| Contact | Deutsch |
| Sitemap | Français |
| Glossary | Italiano |
| Legal issues |  |
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| Home / Information about / Financial stability / Oversight of payment and securities settlement systems | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Payment and securities settlement systems | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
| Detailed description of individual payment and securities settlement systems | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
The Swiss Interbank Clearing (SIC) payment system
Swiss Interbank Clearing (SIC) is the central electronic Swiss payment system in which the participating financial institutions process their large-value payments as well as a part of their retail payments in Swiss francs. It is operated on behalf of the Swiss National Bank (SNB) by SIX Interbank Clearing Ltd. SIC also has a key role to play in the implementation of the SNB’s monetary policy.
SECOM, the securities settlement system
As one of the key elements in Switzerland’s financial market infrastructure, the SECOM securities settlement system provides for the custody and settlement of tradable financial instruments in Switzerland. Financial market transactions concluded at SIX Swiss Exchange -– the Swiss stock exchange – can be settled fully automatically through SECOM, i.e. without any manual intervention. This contributes to the low-cost, low-risk integration of trading, clearing and settlement. The custody and settlement of financial instruments entails various risks, both for the service provider and for their users. The organisation and design of SECOM ensure that custody and settlement risks are minimised or eliminated as far as possible.
SIX x-clear, the central counterparty
When a trade is concluded on a trading platform, a central counterparty acts as intermediary between the trading partners. In so doing, it takes on the obligations incurred by the trading partners and guarantees the fulfilment of the obligations. In addition, a central counterparty keeps account of, valuates and offsets the trading positions. On the settlement date, it initiates the settlement of the delivery and payment obligations. SIX x-clear Ltd takes on these duties for shares and exchange traded funds (ETFs) traded on SIX Swiss Exchange and on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
Continuous Linked Settlement (CLS), the foreign exchange settlement system
Continuous Linked Settlement (CLS) is an international payment system which was launched in September 2002 for the settlement of foreign exchange transactions. With CLS, an infrastructure has been created which - by means of a payment-versus-payment mechanism - eliminates the settlement risk inherent in the settlement of foreign exchange transactions via correspondent banks. Because of the vast volume of transactions on the global foreign exchange market, with its risk-reducing settlement mechanism CLS makes a significant contribution to the stability of the global financial system.
|
