Intraday Patterns and Timing of TARGET2 Interbank Payments

This paper analyzes daily patterns in the settlement of payments in the European TARGET2 settlement system using a unique transaction-level data set. For the first time, we provide insights into the intraday patterns of bank-to-bank payments (a subset of all TARGET2 transactions) and identify intraday periods of highest activity. Next, we focus on the time dimension, looking in particular at settlement delay and its evolution over time. We show the effects of emergency monetary policy measures on payment timing and document the very high resilience of the system despite the financial and sovereign debt crises. Finally, our analysis hints at a link between trading activity on financial markets and interbank payments, showing the potential of large-value payment data for observing patterns and participants' behavior in financial markets