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Brief - European banks to harmonise costs

Published 14 February 2005 - Updated 23 May 2007
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Banks
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The European Central Bank (ECB) has issued a report on the progress of TARGET2, a system allowing European banks to process transactions through one shared IT platform.

TARGET2 is the short name for the second "trans-Europe automated real-time gross settlement express transfer system". Initiated in 2002, it will update and consolidate the existing system for processing domestic and cross-border euro payments, which was set up at the start of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). 

This EU-wide computerised system for bank transfers is designed to ensure a single harmonised service and pricing structure for large-value transactions, both domestic and cross-border. 

To further the project, the three central banks of Italy, Germany and France are currently adapting their existing computerised infrastructures into one single shared platform (SSP).

The current ECB report looks at the issues that need to be settled to allow all European central banks to join the SSP.

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