UK's Stocks Settlement Shift Poses Challenge for Pound Trading.

The UK's plan to adopt a faster equities trading regime, following the US, may pose challenges for the foreign-exchange industry due to the pound's lower liquidity compared to the dollar. Concerns include the risk of failed currency trades, as seen in the US experience. The taskforce leading the transition has been working with the Global Financial Markets Association to mitigate the impact on currency markets, suggesting that firms automate more trade processes to facilitate faster settlements. However, the report also calls for regulators to educate market participants on the risks and for settlement firm CLS and custodian banks to assess whether deadlines can be extended. [Extracted from the article]