In May 2024, North American (NA) markets shortened their settlement cycle from T+2 to T+1 for equities, bonds, ETFs, certain mutual funds, and limited partnerships that trade on an exchange. This SEC-driven reform aimed to reduce systematic risk by shortening counterparty exposure.

The North American experience shows that speed brings both resilience and pressure. For Europe and Switzerland, the stakes are higher due to market fragmentation and cross-border complexity. However, the transition to T+1 should not be seen merely as a compliance burden, but as an opportunity to deliver real value to private banking clients.

For Swiss private banks, managing over USD 2.5 trillion in cross-border assets, even a 0.1% improvement in settlement efficiency translates into billions unlocked for reinvestment.