•  Thirdly, the extensive settlement opportunities for ancillary systems provide for greater efficiency in terms of procedures and liquidity and also for greater security. Furthermore, TARGET2 creates optimal settlement opportunities with cross-border access to other systems. The issue of competition is more controversial in the case of TARGET2 Securities.
Although here too, I firmly believe that – owing to the settlement of securities transactions in central bank money on a single platform – we are ultimately more likely to significantly stimulate competition rather than restrict it. Just like TARGET2, TARGET2 Securities represents an integration of the basic settlement infrastructure in Europe. The various settlement markets in Europe are still very fragmented.