OCC Clears New Annual Exchange-Listed Options Industry Volume Record - September 2020 Total Volume Up 65.7 Percent From A Year Ago – Highest September Ever

OCC, the world’s largest equity derivatives clearing organization, announced today that September 2020 total cleared contract volume was 670,994,045 contracts, bringing total cleared contract volume to-date to 5,453,292,830 for 2020 and surpassing the annual volume record for the U.S. exchange-listed options industry. The previous record was 5.24 billion cleared contracts in 2018.

“This milestone underscores how important clearinghouses like OCC are to financial markets and investors,” said John Davidson, OCC’s Chief Executive Officer. “OCC continues to deliver efficient and effective clearance, settlement, and risk management services to our participating exchanges, clearing member firms, and the users of these vital financial markets.”

OCC’s September cleared volume is now the second highest month ever, and up 65.7 percent from September 2019. Year-to-date average daily cleared contract volume through September is 28,853,401 contracts, up 46.2 percent from September 2019.

Scot Warren, OCC’s Chief Operating Officer, added, “Thanks to our colleagues, of whom over 98 percent are working remotely, the investments to enhance our operational and financial resilience are delivering the results that market participants expect of OCC in its role as a Systemically Important Financial Market Utility. This is especially evident with record cleared volumes this year, including nine of the U.S. options industry’s top 10 volume days.”

Options: Total exchange-listed options cleared contract volume was 666,752,804, up 66.5 percent from September 2019. Equity options volume was 632,751,329 contracts, up 75.4 percent from September 2019. This includes ETF option cleared contract volume of 218,812,637, a 42.1 percent increase compared to September 2019. Index options volume was 34,001,475, a 14.5 percent decrease from September 2019. OCC’s year-to-date average daily cleared options volume is 28,605,456 contracts.

Futures: Futures cleared contract volume was 4,241,241, a 29.2 percent decrease from September 2019.  OCC's year-to-date average daily cleared futures volume is 247,945 contracts.

Securities Lending: The average daily loan value at OCC in September 2020 was $73,148,880,384, a 3.6 percent decrease compared to September 2019. Securities lending CCP activity increased by 7.7 percent in new loans from September 2019 with 110,808 transactions last month.

For 2020 monthly exchange market share information, click here.