Custody is, in essence, a service consisting in holding (and normally administering) securities on behalf of third parties. In step with the growth of sophisticated financial markets, custody has evolved into a complex industry no longer characterised by physical safekeeping but by a range of...

This paper is analysing the current national and international regulatory regimes relevant for European banks, CSDs and ICSDs, and is comparing them with the requirements in order to answer the following questions - Is there any overlap between the provisions of the CPSS-IOSCO Recommendations...

We analyse the distribution of the TARGET cross-border interbank payment flows, from both a cross-section and time series point of view, using average daily data for the period 1999-2002. We find out that first, “location matters”, in the sense that bilateral payment flows seem to reflect an...

Shadow banking, as one of the main sources of financial stability concerns, is the subject of much international debate. In broad terms, shadow banking refers to activities related to credit intermediation and liquidity and maturity transformation that take place outside the regulated banking...

The global nature of derivatives markets, and the presence of large key financial institutions trading in several markets across the globe, call for taking a "macro" view on the interconnections arising in the clearing network. Based on the analysis of derivatives transactions data reported...

This paper is organised as follows. Section 1 explains why issues concerning central counterparty clearing houses are of direct concern to central banks and why a comparison of the European and the US situation is of interest. Section 2 provides a comparative overview of the organisation of...

In the context of securities clearing and settlement systems, the nature of governance arrangements acquires a dimension that goes beyond their traditional function in corporate law. They constitute a tool for regulators and central banks to achieve their respective policy goals relating to...