The meeting was chaired by the President of the Capital Market Commission of Montenegro, Željko Drinčić, Executive Director of the Central Clearing and Depository Company AD Podgorica (CKDD), Igor Vojinović, and Executive Director of the Montenegro Stock Exchange AD Podgorica, Slaven Popović, in the presence of representatives of authorized credit institutions and investment companies.
"The European Union's transition to a T+1 settlement model, which provides for capital market transactions to be settled no later than the first business day after trading, instead of the current T+2 model, was a key topic of the meeting. This reform, supported by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), is part of a broader modernisation of European capital markets and will be applied at EU level from 11 October 2027, in line with the amendments to the Central Securities Depositories Regulation (CSDR)," the Commission said.
In line with Montenegro's strategic commitment to full alignment with European regulatory and operational standards, the domestic capital market plans to introduce the T+1 settlement and clearing model as early as January 1, 2027, which will bring the implementation ahead of the official deadline prescribed at the European Union level, which confirms the proactive work of institutions.
It was emphasized that the introduction of the T+1 system will bring multiple benefits to all market participants, including faster disposal of financial instruments for buyers, shorter access time to funds for sellers, increased market liquidity and accelerated capital turnover.
The President of the Commission emphasized that the meeting was informative and preparatory in nature, and assessed that activities on the domestic market were already moving in the right direction and that global trends in the long term also indicated a possible development towards even faster settlement models.
The Executive Director of CKDD, Igor Vojinović, emphasized that harmonization with European standards is a priority in the process of integrating the Montenegrin capital market into the single European financial market, and that participants can expect full support from institutions in the process of adapting to the new model. He also emphasized that the implementation of the T+1 system will require amendments to relevant bylaws and a higher level of operational readiness of all market participants, given the shorter deadline for completing transaction activities.
Slaven Popović, Executive Director of the Montenegro Stock Exchange, emphasized that the role of the stock exchange does not fundamentally change with the introduction of this system and pointed out the importance of coordinated action by all participants in the capital market, emphasizing that joint work is the key to the successful implementation of significant reforms, and that this level of cooperation confirms the synergy between the most important institutions of the market infrastructure.
During the meeting, a dynamic discussion was held with representatives of investment companies and authorized credit institutions, who presented constructive proposals and suggestions, with the aim of timely identification and overcoming the challenges that the new model will bring in regular business operations.
At the meeting, it was agreed that all relevant institutions will undertake the necessary administrative, technical and regulatory activities in the coming period so that the capital market industry is fully prepared to begin implementing the new model.
"The transition to the T+1 model represents a significant step forward for the domestic capital market, which will contribute to greater efficiency of market processes, faster flow of money and securities and further harmonization of the Montenegrin capital market with modern European regulatory standards. It was emphasized that this step forward comes as a continuation of comprehensive reform activities, including the adoption of a new Corporate Governance Code, improvement of the legislative framework in the field of capital markets, digitalization of regulatory reporting, improvement of financial literacy, as well as strengthening the administrative, technical and financial capacities of all key market infrastructure institutions. In this way, the Montenegrin capital market acts proactively, and lays a solid foundation for future development and full integration into the European financial market," the Capital Market Commission concluded in a statement.
