Digitalisation and post-trade reforms will continue to transform the investment value chain in 2026. But if financial institutions are to stay on top of these changes, they will need to embrace new technologies and different types of operating models. Diederik Geeraerts, CEO, Taskize, takes a look at what the industry should be prioritising in 2026.
The time is ripe for custodians to walk away from their legacy technology stacks, a move that will help them meet clients’ digital expectations and automate their systems in sync with T+1.
“The current legacy systems contradict the direction which the market is travelling in, and the industry realises this. As a result, custodians are either investing in their legacy platforms or are partnering with vendors who can help them improve their operational efficiencies, a trend that is likely to persist in 2026,” said Geeraerts.
Until relatively recently, custodians were struggling to generate returns, which meant they were constrained in how much they could spend on new technology.
However, Quantitative Easing has since made way for Quantitative Tightening, post-crisis regulations are firmly bedded down, and buy-side clients are once again returning to financial health.
These tailwinds are having a positive trickle-down effect on the bottom lines at custodians, with – as Global Custodian reports – the top 10 providers posting revenues in 2024 of more than $40 billion for the first time ever.
“Custodians have seen their revenues increase over the last few years, so 2026 is an opportune moment for them to invest more into their technology,” continued Geeraerts.
Successful change programmes, however, require firms to be realistic about their long-term technology goals:
“The notion of quick wins is becoming more ubiquitous across financial services. A decade ago, the industry was trying to implement big, multi-year IT change roadmaps. Today, financial firms are taking regular steps forward – they might not be the biggest steps – but they are moving in the right direction nonetheless.”
Preparations for the T+1 transition in Europe will continue in 2026.
Over the next 12 months, the strategic focus is expected to shift from conducting gap analysis and negotiating budgets to building systems to support the compressed settlement timeframes, and then testing those same systems regularly until the October 11, 2027, deadline.
Geeraerts notes that firms should ideally be starting their testing by Q3 of this year.
The urgency of T+1 in Europe has not been lost on the industry. “Financial institutions are all too aware that poor settlement discipline in a shorter settlement window will be costly,” he added.
In 2024, Euroclear reported that firms spent EUR 70.43 million each month on penalties for trade fails on the Target2Securities (T2S) platform, and these fines – and their frequency – are at risk of multiplying in a T+1 settlement cycle if the industry’s preparations are not up to scratch.
The good news is that the industry is not short of T+1 solutions. Euroclear, for example, has partnered with Taskize and Meritsoft (a Cognizant business) to develop the EasyFocus+ platform, which deploys predictive analytics to accelerate the resolution of matching and settlement issues by flagging potential mismatches, identifying root causes of problems and fixing exceptions quickly.
Although firms should prepare as much as possible for T+1, people have to accept that some operational processes may still need refinements after the deadline has lapsed. Even today – 18 months after North America shortened its settlement cycle – a Citi study observed that 48% of firms are still running projects to optimise their operations for T+1 in the local market.
“The industry has come to the conclusion that getting ready for T+1 in Europe is not going to be a big bang. Certain operational aspects in the investment value chain will be in a better place than others when the deadline happens,” noted Geeraerts.
A good starting point for any financial institution looking to modernise, e.g. digitalise, meet T+1 requirements, etc, would be to migrate away from legacy email onto the Taskize platform in 2026.
“Email has a lot of deficiencies. It is not always secure and can cause inefficiencies. For example, it can take several hours for a query sent via email to reach the right person, meaning problems might not get solved for days. Taskize’s multi-faceted communications platform helps firms achieve efficiencies through an instant workflow," explains Geeraerts.
In practice, Taskize’s platform ensures client queries are routed to the correct people, allowing them to be solved more quickly. Since using Taskize, 80% of Euroclear’s clients said their queries are either being acknowledged or answered within 10 minutes, whilst tier one organisations said 65% of their queries are normally resolved in two hours or faster. In contrast, just 10% of queries sent via email or other legacy communication platforms are solved on the same day.
The platform’s success means it is well on track to winning its 700th client in 2026.
At a time when the industry is dealing with growing fragmentation, the Taskize platform is an enabler for greater interoperability. “Interoperability is about having a platform of choice which can consolidate different workflows across the back office,” highlighted Geeraerts.
The Taskize platform does this by seamlessly integrating widely used communication tools such as Symphony Messaging and email, allowing operations personnel to collaborate in real time across different systems. This ensures that issues are resolved quickly and frictionlessly, reducing delays and enhancing overall workflow efficiency.
If the industry is to future proof itself successfully, it ought to use the next 12 months to upgrade its legacy technology, start testing for T+1, and part ways with traditional email. By doing so, firms will be well-positioned to navigate the changes and disruptions that lie ahead.