Clearing and Settlement Services for Corporate Customers
Tokyo Financial Exchange Inc. (the “TFX provides clearing services for all products listed on TFX as a financial instruments clearing organization approved under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.
Exchange Margin
An investor deposits exchange margin with a clearing organization to secure performance of obligations associated with trades. If the amount of margin falls short of the required amount, the investor must deposit additional exchange margin by the prescribed deadline.
Interest Rate Futures contracts
TFX uses SPANR to calculate margin amounts for Interest Rate Futures contracts. SPANR, or the Standard Portfolio Analysis of Risk, is a methodology and system for calculating risk-based margin developed by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME).
For an overview of margin calculation by SPANR, please see the following file.
[1] SPAN®PDF format366KB(Japanese file only)
SPAN® calculates a margin amount of a market participant based on market positions, i.e., risk inherent in the overall portfolio, of that market participant. Currently, SPAN® is widely used by major exchanges around the world. For details of CME SPAN®, see CME’s website(http://www.cme.com).
SPAN® is a registered trademark of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. (CME). All rights concerning SPAN® are reserved by CME, and TFX uses it under license . CME assumes no liability in connection with the use of SPAN® by any person or entity.
Intraday Additional Margin
If the market moves beyond a specified range, intraday additional margin is applied to house account positions. Intraday additional margin must be deposited on the same day that an intraday additional margin call is received from TFX. This is a major difference from the usual margin, which is deposited on the day following a trade. In the case of an intraday additional margin call, a message to that effect will be sent at around 11:30 a.m. to the Trading Members and Clearing Members via the clearing system and the trading system.
By collecting the intraday additional margin, TFX deals with building of unsettlde obligation risk.
FX Daily Futures Contracts (Click 365)
The FX margin reference amount for FX Daily Futures contracts is specified by TFX as an amount required for maintaining an FX Daily Futures contract position. For further details, see the following.
・FX Margin Reference Amount(Non-individual Customer）
Calculation Method of the FX Margin Reference Amount and Implementation Rules
Regulations for Margin and Unsettled Contracts for FX Daily Futures Transactions PDF format270KB
Equity Index Daily Futures Contracts (Click Kabu 365)
An equity index margin reference amount for Equity Index Daily Futures contracts is specified by TFX as an amount required for maintaining an Equity Index Daily Futures contract position. For further details, see the following.
Calculation Method of the Equity Index Margin Reference Amount and Implementation Rules
Regulations for Margin and Unsettled Contracts for Equity Index Daily Futures Transactions PDF format218KB
Margin Safety
TFX, as a financial instruments clearing organization, sets forth the basic rules on clearing operations in its regulations. TFX adopts a segregated management system for margin to protect customer positions and margin. Under the system, margin is segregated between proprietary and customer accounts by each Clearing Member, with customer margin being managed in omnibus accounts for Interest Rate Futures contracts and in separate customer accounts for Click 365 and Click Kabu 365. For the segregated management system for Interest Rate Futures contracts, see the following file.
[2] Segregated Management System for MarginPDF format 203KB (Japanese file only)
Mark-to-Market
Mark-to-market is daily revaluation of all positions, using daily settlement prices, by calculating profits or losses (mark-to-market amount) on positions held by Trading Members and customers on a day-to-day basis to reflect daily price movements.
In Interest Rate Futures contracts, any difference that arises as a result of mark-to-market will be exchanged in cash between TFX and Trading members on the following business day.
In Click 365 and Click Kabu 365, the difference that arises as a result of mark-to-market will be reflected in the margin amount necessary for maintain a position (margin requirement). If the margin requirement goes below the margin amount actually deposited (shortage arises), an additional margin needs to be deposited.
Mark-to-market prevents the accumulation of losses.
Give-up
Give-up is a system where a contract is executed by one Trading Member and clearing (including margin and profit/loss management) of the said contract is undertaken by another Trading Member. TFX adopts the give-up system for Interest Rate Futures contracts. A Trading Member who is instructed by a customer to execute a contract is called an Executing Member, and a Trading Member who is instructed by the customer to clear and settle the contract is called a Carrying Member. By utilizing give-up, a customer can concentrate the clearing of its contracts in a specific member, execute orders, or distribute its positions to multiple members. For details, see the following file.
[3] Give-Up SystemPDF format 231KB (Japanese file only)
Stability of the Clearing System in the Event of A Clearing Member’s Default
TFX has strict standards for obtaining and maintaining Clearing Member qualifications, and checks the credit risk of Clearing Members on a day-to-day basis. Assuming an event in which a Clearing Member goes bankrupt and defaults on its obligations, a framework for covering losses in the order stated below (default waterfall) is in place to secure financial resources for loss compensation and ensure the stability of the clearing system.
【Interes Ｒate Futures Contacts】
【FX Daily Futures Contracts, Equity Index Daily Futures Contracts】
- Clearing deposits are deposited with TFX so that, in the event that TFX incurs losses due to a member’s settlement failure, TFX uses the member’s clearing deposits and exchange margin to cover the losses. If the deposits of the defaulting member and default compensation reserve described below are not sufficient to cover the losses, the remaining losses will be compensated for by clearing deposits of other Clearing Members.Default compensation reserve is built so that, in the event that TFX incurs losses due to nonperformance of contracts by a member concerning trades on TFX, TFX uses the reserve fund to compensate for the losses. Default compensation reserve is, in principle, reviewed annually and the amount of reserve will be changed upon resolution of the general meeting of shareholders (appropriation of surplus).
Eligible Securities
In addition to cash in yen, Clearing Members can deposit eligible securities as market entry deposits and clearing deposits. For Interest Rate Futures contracts, eligible securities can be also deposited for margin. For eligible securities and haircut rates applied, see this.
