European CSDs Modernize Amid Competition and Fee Scrutiny

Europe’s main central securities depositories and international CSDs are investing in cloud computing, artificial intelligence and tokenization as they prepare for new competition and a push for clearer pricing.

Euroclear, Clearstream, Euronext Securities and SIX are consolidating platforms, building APIs and exploring distributed ledger technology to support both traditional book-entry securities and tokenized assets through single access points. Euronext confirmed it will begin providing settlement services for Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris in September 2026 and will accept Euroclear and Clearstream as alternative CSDs for those markets.

Pierre Davoust, head of Euronext Securities, said market participants trading on Euronext will be able to choose among Euronext Securities, Euroclear, Clearstream or SIX. He added that the availability of multiple providers has already driven down prices for issuers and traders.

Euroclear welcomed the clarification on provider access. Sebastian Danloy, Euroclear’s chief business officer, said a competitive post-trade landscape is important for investors and issuers. He reported that Euroclear holds more than half of assets issued in the European Union and that Euroclear and Clearstream together account for roughly 85 percent of those assets.

The executives disagreed on how much further consolidation is needed. Davoust argued that capital ownership alone does not equal a uniform client experience and that migrating national platforms into integrated systems is the next step. Danloy pointed to current market shares to note that volume consolidation has already occurred, while other speakers emphasized the need for a single-client interface across group platforms.

Fee levels and transparency have become a focal point. An industry report presented in 2025 highlighted wide divergences between European CSD fees and North American fees, and found international CSDs often charge more than domestic CSDs. Roundtable participants acknowledged the report prompted industry discussions and said firms are working to simplify pricing and remove ancillary line items. They noted operational and scope differences between ICSDs, which serve many markets, and domestic CSDs complicate direct comparisons.

Technology upgrades feature in vendor road maps. Euroclear is developing a Digital Financial Market Infrastructure platform, Clearstream is building a next-generation post-trade platform called D7, and SIX has integrated a digital exchange into its securities services business. Executives described plans to run legacy systems while deploying modern cores so clients can access conventional and tokenized securities through a single connection.

On artificial intelligence and cloud, Davoust described AI as a “productivity shock” that can multiply output. Danloy said cloud, APIs and AI are being used to develop new products as well as to reduce costs. Francisco Bejar, head of custody at SIX, said cloud adoption is effectively mandatory to manage data and scale services, while some participants argued core systems for systemic infrastructures should remain under tighter control.

Participants also discussed pan-European settlement issues. The group referenced an outage in February 2025 and called for improved reliability and faster change management on the TARGET2-Securities platform. Several attendees urged the European Central Bank to consider tiered pricing on T2S for certain asset classes, such as ETFs, to support cross-border initiatives.

On digital assets, executives said CSDs remain registrars and record keepers for many issuances and expect continued roles if issuance moves to tokenized formats. Sam Riley, CEO of Clearstream Securities Services, noted that consolidation of platforms can deliver efficiencies in corporate actions, settlement, data and collateral management.

Executives reported ongoing investments in resilience, platform consolidation, pricing reviews and digital capabilities as they prepare for the designated settlement changes in 2026 and respond to regulatory and market demands.