Improvements to settlements systems across the globe have failed to make an impact on trade failure rates, at a time when the industry is preparing for new regulations that will place higher emphasis on risk mitigation and the importance of a robust clearing infrastructure.

Trade failure rates are as high as 10% in some of the world's equity markets, and 7% in fixed income markets, according to research of sub-custodian banks and their clients conducted by post-trade technology firm Omgeo. The average settlement failure in the major, developed markets, according to sub-custodians, is 2.8% in equities, and 1.4% in fixed income trades.