In CREST settlement, which stage follows Stage 1 Trade Matching?

• A. Stage 2: Stock settlement
• B. Stage 3: Cash Settlement
• C. Stage 4: Register update
• D. Stage 1: Trade matching

Answer: (A)

After Trade Matching, the next step in CREST settlement is Stock Settlement. This stage handles the actual transfer of the securities from the seller’s account to the buyer’s account within the CREST system, delivering the shares to the buyer and taking them from the seller. It is the delivery part of the delivery-versus-payment process. Once stock settlement has occurred, Cash Settlement comes next to move the corresponding cash between the buyer’s and seller’s banks, and then the Register Update updates the share registry to reflect the new ownership.