ANALYSIS: Eurex chiefs discuss role of exchange in uncertain markets
26th February, 2025|Luke Jeffs
The heads of Eurex and Eurex Clearing have discussed the role the German exchange can play in helping clients navigate the current geopolitical and macro-economic uncertainties, highlighting capital efficiencies.
Speaking at the opening of the Eurex Derivatives Forum on Wednesday, Robbert Booij, the chief executive of Eurex Frankfurt AG, said the industry was meeting at a time of general uncertainty, adding: “In times of uncertainty, it is important that we focus on two things: risk management and collaboration.
“At Eurex, it is our strategic desire to make sure that we provide clients with effective ways to manage risk. We do that from a product perspective with our home of the Euro yield curve strategy, from a fixed income perspective, and from an equity perspective, we have over three thousand instruments.”
Eurex’s home of the yield curve strategy argues that firms clearing all of their Euro interest rate products with the German central countetrparty (CCP) will benefit from margin offsets between the various correlated instruments.
The German group is already the home of European long-term interest rate derivatives and has moved in recent years to attract more short-term interest rate (STIR) derivatives, which are mostly traded at ICE Futures Europe, and interest rate swaps, which are typically cleared at LCH, part of LSE Group.
Eurex launched in November 2023 a partnership programme to incentivise firms to trade its STIR futures ahead of European regulation aiming to reduce Europe’s reliance on London-based markets like ICE Futures Europe.
Eurex traded 24.5 million contracts of the flagship Euribor contract last year, according to FOW Data, compared to 374 million lots at incumbent ICE Futures Europe, meaning the German exchange had a market share of 6.3%.
Erik Mueller, chief executive of Eurex Clearing who announced last week he is stepping down from the role, added: “The broader picture is that Europe came out of period of zero or even negative interest rates and that has changed over the last few years which opened up great opportunities for growth, both for our clients but also for Eurex.
“When we look at the fixed income business, this was a much-smaller part of what Eurex was ten years ago but now we are a much more balanced exchange and CCP in terms of equity and fixed income. We’ve seen double digit growth over the past couple of years and we expect further growth, particularly in the fixed income sector.”
Booij, speaking at his first Eurex Derivatives Forum after becoming CEO in June, told the delegation the Eurex home of the yield curve initiative helps clients answer one of their top challenges today.
He said: “Capital scarcity is on everyone’s radar and this is something we can help. By combining multiple products in one clearing house, we are able to generate capital efficiencies for the customer, giving them one default contribution. Using portfolio margining, they can have more exposure or a more effective way of managing their risk.”
Mueller referenced a European Central Bank meeting on Tuesday which looked at some of the barriers to a more efficient and competitive European capital market.
The Eurex Clearing chief executive said: “These efficiencies through portfolio, cross-product margining are at the forefront of what the industry wants and needs.”
Mueller added: “The discussion in the US is around how can we do this across different market infrastructures and CCPs. We have it all in one CCP for the Euro and that differentiates us.”
The Eurex home of the yield Euro yield curve initiative should benefit from European regulators’ “active account” plan to require European firms to start in June to clear some of their Euro-denominated interest rate derivatives with a European clearing house such as Eurex.
In conclusion, Booij said Eurex trading volumes have so far been strong in 2025: “In the first few weeks of the year, we’ve seen some significant growth in equities and fixed income, and commodities also where gold is picking up quite rapidly. “
He added: “In the new products we have launched we have some good take-up now. Total return futures are going well. Daily options and weekly options are picking up but not yet to the level in the US so there is definitely room for growth.”
