One could be forgiven for thinking that in the battle to decide the structure of European clearing and settlement, Euroclear has won the day.

The Brussels-based international central securities depository has stretched its tentacles into many European markets. Although its Luxembourg-based rival, Clear-stream, is thriving within the so-called vertical silo of Deutsche Börse, the German stock exchange, it is arguably Euroclear that holds greater sway in shaping post-trade services in Europe.