Euroclear
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| Cooperative | |
| Industry | Finance |
| Founded | 1968 |
| Founder | J.P. Morgan & Co. |
| Headquarters | Brussels, Belgium |
| Products | Clearing House, Central Securities Depository, Custodian bank |
| Members | 2,000+ |
|
Number of employees
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3,500+ |
| Divisions |
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| Website | www |
Euroclear is a Belgium-based financial services company that specializes in the settlement of securities transactions as well as the safekeeping and asset servicing of these securities. It was founded in 1968 as part of J.P. Morgan & Co. to settle trades on the then developing eurobond market.
Euroclear settles domestic and international securities transactions, covering bonds, equities, derivatives and investment funds. Euroclear provides securities services to financial institutions located in more than 90 countries.
In addition to its role as an International Central Securities Depository (ICSD), Euroclear also acts as the Central Securities Depository (CSD) for Belgian, Dutch, Finnish, French, Irish, Swedish and UK securities. Euroclear also owns EMXCo, the UK's leading provider of investment-fund order routing. Euroclear is the largest international central securities depository in the world.
Retail investors are able to have direct accounts in local CSDs, according to local laws, rules and procedures.
The Euroclear System was operated by the Belgian branch of Morgan Guaranty Trust Company from its founding in 1968 until the start of 2001, when they transferred control to Euroclear Bank.
Euroclear acquired Sicovam (the French central securities depository or CSD) in 2001, and Necigef (Nederlands Centraal Instituut voor Giraal Effectenverkeer), the Dutch CSD, in 2002. It acquired Caisse Interprofessionnelle de Dépôts et de Virements de Titres (CIK), the Belgian CSD, in 2007. These local CSDs were renamed as Euroclear France, Euroclear Netherlands and Euroclear Belgium, respectively.
Euroclear also took a 20% stake in the capital of LCH.Clearnet, the UK/French entity responsible for the clearing of Euronext, London Stock Exchange and other stock exchange transactions. The CSDs of Finland (Suomen Arvopaperikeskus Oy (APK)) and Sweden (VPC AB), now operating as Euroclear Finland and Euroclear Sweden, respectively, were acquired by Euroclear in October 2008.
In October 2012, Euroclear granted access to Russia’s National Settlement Depository, making it easier for other countries hooked to Euroclear's system to trade with Russia, and making Russia’s capital market integrated into London's and New York's markets. 3 years later, Russia mimicked the Euroclear system to create an exchange system with China.
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Wikipedia