The impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on post trade activity

Belgium hosts a number of significant financial market infrastructures, custodians and critical service providers, some of which also have a systemic relevance internationally. This article aims at providing an overview of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the business activity of the Belgian institutions that are relevant for the international post-trade sector: the international central securities depository Euroclear Bank, the global custodian BNY Mellon SA/NV and the financial messaging services provider SWIFT. We compare among others the evolution of the number and value of transactions and the assets under custody in 2020 with the pre-pandemic year 2019 to identify what was the impact of the COVID-19 crisis and whether this was temporary.