LONDON (Reuters) – As the United States, Canada and Mexico in May halve the time it takes to settle stock trades, it would be worthwhile to also start a global debate on shortening the time it takes to settle forex trades, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chair Gary Gensler said on Thursday.
Gensler told a conference in Brussels he thought the European Union, Britain and Switzerland would copy Wall Street’s move to settling stocks within a day after the transaction, sometime during this decade.
“Shortening the currency settlement cycle should be on the table as well … It would need a collaborative effort,” Gensler said. Settlemnt of currency trades currently take two business days after the transaction.
(Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Alison Williams)