The direct connection, i.e. without the intervention of Banco de Portugal, of Portuguese participants to the Single Shared Platform (SSP) of TARGET2 (the second generation of TARGET - Trans-European Automated Real-time Gross settlement Express Transfer system) was launched today.

With this connection, the migration of the national banking community to TARGET2 was successfully completed. The migration phase had started on 18 February 2008 (second migration wave of European banking communities to join TARGET2). During the migration phase, Banco de Portugal was the link between SPGT2 (i.e. the large-value payment system with the changes resulting from the connection to the new TARGET) and TARGET2, with banks in Portugal operating in general as indirect participants.

This day also marks the closing down of SPGT, which had started operations on 30 September 1996 as an essential infrastructure for the processing of domestic payments (in escudos until the end of 1998) and cross-border payments (in euros from 4 January 1999 onwards). SPGT was a factor of integration and modernisation of payment systems and infrastructures in Portugal and a fundamental instrument in the transition to the euro.

Lisboa, 2 March 2009