- Central clearing house for stock exchange transactions in securities and electricity products - modern clearing and risk management for a strong and internationally competitive capital and energy market
As the central counterparty in Austria, CCP Austria is responsible for clearing, risk management and the secure settlement of securities transactions on behalf of the Vienna Stock Exchange. Since 2021, it has also guaranteed the orderly and transparent settlement of all transactions on Austria's leading energy exchange EXAA and also offers comprehensive risk management. Founded in 2004, the company has established itself as a key element of the Austrian capital market and energy market infrastructure. Yesterday evening, the twentieth anniversary was celebrated in the Reitersaal of OeKB together with partners, customers, companions and the owners.
Wolfgang Aubrunner, Member of the Management Board of CCP Austria, explains:
"What began 20 years ago as one of the first CCPs for cash market products in Europe has developed through hard work, the commitment of a dedicated team and continuous adaptation to market requirements into a company we can all be proud of. Two decades of successful collaboration, innovation and growth lie behind us.
We have not only helped to shape the Austrian capital and energy market but have also created a broad customer structure of more than 100 clearing participants with our many national and international customers.
I would particularly like to emphasise the innovative strength that characterises CCP Austria - our company is always striving to develop forward-looking clearing and risk management solutions while always keeping the legal and regulatory requirements - keyword EMIR - and the needs of our customers in focus."
Strong partnerships with leading service providers such as OeKB AG, Wiener Börse AG, Euronext Clearing and smart technologies also play a key role in our success. These co-operations have made it possible to offer first-class solutions and continuously set new standards. On the one hand, OeKB has supported CCP Austria with its comprehensive expertise in the financial sector; on the other hand, the cooperation with Euronext Clearing has strengthened international connections, and smart technologies has equipped CCP Austria with innovative technologies.
Kalina Jarova Müller, Member of the Management Board adds:
"20 years of CCP Austria is a period of time in which both the markets and technology have developed at a rapid pace. As a key element of the Austrian capital market infrastructure, CCP Austria offers state-of-the-art clearing processes for all securities transactions executed on the Vienna Stock Exchange. It also offers these services for transactions concluded on Austria's leading energy exchange EXAA and guarantees orderly and transparent settlement through comprehensive risk management. This ensures that the markets are highly stable and secure."
Milestones of the last 20 years
- Foundation and early development:
In the early years, the business model of a CCP was implemented for the securities market and for the then futures exchange ÖTOB. CCP Austria successfully established itself on the domestic and international markets, laying the foundation for future growth. - Authorisation as a central counterparty:
On 14 August 2014, CCP Austria received authorisation from the Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) as a clearing house in accordance with the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR). The aim of this regulation is to increase financial market stability by standardising the legal framework for clearing houses within the European Union. - Technological breakthrough and innovation:
The implementation of a new clearing system enabled us to fulfil the technological requirements of the EMIR regulation on the one hand and internationally applicable standards in the area of clearing and risk management on the other. The new clearing system was fully adapted to the European T2S (TARGET2-Securities) market standards for the settlement of securities transactions, with the migration to the T2S platform taking place in 2017. - BREXIT:
For the period after the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union, CCP Austria has supported all clearing participants in ensuring the smooth continuation of clearing processes from new entities. - Expansion: In 2021, CCP Austria took over clearing and risk management on behalf of the Austrian power exchange EXAA and gained many new clearing participants, primarily energy suppliers and traders. The outbreak of the energy crisis in 2022 and the unpredictable development of energy prices demonstrated the importance of energy exchanges and centralised clearing on the energy market.
- Resilience in times of crisis:
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and the war in Ukraine in 2022 caused extreme market distortions resulting in record volumes on the exchanges. This led to high margin payments for participants. The risk management model implemented by CCPA has proven to be both secure and efficient, with settlement functioning smoothly at all times. - Regulatory compliance:
Due to their important role as market infrastructures, CCPs are in the focus of regulatory audits. Every two years, ESMA carries out CCP stress tests - similar to those for banks - which include credit, liquidity and other risk components. CCPA has completed these very successfully every time. Furthermore, recovery plans were also developed and approved by the supervisory authorities. - Key performance indicators:
The company currently clears more than 11,000 securities in the ccp-regime. CCP Austria is a small CCP by international standards, but has a large number of instruments in its clearing portfolio. In addition to equities, which account for the majority of turnover, bonds, certificates and warrants are also cleared on behalf of the Vienna Stock Exchange, thereby supporting domestic issuers. CCPA processes around 10 million transactions with a value of around 65 billion euros per year.
Future outlook
The management concludes with a look into the future: "Looking to the future is just as promising as looking back over the past few years. We are facing new challenges and opportunities in a constantly changing world - keyword regulation such as DORA, EMIR 3.0, the use of AI and much more. We will continue to shape the coming decades with the same determination and innovative strength that has characterised us over the past 20 years. We will continue to strive for excellence and make our contribution to supporting the Austrian capital market and energy market."
About CCP Austria
CCP Austria was founded in 2004 by Wiener Börse AG and Oesterreichische Kontrollbank Aktiengesellschaft and is responsible for the secure and reliable settlement of exchange transactions as a clearing house in accordance with Section 9 (3) of the Austrian Stock Exchange Act. On 14 August 2014, CCP Austria was authorised as a central counterparty in accordance with Article 17 of Regulation (EU) No. 648/2012 (EMIR). CCP Austria guarantees the secure and transparent settlement of securities transactions concluded on the Vienna Stock Exchange and electricity exchange transactions on the Austrian energy exchange EXAA.
