Previous objectives reviewed
Over the past few years KELER, the Hungarian CSD, has successfully completed several projects, both on a small and a large scale. What they had in common was that they were mostly market-driven projects, based on changes in rules and regulations. Now that the enhancement of the settlement system has been completed and the changes related to CSDR and SRDII have been implemented, KELER has announced its new strategy, which will focus mainly on increasing efficiency and ensuring a faster and better service to its clients.
Before drawing up its strategic plans, KELER reviewed which of its objectives from previous years had been achieved and which needed to be reviewed. In addition, the CSD has studied the practices of other European settlement houses and surveyed its clients to assess the market needs. The focus for the years 2023-2027 is planned to be on the improvement of operational efficiency, cost-effectiveness, digitalization, and the enhancement of client satisfaction.
The main objective of KELER is the focus on core business areas, to ensure stable day-to-day operations and a high level of availability. Also, an essential element is to substantially increase the level of digitalization and achieve a high level of automation. Besides that, achieving economies of scale and developing a value-creating, value-for-money portfolio of operations and services is also an important aspect of the new strategy.
On the client’s side, KELER’s goal for the future is to enhance customer experience and to be more flexible and responsive to market and client requirements. At the same time, the CSD also aims to develop a competitive and sustainable operational model.
Developments planned for 2023/2024 include the modernization of corporate action services, the introduction of partial release, the extension of CAPS corporate action services for fixed-income securities, and the introduction of the ISO 20022 standard for settlement and reconciliation. In line with the request of the Hungarian SMPG working group, the harmonization of REPO transactions is also in the pipeline.
KELER has already terminated its LEI code issuing services as of April 2023 and will discontinue to provide specialized banking services by 2026. According to the plans, KELER will review the performance of the cross-border service in 2023 and will assess T2S membership too.
KELER aims to start market discussions on new developments in the summer of 2023, and several working groups are also expected to start working on strategic plans and related projects in the coming months.
