Since the successful transition to T+1 settlement in the U.S. and Canada in May 2024, financial markets have entered a new era of accelerated trade processing. The move has delivered its intended benefits — reduced counterparty risk and improved capital efficiency — but it has also exposed operational frictions across cross-border settlements, FX handling, and post-trade workflows.
At F2B Partners, we work with institutions to turn lessons learned into lasting resilience and operational advantage — optimising T+1 and preparing for the road to T+0.
T+1 Post-Implementation: The Reality
– Migration success with persistent pain points. Most large banks and broker-dealers transitioned smoothly, but issues remain in high-volume and complex product areas.
– Cross-border friction. FX-related funding windows continue to create settlement pressure in global transactions.
– Operational intensity. Post-trade teams face compressed timelines for affirmation, allocation, and confirmation.
– Settlement fails remain elevated. Frictions are most evident in less liquid markets and for clients without automated processes.
Key Lessons Learned
🔍 Automation is Critical: Firms with automated affirmation and matching processes adapted most effectively.
🔍 FX Integration Drives Resilience: Tight coordination between trading, funding, and settlement is essential to avoid bottlenecks.
🔍 Front-to-Back Alignment Matters: Success requires near real-time communication across trading desks, operations, custodians, and clients.
🔍 Data Quality is a Differentiator: Standardised client and transaction data remains the foundation of efficiency.
How F2B Partners Helps Firms Optimise for the T+1 Era
– Workflow Optimisation: Re-engineer affirmation, matching, and confirmation for near real-time operation.
– FX and Liquidity Planning: Implement proactive funding and netting strategies to minimise T+1 settlement risk.
– Cross-Border Resilience: Align trading, clearing, and settlement across jurisdictions to reduce friction.
– Fail Management Frameworks: Build proactive escalation and analytics-driven monitoring to reduce settlement fails.
– Strategic Roadmap to T+0: Prepare systems, workflows, and governance for the industry’s eventual next step.
“T+1 was never the end goal — it is the beginning of a new standard where speed, resilience, and data quality define competitive advantage.”
Conclusion
T+1 has reshaped post-trade operations. The firms that thrive will be those that treat it not as a compliance exercise but as a platform for continuous optimisation and future readiness.
At F2B Partners, we help financial institutions future-proof their post-trade operations — ensuring faster settlement becomes a driver of smarter growth, lower risk, and sustainable efficiency.
Is your T+1 model optimised for the next wave of market evolution?
Talk to F2B about operationalising the future of trade settlement.
