What is Eurex? Understand Here!

Eurex or the Eurex Exchange is an international exchange which primarily facilitates trading in European based derivatives. All transactions executed on Eurex Exchange are cleared through Eurex Clearing, which functions as a central counterparty (CCP) for multi-asset class clearing of all the products offered.

History of Eurex

• 1990s - Battle of the Bund: LIFFE( London Financial Futures Exchange) began to lose market share in trading of the German government bonds futures (The Bund) to the Frankfurt-based Deutsche Terminbörse (DTB). This event was known as the 'Battle of the Bund'.

• 1997-1998 Creation of Eurex: The DTB was one of the world's first electronic exchanges, and by 1997 had acquired considerable market share in Europe and the United States. LIFFE on the other hand began the merger proceedings with SOFFEX (the Swiss Options and Financial Futures Exchange). The shift from the original open outcry system that had prevailed up until then was transitioning towards an entirely electronic trading platform. This shift had started gradually but then followed a “tipping point” dynamic in 1998 that led to the creation of Eurex. 
• 1998- 2012 Joint ownership of Eurex: Close cooperation between the DTB and SOFFEX; and their respective parent companies:Deutsche Börse and SIX Swiss Exchange led to Eurex being jointly operated by Deutsche Börse and the SIX Swiss Exchange. The holding of Deutsche Börse comprised 50% of the voting rights and 85% of the share capital. 
• 2012 - Sole Ownership of Eurex by Deutsche Börse: In January 2012, Deutsche Börse acquired the remaining shares in Eurex Zurich Inc from SIX Group Inc, making Deutsche Börse the sole owner of Eurex.

Eurex organizational/corporate structure

Eurex Deutschland* (Germany)  is currently owned 100% by Deutsche Börse . Therefore Deutsche Börse also owns 100% of Eurex Clearing, Eurex Repo and Eurex Securities Transactions Services . 

Asset classes on Eurex

The Eurex Product range comprises 8 asset classes.

1. Interest Rate Derivatives: Interest Rate Derivatives are financial contracts whose value is derived from one or more interest rates, prices of interest rate instruments, or interest rate indices. Interest Rate Derivatives available for trade on Eurex include:

• Fixed Income: Schatz, Bobel, Bund, Buxl, BONO, BTP, CONF, OAT.
• Money Market: EURIBOR, EONIA, SARON, Secured Funding.
• Interest Rate Swaps: Euro Swaps
• Inter-product spreads

1. Equity Index Derivatives: Equity index derivatives are financial contracts whose value is derived from the underlying stock index.  

• On Eurex: 12 Index Families with benchmarks such as EURO STOXX, etc. ESG derivatives on STOXX indexes are available.

1. Equity Derivatives: Equity derivatives are financial contracts whose value is derived from the underlying stock. Equity derivatives on Eurex include:  

• 800+ futures and 800+ options in 19 countries.
• 250+ total return futures.

1. Volatility Derivatives:Volatility derivatives are financial instruments where the volatility of an underlying asset is the tradable product. Volatility derivatives available for trade on Eurex include:

• VSTOXX and Variance Futures

1. Dividend Derivatives:A dividend derivatives is an exchange-traded derivative contract that allows investors to take positions on future dividend payments. It can be on a single company, a basket of companies, or on an Equity index. Dividend derivatives available for trade on Eurex include:

• Single Stocks and Indices

1. Forex Derivatives: Forex derivatives or Fx derivatives are financial contracts with currency quotes as the underlying asset. Forex derivatives are available for trade on Eurex include:

• AUD/JPY, AUD/USD, EUR/AUD, EUR/CHF, EUR/GBP, EUR/JPY, NZD/USD, USD/CHF, USD/JPY

1. Exchange Traded Products:Exchange traded products (ETPs) are investments that are traded on a stock exchange and which invest in underlying securities or assets. They often passively follow an index or other benchmark, but they may be actively managed. Exchange Traded Products available for trade on Eurex include:

• Equity Index
• Fixed income ETF derivatives
• Exchange traded Commodities derivatives

1. Commodity Derivatives: Commodity derivatives are financial contracts that derive their value from underlying commodities; Crops such as: cotton; petroleum products like natural gas, metals like gold, silver etc. derivatives available for trade on Eurex include:

• Bloomberg Commodity Indexes

Latest addition: Cryptocurrency Derivatives on Eurex

In June 2020, Deutsche Börse introduced on Eurex the world's first centrally cleared Bitcoin Exchange Traded Note. The Bitcoin ETN offers investors easy access to the Bitcoin performance with full physical collateralization.

Recently even Bitcoin ETN Futures* were launched on Eurex. Euro-denominated Bitcoin ETN Futures enables participants on Eurex to trade the Bitcoin performance like any other Eurex product without needing additional operational steps.