“With the launch of our derivatives market, we’ve set up the first exchange-based energy futures market in Germany in record time”, as the two EEX Executive Board members Christian Geyer and Hans E. Schweickardt said. “Whereas forward products on electricity have been traded in over-the-counter markets in the past, we now have a neutral, exchange-based marketplace to offer market participants.“ Participants can use the derivatives market for futures trading to hedge their positions in the market for physicial electricity. Derivatives trading also gives non-energy-sector companies an opportunity to tap new markets.
The EEX futures market will start out with 20 trading participants from Germany, Switzerland and Austria. The German companies are BEWAG AG, EnBW Gesellschaft für Stromhandel mbH, E.ON Trading GmbH, Hamburgische Electricitäts-Werke AG, RWE Trading GmbH, Stadtwerke Hannover AG, Trianel European Energy Trading GmbH. >From Switzerland, Atel Trading, Axpo Handels- und Verkaufs AG (NOK), BKW ENEX AG and Derivat AG will participate in derivatives trading, as will Tiwag from Austria.
For the first time, banks will also be trading participants, in addition to clearing, at EEX AG. They are: Bankhaus Metzler, Bayerische Hypo Vereinsbank AG, Bayerische Landesbank, BHF Bank Aktiengesellschaft, Credit Suisse First Boston, Deutsche Bank, Dresdner Bank AG, UBS Warburg.
Through the broad-based support from banks and financial service providers, EEX also wants to make derivatives trading available to companies that are not direct EEX members. As a result, banks will also be able to offer these services to their customers. This is intended to enable even broader access to the futures market.
