TARGET 2 - Banque de France
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TARGET2 is a real-time gross settlement system (RTGS) for transactions in euro, developed and operated by the Eurosystem. It went live in November 2007 to replace TARGET, the Eurosystem’s first generation large-value payment system.
TARGET2 only settles payments in euro. There is no upper or lower limit on the value of payments. The system is mainly used to process monetary policy and interbank market operations, as well as for the settlement of large-value net settlement systems and securities settlement systems handling the euro. TARGET2 also processes the euro leg of foreign exchange transactions involving the Eurosystem.
As TARGET2 is a real-time gross settlement system, payments are settled one by one on a continuous basis without netting. Transactions are settled in central bank money and, once processed, are irrevocable and unconditional to guarantee settlement finality throughout the day.
As the national components of TARGET2 are defined in the European Settlement Finality Directive, all transactions settled and confirmed by a participating member are binding, even in the event of insolvency proceedings, up to the end of the day of opening of such insolvency proceedings.
Key dates
11 August 2014 : Decision of the ECB (European Central Bank) on the identification of TARGET2 as a systemically important payment system (SIPS) pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 795/2014 on oversight requirements for systemically important payment systems.
24 October 2002 : the ECB Governing Council adopts the main principles for the organisation of TARGET2
16 December 2004 : the Governing Council formally accepts the proposal from the 3CB (Banque de France, Deutsche Bundesbank and Banca d’Italia) to develop and operate a Single Shared Platform (SSP). The Banque de France assumes responsibility for managing and coordinating the project.
Avril 2007: adoption of the TARGET2 Guideline
19 November 2007: launch of TARGET2
May 2008: migration of all participating NCBs (National Central Banks) to TARGET2-Banque de France
As of February 2016, 25 central banks of the EU and their respective user communities are participating in, or connected to, TARGET2:
- the 19 euro area central banks
- the ECB
- 5 NCBs in non-euro area EU countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Poland and Romania
Organisation of TARGET2
TARGET2 consists of a single technical platform, shared by all participating central banks. From a legal point of view, each national component of TARGET2 is a separate system; however, they all operate within a harmonised legal, structural and pricing framework. Prices are thus the same for all transactions, regardless of whether they are carried out domestically or across national borders.
The French component of TARGET2 is TARGET2–Banque de France (T2-BF).
Business relations between TARGET2 users and their respective national central banks are managed on a decentralised basis. Participating banks are required to open one or more TARGET2 account(s) on the books of their respective central bank in order to settle their transactions directly [see “Participating in TARGET2”].
Market infrastructures such as CSD, SSS, CCP and retail payment systems in commercial money are all ancillary systems which settle their cash positions in TARGET2 one or more times a day. These ancillary systems are themselves attached to a central bank.
Participants can access TARGET2 via Swift or via internet (in U2A only).
Updated on: 06/12/2018 10:33