On 27 July 2026, the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (Autoriteit Financiële Markten, AFM) issued a news update on the publication of detailed rules on the transition to a T+1 settlement cycle (T+1) by the European Commission (EC). Under the T+1 system, the settlement of transactions in listed securities is reduced from two business days to one business day after the trade date. The transition to T+1 affects a large part of the financial sector, including trading venues, investment firms, banks, clearing institutions and securities depositories.
The regulatory technical standards (RTS) for the implementation of T+1 have now been adopted by the EC. The AFM expects market participants to take these rules into account in their preparations and to also make use of the recommendations of the EU T+1 Industry Committee, which provide practical guidance for the implementation and testing phases.
As of 7 December 2026, detailed requirements will enter into force to speed up the processing of transactions. Market participants will, amongst other things, be required to exchange data more quickly and use standardised means of communication.
On 11 October 2027, T+1 will enter into force across the EU. Market participants will need to adapt their processes, systems and agreement with supplies and supply chain partners in time.
The AFM asks market participants to actively prepare and, where necessary, to speed up their preparations. According to the AFM, market participants should:
- carry out an impact assessment and identify any shortcomings;
- draw up and implementation and testing plans;
- further automate and standardise settlement processes;
- assess partnerships with supplies and market infrastructures; and
- improve the quality of reference data and settlement instructions
Please refer to our latest edition of Regulation Around the World for extensive coverage of this topic, which is available here.
The full news update is available here (Dutch only). The RTS can be found here. Relevant publications by the EU T+1 Industry Committee and the European Securities and Markets Authority are available here and here.