Eurex reported a sharp rise in derivatives activity in March 2026, with overall volumes up 30% year on year to 322.1 million contracts, marking a new March record.
Interest rate derivatives led the expansion, climbing 47% from 117.6 million in March 2025 to 172.7 million this year.
The clearing business also posted strong gains. OTC Clearing saw notional outstanding rise 37% year on year to EUR 53,320 billion, fuelled by an 84% increase in overnight index swaps.
In funding markets, Eurex Repo recorded 66% growth in March, supported by an 85% jump in the GC Pooling segment.
Jens Quiram, Eurex’s global head of sales and marketing, said the uplift reflects both structural and regulatory drivers as the industry prepares for the EMIR 3.0 Active Account Requirement (AAR) reporting obligation coming into force in July 2026.
“Beyond market volatility, we are seeing an increasing number of clients activating previously onboarded accounts in preparation for the AAR reporting obligation,” he said. “At the same time, more clients are scaling their activity beyond representativeness criteria to leverage the cross‑product efficiencies offered by Eurex under the ‘Home of the Euro Yield Curve’ umbrella.
“Growth in the Repo business was driven by strong activity in term Special Repo, benefiting from elevated term trading in EUR government bonds during January and February, particularly in Italian, French and Spanish bonds. The GC Pooling segment also recorded consistently solid term business across the curve, with active trading in the ECB basket in six‑ and twelve‑month tenors.”
