Yves Mersch: Post-trade harmonisation and financial market integration in Europe Closing remarks by Mr Yves Mersch, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, at the conference “Post-trade harmonisation and the integration of financial markets: a joint effort”, organised by the European Central Bank and the European Commission, Frankfurt am Main, 19 March 2013. *  *  *  Ladies and gentlemen, We have come to the end of today’s very intense programme. I now have the pleasure of sharing with you some thoughts on the main messages that have emerged in the course of today. Financial integration remains at the core of the European agenda. For the future of Europe, it is important that the Single Market project is taken forward with the full determination of all of us, even in times of difficulty. As President Mario Draghi remarked this morning, “in times of severe economic challenges, it is particularly important that our commitment to achieve a truly single European market is reaffirmed”. From the Eurosystem’s perspective, financial integration is of great importance. First, it is vital for the single monetary policy of the euro area: monetary policy is implemented through the financial system, which has to be as efficient as possible in order to guarantee a smooth and effective transmission of monetary policy impulses. A highly integrated financial system ensures that impulses diffuse homogeneously across the whole euro area. Second, financial integration has implications for the stability of markets. Integration results in increasing interconnections and cross-border activity.

We have heard an interesting discussion on the legal initiatives currently being undertaken at EU level to remove the barriers that are hindering the single market objectives. MiFID is being revised to increase investor protection and improve the functioning of EU capital markets. EMIR entered into force in summer 2012, requiring standard derivative contracts to be cleared through central counterparties and establishing stringent organisational, business conduct and prudential requirements for central counterparties. The European Commission’s  BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  proposal for a CSD Regulation improving securities settlement is under scrutiny by the EU legislators; it will enhance the legal and operational conditions for cross-border settlement in the Union in general, and a strong emphasis has been placed today on the importance of its timely adoption. I noted that the majority of the audience saw the need to adopt the CSD Regulation at the latest by the start of 2014, also with a view to allowing sufficient time for the technical standards. The representatives from the Parliament and the Commission have highlighted the importance and feasibility of this objective. Finally, another initiative is in the pipeline to harmonise the securities law legislation, establishing an EU-wide framework for the ownership of securities and increasing legal certainty in cross-border environments. Combined, the review of MiFID, the EMIR, the CSD Regulation and the securities law legislation are consistently building a harmonised legal framework for the whole securities transaction chain – from trading to clearing to settlement.