DTCC Consulting Guides Financial Firms Through Market Transformation

DTCC Consulting, led by global head Rebecca Ashton, provides advisory services to help financial institutions navigate significant changes reshaping the post-trade infrastructure landscape. The consultancy combines deep expertise in market infrastructure with knowledge of DTCC's post-trade systems to address regulatory shifts, operational challenges, and emerging industry trends.

The firm emerged approximately five years ago in response to client demand for support beyond DTCC product integration. DTCC Consulting aims to democratize access to high-quality advisory services, offering a retainer model that allows institutions of all sizes to access expert guidance on specific challenges. This approach is particularly valuable for smaller market participants who lack the resources that larger firms dedicate to regulatory interpretation and change management.

Current market priorities driving consulting engagement include:

• Settlement cycle acceleration, with Europe transitioning to T+1 settlement in 2027 following the U.S. implementation in 2024
• Extended and continuous trading hours, including optional 24×5 clearing schedules
• Artificial intelligence adoption across middle and back-office operations
• Digital asset and tokenization strategies

Europe's T+1 transition presents distinct challenges compared to the U.S. shift. The European market involves multiple central securities depositories, diverse legal frameworks, numerous countries and time zones, and language barriers—all complicating coordination. A recent industry survey found that 39% of respondents are actively implementing or testing for T+1, while 49% remain in the assessment phase. DTCC Consulting leverages its Central Trade Matching data to identify efficiency problems and guide clients toward improved same-day matching rates.

The consultancy's scope extends beyond DTCC products, encompassing target operating models, data management programs, process optimization, and change strategies. DTCC positions itself as a member-owned firm focused on enhancing market safety and efficiency rather than promoting specific products.

On artificial intelligence, DTCC Consulting does not develop proprietary bots but assists clients with output validation and shares insights about how peer institutions are deploying AI to manage regulatory and industry change. Extended trading hours implementation requires substantial investment in automation, continuous risk monitoring, staffing across time zones, and balance sheet impacts from overnight pre-funding—making adoption a significant strategic decision.