Becoming a Clearing Member

The main application form is the "Application for the Granting of a Clearing Licence of Eurex Clearing AG", there will be additional forms to complete depending on the cash, securities and settlement accounts you wish to set up.

In terms of legal agreements, there are three main agreements a Clearing Member (CM) will enter into:

• Clearing agreement
  This forms the legal basis of the relationships and obligations of the CM and Eurex Clearing.
• Pledge agreement
  This is only used if the CM is pledging securities in order to meet margin requirement. It is essentially to ensure the enforceability of a pledge in a default situation. One pledge agreement covers all securities accounts.
• Securities trust agreement
  This is only used if a CM would like to offer their clients our ISA model, using securities collateral. It is only applicable to some jurisdictions. It was created to ensure that Eurex Clearing's rules and conditions (created under a German legal framework) in a default situation are enforceable under the local jurisdiction’s insolvency laws. It just needs to be executed once, creating an aggregated security trustee claim to cover all past and future securities deposits under the ISA.

Eurex Clearing will also need to carry out know your customer (KYC) checks. Eurex Clearing is able to collect  part of the evidences needed for these checks independently.

In order to simplify the KYC review for multiple business relations with Group Deutsche Börse (GDB) entities, submitting the “Letter of Consent” is recommended. The Letter of Consent enables entities of Deutsche Börse Group to share KYC documents between group entities. This decreases the administrative burdens for our customers – e.g. a DC Market Participant of Eurex Clearing and a Eurex Trading Member will only have to provide the KYC documents once to Eurex Clearing AG rather than sending the documentation twice.

If applicants are located in the EAA then usually  they will just need to provide a sanctions compliance form and an up-to-date signatory list.

The corner stone of a Clearing House's integrity is the ability to manage the default of its members. Eurex Clearing has put in place a robust default management procedure to deal with such market events. We have a dedicated section of our website if you wish to learn more about our default management procedures, however there are in general three main responsibilities that have to meet to become a Clearing Member as further outlined below.

For ISA Direct Clearing Memberships default management commitments are provided by the Clearing Agent and are described in detail under “ISA Direct Clearing Memberships”.

Default Fund (DF)

Eurex Clearing requests all members to contribute to the default fund which can be provided either in cash (EUR, CHF or GBP) or eligible securities.

DF contributions (DF minimum) are initially provided to Eurex Clearing when a CM applies for their first clearing license. No further minimum contributions are required when applying for additional clearing licenses. DF requirements are continuously monitored. However, it should be noted that due to the dynamic component of the DF calculation, a higher margin requirement due to increased volumes usually results in a request for further contributions.

Eurex Clearing is usually reviewing the DF requirements on a monthly sequence and thus updates the CM's DF contribution requirement to be provided by the CM.

For further information on the Default Fund click here.

DMP (Default Management Process) coordinator
Members are required to nominate a DMP coordinator. The DMP coordinator is contacted by Eurex Clearing in case of a default. It is the responsibility of the DMP coordinator to distribute all DMP-related information to the relevant persons within their organisation.

Participation in Auctions
Clearing Members (resp. CA on behalf of its IDCM) also have mandatory bidding obligations in the event of default auction. Please see the relevant section of the website for more information on these obligations.

Eurex Clearing requires a confirmation from the relevant supervisory authority that the company is supervised and that this license covers the provision of credit to customers in relation to transactions and the receipt of collateral as cash or securities (applicable to CMs which act as CM for Disclosed Clients). There might be further regulatory evidences which need to be provided depending on the residence of the applicant.

Eurex Clearing requires proof of the applicant's capital adequacy. Proof is provided by scanned copy of the return the CM would usually provide to its regulator, so providing evidence is a straightforward process.

The capital requirement of Eurex Clearing depends on the market. Capital requirements are additive, for example if the applicant applies for Eurex and OTC IRD GCM clearing licence they must provide proof of EUR 30mn + EUR 30mn = EUR 60mn.

The highest of the below

• 20 percent of the 30-day average of the initial margin requirements or
• 20 percent of the 250-day average of the initial margin requirements or the
• minimum capital requirements as below table

_{* For Investment Funds, Mutual Funds, Insurance Pools, and Pension Funds capital requirements are based on their assets under management for which, in deviation of the above, a minimum of EUR 100 million is applicable.}

_{** n/a for ISA Direct Light License Holders}

_{*** For FCMs, only Eurex OTC IRD Clear}

Clearing Members are required to have the following cash, collateral and technical/operational infrastructure:

• GBP, CHF or EUR* cash account for margin settlement (eligible payment banks)
• A USD cash account for late margin calls (this is not mandatory but highly recommended)
• The applying Clearing Member can provide evidence of a securities collateral account held at (International) Central Securities Depository (I)CSD) recognized by Eurex Clearing (further information on collateral management). 
• If trading certain Eurex or Xetra products, securities settlement accounts are needed. This account can be owned by the CM or in the name of a third party. Please visit our delivery management section of the website for more information.
• Members will also require technical connectivity to the relevant GUIs and reports/messages. They will have a dedicated technical key account manager to help them with the set up.
• Clearing Members and ISA Direct Clearing Members for Eurex OTC Clear have to be connected to an Approved Trade Source (ATS) connected to Eurex Clearing

As we strive to maintain high qualification levels of clearing firms for reasons of clearing house integrity, it is required to register at least one "Qualified Clearing Staff" (QCS) in the back-office with Eurex Clearing.
The Clearing Member has the following possibilities to provide proof of the qualification of the staff member that shall be in QCS:

• The Compliance Officer of the Clearing Member confirms the respective knowledge of the staff member, or
• The staff member has passed the Clearer Test (Basic Module), or
• The staff member has passed the exam for the Certified Clearing Specialist, or
• The staff member has attended the Core Clearing Knowledge seminar.

Please see the QBO/QCS information memorandum for further details on how to register Qualified Clearing staff and how to book a Clearer Test.

If the Clearing Member is outsourcing its clearing, back office or risk management functions to an Insourcer, either the Clearing Member or the Insourcer has to have a QCS.