SIX plans to merge its currently separately run clearing houses, the Swiss SIX x-clear and the Spanish BME Clearing. The new multi-asset clearing house is intended to have an international footprint and interoperable links in the cash equity segment, according to the press release issued on Thursday.

SIX notes that the two clearing houses already collaborate today – which, given the acquisition of BME back in 2020, should arguably have been a matter of course. However, the two entities maintained separate local legal units and systems, SIX explains. In plain terms: duplication, which has continued to generate significant costs.

SIX Clearing Aims to Unlock Synergies

The new unit, called SIX Clearing, will generate scale effects, optimise processes and create a basis for growth in all segments. The unified central counterparty (CCP) is designed to enhance resilience, efficiency and competitiveness across European financial markets.

The interoperability links and functionalities of SIX x-clear will be transferred to the consolidated CCP. SIX Clearing will promote and advance the rollout of interoperability in Europe to further increase the efficiency of European financial markets – supported in particular by BME Clearing’s EU licence, which grants access to euro liquidity from the European Central Bank.

Only a «Presence» in Zurich

The new CCP will be headquartered in Madrid, with «presences» in Zurich and Oslo. Regulatory approvals are still pending.

Rafael Moral Santiago, Head Securities Services & Executive Board Member at SIX, comments: «With the consolidated CCP, we will be able to diversify into additional asset classes and expand the reach of our offering. Thanks to the EU licence, we are exceptionally well positioned to establish ourselves as a leading provider of integrated, digital post-trade solutions for the European market and to compete internationally with a unique service offering.»

What Remains of the Spirit of the «Joint Undertaking»?

It is overdue and welcome that SIX, more than five years after acquiring the Spanish BME (an investment that has since required substantial impairments), is now finally moving to realise the much-heralded synergies. That the headquarters of the new SIX Clearing will be located in Madrid, however, is more than a minor disappointment.

It appears that little remains of the spirit of the former «joint undertaking» for the Swiss financial centre that once distinguished the operator of the country’s market infrastructure.