Val Wotton, Managing Director and Global Head of Equities Solutions, DTCC.
What were the key theme(s) for your business in 2025?
With the UK and EU now confirmed to move to T+1 in October 2027, this move highlights the industry’s commitment to reducing risk and improving efficiency. Progress in same-day trade matching – particularly in Europe – demonstrated that firms are embracing post-trade operational best practices and technology modernization. Readiness for T+1 remains a shared responsibility, requiring continued investment in automation and coordination, as the cost of inaction is significantly higher than the cost of action. At DTCC, we’ve seen firsthand how automation and collaboration are key to a successful transition, and are committed to supporting market participants as the UK and EU move towards a T+1 settlement cycle.
At the same time, interest in 24×5 trading gained momentum, with 10% of total equity volume projected to be traded during overnight sessions by 2028, according to a recent report by DTCC and EY. While 24×5 trading will deliver benefits such as the opportunity to react to earnings reports and major news as it breaks as well as improving accessibility for global investors to trade at more convenient times, the move also introduces new challenges – funding, liquidity, operational and resiliency readiness – that demand innovative thinking and cross-industry collaboration. DTCC’s planned expansion of clearing windows in Q2 2026 will help to enable the move to 24×5 trading hours while building flexibility into core processes to support increased trading, liquidity management and risk mitigation in a near-continuous environment.
We believe tokenization will be a key enabler of a new digital asset ecosystem, offering the potential to unlock true 24×7 access and mobility, enhanced liquidity, and new trading modalities while leveraging smart contracts to enforce compliance and automate complex business processes. DTCC subsidiary The Depository Trust Company (DTC) recently received a No-Action Letter from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to offer a new service to tokenize real-world, DTC-custodied assets in a controlled production environment. With this approval we are now advancing tokenization efforts with our clients and the industry, with the aim of bridging today’s markets with tomorrow’s digital ecosystem. The evolution could redefine market access, liquidity, and transparency on a global scale.
Shorter settlement cycles, 24×5 trading and asset tokenization are not isolated initiatives; they are part of a global move to enhance efficiency and mitigate risk while advancing innovation across the financial services industry. Collaboration, across market participant firms, regulators, and key stakeholders – as well as robust infrastructure and post-trade solutions are critical as these initiatives advance and shape the markets of the future.
What are your expectations for 2026?
2026 will be a critical year for Europe’s transition to T+1 settlement. The European Union, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and the UK have all set October 11, 2027, as their go-live date. The 2024 move to T+1 in the US provides insights for a successful transition, but Europe’s fragmented market structure creates unique challenges for market participants. Successful T+1 preparation across the region demands automation. Manual interventions and bottlenecks in post-trade processes need to be addressed to enable same-day trade allocation and confirmation.
2026 will also be a crucial year in readiness for T+1. Firms that invest in straight-through processing, modernized architecture and testing with infrastructure providers will emerge not only as regulatory compliant but will also benefit from the capabilities and efficiencies that automation provides. While preparations should now be well under way, it’s not too late for market participants to ensure readiness for Europe’s move to T+1.
Global markets are also undergoing huge transformations in the front office, with major exchanges actively exploring 24×5 trading. DTCC continues to work closely with exchanges, regulators, and industry partners to ensure a smooth, phased transition to 24×5 trading. These efforts not only address today’s needs but also lay the foundation for a future transition to 24×7 trading as industry infrastructure and regulatory frameworks evolve. While continuous trading rests with the exchanges, DTCC stands ready in 2026 to support overnight trading windows. From Q2 2026, DTCC’s equities clearing subsidiary will increase clearing hours, subject to regulatory review and approval.
With modernization as a top priority across financial services, what does effective transformation look like today?
When financial services firms think about modernization today, many are focused on ensuring we continue to advance a resilient, scalable, and interoperable ecosystem that can adapt to rapid market changes while maintaining trust and stability. Effective transformation goes beyond incremental improvements — it requires new approaches and sometimes new technologies such as APIs, cloud computing, and blockchain to streamline processes, enhance transparency, and reduce risk. These innovations enable greater automation, real-time data exchange, asset tokenization and improved efficiency across the post-trade lifecycle, helping firms meet growing demands for speed and accuracy especially as the industry moves toward capabilities like 24×5 trading.
At the same time, modernization efforts must prioritize operational resilience and cybersecurity to continue to safeguard the integrity of global markets. Collaboration across the industry is also essential to establish common standards for efficient data exchange, technology integration and interoperability between market participants, ensuring that new solutions work seamlessly across participants and jurisdictions. At DTCC, we view modernization and transformation as a continuous journey — balancing innovation with reliability to deliver measurable industry benefits, such as improved settlement efficiency through capabilities like partial settlement. These advancements demonstrate real value by reducing risk, optimizing liquidity, and strengthening market stability as we prepare the financial ecosystem for the future.
