Deutsche Börse: CCP Service Extended To Foreign Stocks And ETFs As Of May - Clearing And Settlement Fees For Foreign CCP Securities To Fall - Introduction Of A Uniform Price Structure For European CCP Securities - Processing Of Xetra OTC Transactions T

As of May, Deutsche Börse will be extending its Central Counterparty service for equities trading (CCP) on Xetra and the floor of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FWB) to also cover transactions in foreign stocks and ETFs. Thus, Deutsche Börse will cut the clearing and settlement fees for foreign CCP securities, which can then be traded and settled at the same low price as German stocks. In addition, OTC transactions on Xetra are also scheduled to be included in the CCP service as of May.

"The expansion of the Central Counterparty will enable Deutsche Börse to boost the efficiency and security of trading in foreign securities, both on and off exchange," said Rudolf Ferscha, member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Börse AG, and responsible for Trading and Clearing Services. "At the same time, traders will benefit from lower fees and a uniform price structure for all securities included in the CCP."

The market efficiency and quality of the securities included in the CCP have increased further since its introduction. The liquidity of these stocks on Xetra, as measured by the so-called Xetra liquidity measure (XLM), has increased by an average of more than 50 percent. For participants, this has meant a reduction in implicit trading costs of more than € 500 million to date. This positive development is further encouraged by the launch of new financial instruments.

The introduction of the CCP Release 2.0 will at first see the inclusion of foreign shares in collective custody from Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, and Switzerland. All exchange traded funds currently listed in the XTF segment will also be included in the CCP service. The number of securities is scheduled to be stepped up in subsequent phases.

So-called Xetra OTC transactions - transactions concluded off-exchange that can be directly entered into the clearing and settlement process via Xetra - will also be included in the CCP as of May. With regard to these securities, as well, participants will benefit from the CCP's efficiency advantages, including the reduction in counterparty risk and the ability to net OTC positions with exchange transactions.