SIX, through its subsidiary BME Clearing in Spain, is broadening its multicurrency swaps clearing offering in response to the European Commission’s EMIR 3.0 Active Account requirement. This regulation obligates market participants to hold active accounts with a European central counterparty (CCP) for clearing euro-denominated Interest Rate Swaps (IRS). The extended multicurrency swaps offering is currently pending regulatory approval.
To enhance its services, SIX has introduced clearing support for IRS in six additional currencies: USD, SEK, NOK, CHF, DKK, and GBP. This complements its existing euro-denominated IRS clearing services, with the potential for further currency additions in the future. By expanding its multicurrency capabilities, SIX aims to address the challenges of portfolio fragmentation and increased costs faced by market participants.
Alternative for EU IRS clearing
José Manuel Ortiz-Repiso, head of clearing & repo operations at SIX, emphasises the strategic importance of this expansion. He highlights SIX’s commitment to mitigating systemic risks while offering competitive fees and revenue-sharing opportunities to members. Ortiz-Repiso positions SIX as a cost-effective and attractive alternative for IRS clearing in the Eurozone.
SIX’s simplified pricing model is designed to deliver significant fee savings for clearing participants while enabling execution revenue opportunities for liquidity providers. The organisation also offers transparent risk management and margin simulation capabilities, supported by Independent Software Vendor (ISV) partnerships for seamless clearing and collateral solutions.
Broader asset class clearing options
Beyond IRS, SIX provides clearing services for a variety of asset classes, including equity derivatives, energy commodities, fixed income, and, in the near future, crypto derivatives. Its flexible account structure ensures robust client asset protection under the Legally Segregated, Operationally Commingled (LSOC) principle.
SIX also offers specialised partnership programs for IRS and repo clearing. These initiatives provide revenue-sharing opportunities and reduced CCP fees for members meeting specific thresholds, positioning SIX as a unique and competitive player in the European clearing market.
