Which clients will be affected by Europe’s move to T+1?
Any U.S. Bank client with equity or fixed income investments in the European Union (EU), the U.K. or Switzerland will be affected. This applies most directly to our institutional clients, who will need to complete allocations on the trade date. That will significantly compress internal workflows, which is why it’s critical to automate processes as much as possible. 

U.S.-based buy-side firms will face the added complexity of time zone challenges, further limiting their ability to address any exceptions in an even more compressed settlement cycle.

Beyond U.S. Bank clients, however, Europe’s move to T+1 impacts all institutional market participants involved in the trade lifecycle – buy-side firms, broker-dealers and custodians. 

How is U.S. Bank helping clients prepare?
U.S. Bank is taking a proactive, partnership-led approach to helping clients prepare for T+1. In 2025, we stood up a cross-functional T+1 working group to actively monitor regulatory guidance and industry roadmaps, and we’re working closely with our European sub-custodians to ensure they are fully compliant and operationally ready. Settlement is only as strong as the weakest link in the chain, so sub-custodian readiness is essential.

Internally, we are reviewing and optimizing our workflows to increase straight‑through processing (STP) and reduce manual touchpoints. We’re also developing new reporting tools to help clients understand where changes are needed to meet T+1 requirements.

Ultimately, our role as custodian is to combine required infrastructure with a consultative approach, working side by side with clients to ensure they’re not just ready for T+1, but operating as efficiently as possible within it.

How do you drive behavioral change when clients control their own processes?
In our role as custodian, the goal is to support clients with clear data and insights so they can see where changes are needed. We help clients by sharing insights into current performance, highlighting potential risks and quantifying the impacts of non-readiness.

What resources are available to clients now?
U.S. Bank has launched a quarterly thought leadership series focused on European T+1 readiness. The first publication provides a holistic overview of market impacts and key client considerations.

In parallel, we have also introduced a dedicated T+1 readiness website, serving as a centralized hub for insights, updates and an expanding set of FAQs to support clients as they prepare over time.

As always, we remain committed to partnering with our clients to support a smooth, successful transition to T+1.

Once Europe moves to T+1, what comes next?
Once Europe moves to T+1, the focus shifts from implementation to optimization. Firms will look to scale operations, reduce fails and further automate the post-trade lifecycle.

The next big challenge will be global alignment and harmonization around the T+1 settlement cycle. Asia-Pacific markets are expected to follow in the future, and alignment across regions creates long‑term efficiencies. It’s also important to recognize that T+1 is not the end state. It’s likely a stepping stone toward even shorter settlement cycles. As markets increasingly converge with digital asset infrastructure, conversations around T+0, or real-time settlement, is the next step.

That’s why now is the time to look holistically at workflows, from trade execution through final settlement. This requires automation, optimization and future proofing across the entire trade lifecycle. So while T+1 isn’t the end state, it’s a major step in a broader evolution toward more globally aligned markets and real-time settlement.