Securities finance is approaching a defining moment. For decades, the market has operated within defined settlement windows, predictable funding cycles, and liquidity models designed for an end-of-day environment. That framework is now being reshaped by three converging forces: the acceleration of T+1 settlement, the emergence of tokenised assets, and the transition toward more continuous, 24/7 market structures which support access to liquidity and collateral beyond traditional market hours. BNY is already seeing this shift redefine how liquidity is accessed and mobilised across global markets.
These developments are often treated separately. In practice, they reflect the same structural shift: from static, overnight optimisation to a more dynamic, always-on market. At its core, this is an infrastructure question 鈥� not whether liquidity exists, but whether firms can access and mobilise it when and where it is needed across increasingly compressed and connected markets.
This is becoming one of the defining challenges for the market. For BNY, it is where infrastructure matters most: helping clients access, mobilise, and deploy liquidity more effectively, as settlement cycles shorten and market structures evolve. As an established global leader with US$7.8 trillion (source: BNY, as of Q1 2026) in collateral managed, we aim to combine scale and network connectivity with a resilient platform, while continuing to extend the platform towards a more integrated, always-on global collateral model.
T+1 brings that shift into particularly sharp focus. Following the move in the US, Canada, and Mexico, and with Europe targeting October 2027, T+1 is fast becoming the global standard. Its benefits are well understood 鈥� reduced counterparty risk, faster reuse of cash and securities, and improved market efficiency. But in securities finance and collateral markets, the implications run deeper than settling one day earlier, reinforcing the need for infrastructure that can operate at scale in compressed markets.
T+1 compresses the full post-trade chain, such as allocations, confirmations, recalls, substitutions, financing, and collateral movements. It shifts the market鈥檚 focus from overnight processing to intraday resilience. Firms have far less tolerance for manual intervention, delayed instructions, or fragmented workflows. The risks are familiar 鈥� tighter recall windows, higher fail risk, and less room for manual workarounds. However, under T+1 they become far more visible.
Liquidity is not just something to have; it must be available at the right moment and in the right place. This is why BNY is focused on intraday liquidity and has recently expanded its intraday repo offering to pound sterling in addition to US dollar, designed to help clients access funding in real time within shorter settlement cycles. By the end of 2026, BNY aims to add euro as the next currency.
This challenge is particularly acute in cross-border markets. Time-zone mismatches can leave firms reliant on inventory or cash that becomes available only after local funding and collateral needs have already arisen. Under shorter settlement cycles, those timing gaps become more consequential. The issue is often not a shortage of liquidity, but the inability to access it efficiently. In Asia Pacific, for example, extending settlement windows can unlock standard US Treasury (UST) settlement across US and APAC time zones 鈥� addressing a practical challenge for global clients as liquidity needs become more continuous.
That is why T+1 should be seen not only as a settlement reform, but as a test of infrastructure and operating model readiness. It is accelerating a broader need for automation, earlier instruction flows, improved inventory visibility, and stronger ecosystem coordination. Delivering this consistently requires infrastructure that can operate at scale, with the resilience and connectivity to support intraday liquidity and collateral movement across global markets.
Alongside shorter settlement windows, tokenisation is beginning to show where it can add practical value.
For securities finance, the most relevant use cases are not about replacing traditional infrastructure but enhancing it. Tokenised Treasuries, for example, are digital representations of traditional securities, while the underlying instruments remain held within existing custody infrastructures. This model matters, because it combines innovation with the control, resilience, and market acceptance of established rails.
The benefits are clear 鈥� greater programmability, improved transparency, faster and more predictable settlement finality, and better support for intraday liquidity access across time zones. In collateral markets, tokenisation can improve how assets are mobilised, tracked, and reused, helping firms respond more quickly to funding needs and deploying balance sheet more efficiently.
The same principle applies to the shift toward 24/7 markets: the opportunity lies not in creating entirely new market structures, but in making the existing infrastructure more responsive to continuous global liquidity, collateral, and financing needs. Without that responsiveness, firms could face trapped collateral, higher prefunding requirements, and unnecessary balance sheet inefficiencies. The opportunity, however, will depend on integrating these capabilities into trusted operating models rather than treating them as standalone innovations.
At BNY, we are pursuing enhanced triparty and collateral capabilities to support both traditional and tokenised assets on a single platform. Our ambition is to extend this further toward a more integrated 24/7 model, connecting collateral, financing and clearing capabilities across the firm. Innovation should be delivered from a position of scale and resilience, rather than as a standalone capability.
Many of these benefits can be unlocked through the evolution of existing capabilities. That is why the future is unlikely to be defined by a binary choice between traditional and digital rails. The more credible path is integration, combining the scale and certainty of existing market infrastructures with the additional flexibility and programmability that tokenisation can provide over time.
The future of securities finance will depend on platforms that can connect settlement, custody, financing, and collateral management across markets, time zones, and asset types. As a global market infrastructure provider, BNY鈥檚 focus is on scaling established capabilities 鈥� bringing assets into a more connected, always-on liquidity ecosystem therefore enabling more efficient liquidity and collateral mobility across evolving global market environments, rather than forcing clients to choose between parallel models. Our aim is to help shape a more connected market structure in which assets and liquidity can move more seamlessly and reliably.
This is why the convergence of T+1, tokenisation, and 24/7 capability matters. T+1 increases the need for intraday liquidity. Broader operating models improve the market鈥檚 ability to access that liquidity when it is needed. Tokenisation can further enhance how collateral is represented, transferred, and reused. Together, these developments point toward a more synchronised global funding and collateral ecosystem.
For market participants, the implications are strategic. Competitive advantage in securities finance will increasingly come from infrastructure: the ability to connect liquidity pools, reduce timing friction, automate workflows, and support clients in an environment that no longer pauses at the end of the trading day. That requires both investment and collaboration: infrastructure providers, dealers, lenders, custodians, and clients building together towards models that are standardised, scalable, and operationally robust.
As the industry prepares for Europe鈥檚 move to T+1, the firms that lead will be those that can deliver innovation across the ecosystem. BNY is well positioned to play that role, aiming to bring the scale, resilience, and connectivity the market will need.
Image: Greig Ramsay 