ACI-The Financial Markets Association has released the final Report of the Euribor-ACI Short Term European Paper (STEP) Task Force.
The integration of Europe's financial markets is a prerequisite to reap the full benefits of the single currency, in particular by facilitating an optimal allocation of capital across the European Union. The markets for short-term debt instruments are comparatively less integrated than other segments of the euro-denominated money market. The final Report contains some practical recommendations aimed at fostering the convergence of the heterogeneous market standards and practices that currently prevail in the segmented European short-term markets.
In September 2002, the Euribor-ACI STEP Task Force organised a public consultation on the topic. The replies to the consultation confirmed a strong interest and support for this market initiative.
The final proposals and recommendations now published are based on the input of that consultation and the detailed analysis of three working groups composed of a broad panel of market participants. The three working groups, respectively, have addressed (i) the definition of minimum common features for the information memorandum for a short-term European paper wholesale market; (ii) the users' requirements for the creation of STEP volume statistics and primary index; and (iii) the users' requirements with respect to settlement systems.