The connection of CSE and VP LUX is part of the three-stage launch Link Up Markets announced for the year 2009, which started on March 30th, with connectivity of Clearstream Banking Frankfurt (Germany), OeKB (Austria), SIX SIS (Switzerland) and VP (Denmark). The second stage started on June 29th, when Iberclear, the Spanish CSD and Hellenic Exchanges (Greece) connected to Link Up Market’s infrastructure.

VPS (Norway) and Strate (South Africa) are expected to follow in later stages, in this way expanding the geographical coverage of Link Up Markets as well as its scope of services.

Tomas Kindler, Managing Director of Link Up Markets, said: “The connection of CSE and VP LUX marks the fulfilment, on schedule, of the launch stages set out in February. Only 18 months after its foundation, Link Up Markets has become an integral part of the European market infrastructure, enabling the CSDs to deliver immediate benefits to their customers. We are seeing constant volume increase on migrated CSD links as well as growing activity on new business relations, underpinning the competitiveness of direct CSD interoperability”.