The impact of the euro on money and bond markets

The paper provides an analysis of the euro area money and bond markets and their infrastructure since the introduction of the euro. Significant development in terms of integration took place in both markets in general to a various degree for the different segments. However, there remain room for further integration after the first year of Stage III of EMU notably regarding the bond market which lags behind in terms of liquidity, market completeness and overall size compared to the US corporate bond market. Analysis of the barriers to integration, which do not seem to be specific to these markets but apply more generally to euro securities infrastructure, identifies fields where further action is required. This covers (i) the lack of availability of cross-border settlement on a DVP basis, (ii) the lack of standardised legal documentation for repos, (iii) the lack of common practices concerning settlement procedures, (iv) the lack or harmonisation of collateralisation processes between national central banks and interbank operations, (v) the heterogeneity in fiscal and accounting procedures and, (vi) the need for a clearing house.