and settlement structure will remain a key pillar of what we provide to the Capital Markets ecosystem.”
“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 Ltd. ”With the SIA-Colt support, we will offer regional investor CSD services including standardized 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”, he continued.
SIA is European leader in the design, creation and management of technology infrastructures and services for Financial and Central Institutions, Corporates and Public Administration bodies, in the areas of payments, e-money, network services and capital markets. SIA Group provides its services in around 40 countries, and also operates through its subsidiaries in Hungary and South Africa. The company has offices in Milan and Brussels.
In 2014, SIA managed 9.2 billion credit transfers and collections and 3 billion card payments, 30.2 billion trading and post-trading transactions and carried 326 terabytes of data on the network.
The Group is made up of six companies: the parent SIA, the Italian companies Emmecom (innovative network applications for banks and businesses), Pi4Pay (services for Payment Institutions), and TSP (front-end services for companies and P.A.), Perago in South Africa and SIA Central Europe in Hungary.
The Group, which has approximately 1,500 employees, closed 2014 with revenues of €426.3 million.
For more information, go to: www.sia.eu
About Colt
Colt is the information delivery platform, delivering integrated network, data centre, voice and IT services. Customers include 18 of the top 25 bank and diversified financial groups and 19 out of the top 25 companies in both global media and telecoms industries (Forbes 2000 list, 2014). In addition, Colt works with over 50 exchange venues and 13 European central banks. Colt operates in 28 countries across Europe, Asia and in the U.S. with connections into over 200 cities globally and metropolitan area networks in 47 cities. Colt operates 22 carrier-neutral data centres in Europe and 7 in the Asia-Pacific region.Colt recently completed the acquisition of KVH, an integrated managed IT infrastructure and communications services business, with headquarters in Tokyo and operations in Hong Kong, Seoul and Singapore.
Colt is listed on the London Stock Exchange (COLT).
KELER Ltd, founded in 1993 is owned by the National Bank of Hungary and the Budapest Stock Exchange. Together with KELER CCP Ltd. they form the infrastructure that facilitates the seamless operation of the Hungarian capital and energy markets. As the sole central securities depository in the Hungarian capital market and a specialized credit institution, KELER provides the infrastructure for the issuance of Hungarian securities and for the settlement of securities transactions. In addition to the management of securities accounts for capital market intermediaries KELER performs the origination of dematerialized securities in line with strict security requirements and the issuance of central security codes. The standard management of corporate actions is also part of the central securities depository function. Besides the share registry management services offered to domestic issuers and other ancillary (e.g. dividend payment, transformation into dematerialized securities) services, KELER also offers cross-border securities services including settlement, safekeeping and asset servicing.
Contacts:
SIA
Filippo Fantasia
Head of Media Coordination
Tel. +39 02.6084.2833
Mob. +39 335.1202713
Email: [email protected]
Valentina Piana
Media Coordination
Tel. +39 02.6084.2334
Email: [email protected]
Colt
Paula Muezerie
DDI: +44 (0) 20 7947 1035
Mobile: +44 (0) 785 5301 078
Email: [email protected]
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