Initial Situation
CCP Austria was founded in 2004 resulting the merger of the cash market clearing, which was established in 1949 by Oesterreichische Kontrollbank AG as a Clearing House for exchange transactions, and the clearing of the derivative market carried out since 1991 by Wiener Börse AG. Since August 14, 2014, CCP Austria has been granted authorization under the European Markets Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) and is subject to the supervision of Austria’s Competent Authority 'Finanzmarktaufsicht' (FMA). CCP Austria complies with all publication obligations pursuant to EMIR on its website www.ccpa.at.
In order to meet the stringent requirements of regulations such as EMIR, IOSCO etc. and to represent its position in Europe, CCP Austria is a member of the European Association of Clearing Houses (EACH; http://www.eachccp.eu) and represented in various working committees (Legal, Policy, Risk).
Strategic Orientation of CCPA
CCPA is managed as a streamlined and cost-efficient company. The association has positioned itself as the company for clearing and risk management in Austria and, together with the other Financial Market Infrastructures Wiener Börse AG and OeKB CSD GmbH, supports the ongoing internationalization of the Austrian Capital Market.
By intensifying customer relationships, CCP Austria offers tailor-made solutions pursuant to our GTC and regulatory framework for various topics regarding clearing and risk management. In our interest and in the interests of our Clearing Particiants, we are continuously engaged in the further development of services and processes related to clearing and risk management.
CCPA sees itself as a customer-oriented company whose service is the clearing and the management of all relevant risks. In the course of the clearing process of security transactions, CCP Austria assumes the execution and default risk of over 99.9% of all transactions of Vienna Stock Exchange.
Strategy of CCPA
As Financial Market Infrastructure, CCP Austria guarantees a proper and transparent handling of transactions concluded at Wiener Börse AG and EXAA. Utilizing a modern clearing system, CCP Austria contributes to a strong and internationally competitive domestic capital market. CCP Austria is an indirect participant in the settlement system T2S provided by the Eurosystem, which enables the settlement of the cash and unit balances.
Business Objectives of CCPA
- Provision of a secure, efficient and effective infrastructure for the clearing of securities and electricity spot market transactions in Austria
- by utilizing appropriate technological products and complying with international standards and regulations
- Ongoing compliance with all regulatory and legal requirements for a CCP
- ESMA Stress tests
- Reduction of systemic risk and increase of transparency
- by acting as central counterparty for security and electricity spot market transactions
- Harmonisation of clearing and settlement practices among the leading European markets
- by taking into account international market standards
- Simplification of process chains in clearing
- by incorporating the involved systems and using standardized interfaces
- Cost awareness as regards CCP Austria and Clearing Participants in all process chains of clearing
- Ongoing expansion of the already wide range of cleared securities categories
- around 12,000 ISIN
- Stocks, bonds, warrants, certificates and funds
- around 550 internationally listed stocks from 19 different home markets
CCPs as an opportunity to develop capital markets
Central Counterparties (CCPs) and regulatory requirements are a broadly discussed topic in the financial world. Following the global financial crisis in 2008 and 2009, CCPs have increasingly become a standard for most developed capital markets. It's the regional and smaller capital markets who currently need to decide if introducing a CCP has the potential to unlock access to international trading activity. This might provide a chance to establish a more modern market infrastructure, an increase of liquidity and access to capital to fuel the financing of future growth. The Exchange Operating Company Wiener Börse AG has published a White Paper regarding this topic.
White Paper (PDF 1 MB)
