Media Release Securities Clearing and Settlement in Australia

A discussion paper on the future of securities clearing and settlement arrangements in Australia has been released today. This paper has been prepared by a Working Group made up of representatives from the owners of Australia's securities clearing and settlement systems: Austraclear Limited, Australian Stock Exchange Ltd, Sydney Futures Exchange Ltd and the Reserve Bank.

Facilities to clear and settle trades in securities and derivatives (often known as clearing houses) are an important part of Australia's financial infrastructure. Maintaining their levels of safety and efficiency at world standards is critical to ensuring Australia's future as a centre for global financial services in the Asia-Pacific region.

Against that background, the Reserve Bank in December 1999 held a meeting of stakeholders in Australia's clearing and settlement systems – for Commonwealth Government debt, other debt, equities, options and futures – to discuss options for ensuring that Australia's clearing and settlement arrangements remain competitive.

That meeting commissioned the Working Group to prepare a paper analysing the options available to owners and users to maintain competitiveness, as a basis for further discussion within the industry. This paper is the result of that work. It analyses a number of ways in which Australia's clearing and settlement systems might evolve over the next few years and draws out the implications of some of the possible developments. The paper does not make recommendations. The content of the paper should not be interpreted as reflecting the views of the institutions whose staff participated in the Working Group.

Interested parties are invited to offer comments on the paper, ahead of further industry discussions which are expected to take place on this issue over coming months.

The discussion paper is available on the Reserve Bank's website (www.rba.gov.au) and hard copies can be obtained from the Bank's Information Office.