A prerequisite for the development of a viable international capital market - one that allows investors to achieve optimum asset-allocation and corporations to tap pools of capital most efficiently - is a supportive transactions infrastructure comprising the clearance, settlement, payment and...

In this paper, we examine the barriers posed to European financial market integration by imperfections and frictions relating to the clearance and settlement of equity trades. We first examine the economics of clearance and settlement services, especially issues relating to the competitive...