Settlement Types

Collective Safe Custody (CSC)

Clearstream Banking Frankfurt's (CBF's) settlement system, CASCADE, provides a highly efficient platform for the settlement of transactions in German and International securities that are eligible for collective safe custody (CSC).CASCADE covers the entry and processing of instructions for all parts of the settlement process including:

• Payment
• Transfers of securities
• Administration of securities
• Matching of free and against payment instructions
• Clearing of matched transactions to optimise the securities transfer processes
• Settlement of transactions through transfer of cash and securities

CASCADE supports cash settlement in EUR in Central Bank money via TARGET-2 and in other currencies in Commercial Bank money via CBF International’s correspondent banks.

The transactions processed via CASCADE are delivery instructions resulting from OTC and stock exchange trading (Xetra, floor trading), trading on the Eurex Bonds and Eurex Repo platforms and Eurex exercises. The instructions also include CCP deliveries.

CBF also offers “Cross-border Services” for securities to be settled between customers of CBF and their counterparts holding accounts with other European CSDs. The transaction processing will also be extended to exchange trading in markets where CBF is linked with the respective domestic market CSD.

Registered Shares in Collective Safe Custody (CASCADE-RS)

Clearstream offers special services for the administration of registered shares on the CASCADE platform via the CASCADE-RS functionality.

This service allows customers to submit shareholder data to the share ledger of the respective issuer, in an highly automated and cost-efficient way.

CASCADE-RS provides automated support for the following core processes:

• The conversion of bearer shares into registered shares held in collective safe custody

• The settlement of stock exchange trades and OTC transactions in registered shares through transfers of positions and entries or re-registrations in the share ledger of the issuer or the share ledger manager

• Detailed information on the Clearstream services for Registered Shares can be found in the CBF Customer Handbook.

Individual Safe Custody

CBF also support its customers in the settlement of transactions in securities kept in individual safe custody (i.e. physical securities) and offers in particular:

• Deposit and withdrawal of physical securities to and from the holdings in the vaults

• Recording and administration of certificate numbers (ledger)

• Conducting checks against the list of invalidated or stopped securities

• Processing defective and replacement certificates

Non-collective Safe Custody (NCSC)

The settlement of transactions in NCSC securities takes place through the ICSD’s Creation platform. In addition to the accounts held by customers of Clearstream Banking Luxembourg (CBL) under Luxembourg law, CBF has its own series of accounts, which are technically and legally independent (referred to as six-series accounts) and are governed by German law. These six-series accounts are kept via Creation parallel to and in connection with the CBF customers' CASCADE accounts.

In order to settle trades in NCSC securities executed on German stock exchanges, the delivery instructions are generated and transmitted directly to the Creation platform.

For the settlement of OTC transactions in NCSC securities, customers submit their instructions directly to Clearstream Banking Luxembourg via their preferred connectivity channel.

Customers may obtain reports on six-series accounts either through direct interfaces to CBL, as the operator of the Creation platform, or through the communication channels of CBF.

Detailed information on the settlement processes for the ICSD can be found in the CBL Customer Handbook.