Europe's plumbers: Keeping capital flowing.

The Eurosystem contributes to making sure Europe has the infrastructure it needs so that money and financial assets can flow safely and efficiently within and across European borders. This paper looks at the latest piece of the financial market infrastructure to have been put in place: TARGET2-Securities, or T2S. This pan-European securities settlement platform brings an array of benefits to the markets in terms of lower prices, more efficient and standardised settlement practices, better collateral management and more competition. But it also benefits Europe's economy more broadly by bringing greater financial stability and making Europe a more attractive place for investors both at home and abroad. With the migration of European markets to the T2S platform over the course of the next two years, these benefits will increasingly come to fruition. T2S, together with the other initiatives in this field that the Eurosystem will focus its efforts on over the next few years, will move Europe ever closer to the goal of a true single market in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]