Crest looks at deferral

EXECUTIVES running Britain's new electronic share settlement system, Crest, yesterday denied the system was in crisis but confirmed…

EXECUTIVES running Britain's new electronic share settlement system, Crest, yesterday denied the system was in crisis but confirmed they will review the April deadline for a full transition to the new paperless regime.

Four months after Crest was first used to settle trades in a selected number of shares, CrestCo chief executive Mr Iain Saville responded to reports of delays and inefficiencies in the system and said most users were coping with the transition quite well. He said only a few were having difficulties either because of inadequate software or lack of expertise.