Euroclear talks up 2007 figures

Given the unstable markets of 2007, Euroclear's strong operational performance is particularly noteworthy. Client-focused service improvements and more than EUR 150 million in rebates and tariff reductions delivered in 2007 by several Euroclear entities helped to sustain the momentum of attracting an increasing flow of new and organic client business to the Euroclear group.

Pierre Francotte, Chief Executive Officer of Euroclear SA/NV, said: "Notwithstanding the turbulent and heavy-volume trading environment of 2007, Euroclear has continued to grow and invest in the future. For the first time ever, we surpassed EUR 500 trillion in turnover value and 150 million in processed transactions during a single year. At the same time, we have focused on meeting client expectations in terms of service quality, lower fees and efficiency gains in their day-to-day business. I believe our client-centric approach - above all else - is a key factor in generating such consistently strong operating results year after year."

Operating highlights

The entity-specific and combined results of the Euroclear group are as follows:

• Turnover, or the value of securities transactions settled, was EUR 561.8 trillion, an increase of 24% from EUR 451.7 trillion in 2006.
• The value of securities held for Euroclear clients at the end of 2007 was EUR 19.2 trillion, a 5% increase from the EUR 18.2 trillion recorded at year-end 2006.
• The number of netted transactions settled in the Euroclear group increased by 9% to 155.5 million in 2007 compared with 143.1 million in 2006.
• The combined daily value of collateral provision outstanding in Euroclear Bank and Euroclear UK & Ireland grew by 11% in 2007 to EUR 595.0 billion compared with EUR 537.9 billion at the end of 2006.

Breakdown per Euroclear entity

Turnover

Euroclear Bank's 2007 turnover surged 30% to EUR 284.5 trillion from EUR 218.8 trillion in 2006. Turnover grew 12% at Euroclear France in 2007, risising to EUR 94.7 trillion in 2007 from EUR 84.3 trillion in 2006. Euroclear UK & Ireland experienced a 22% growth rate in 2007, with turnover expanding to EUR 176.5 trillion from EUR 144.8 trillion in 2006. Turnover figures for Euroclear Nederland were EUR 5.6 trillion, about 60% higher than the EUR 3.5 trillion recorded in 2006. In 2007, Euroclear Belgium's turnover grew by 58% to EUR 510 billion from EUR 323 billion in 2006.

Securities held in custody

The value of securities held in custody by Euroclear Bank totalled EUR 9.2 trillion in 2007, a gain of 14% from the EUR 8.1 trillion recorded in 2006. At Euroclear France, the 2007 total value of securities held was EUR 5.3 trillion, a 6% rise from last year's EUR 5.0 trillion. Securities held for clients through Euroclear UK & Ireland dropped 8% in 2007 to EUR 3.5 trillion from EUR 3.8 trillion in 2006. Securities held in Euroclear Nederland decreased 1% to EUR 945 billion in 2007 from EUR 954 billion in 2006. Securities held by Euroclear Belgium also declined in 2007 by 14% to EUR 228 billion from EUR 265 billion in 2006. The declines reported in several CSDs reflected market trends in equity and investment-fund investments during the latter part of 2007.

Number of transactions settled (after netting)

In 2007, Euroclear Bank settled 40.8 million transactions, an increase of 20% from the 33.9 million transactions processed in 2006. Euroclear France settled 32.3 million transactions in 2007, nearly the same as the 32.5 million processed in 2006. Euroclear UK & Ireland settled 75.0 million versus 70.2 million, or 7% more transactions in 2007 than in 2006, Euroclear Nederland processed 4.6 million transactions in 2007, 21% more than the 3.8 million transactions processed the previous year and Euroclear Belgium processed 2.8 million transactions in 2007, a 4% increase compared with 2.7 million transactions in 2006.

Daily value of collateral provision outstanding

The 2007 yearly average in triparty collateral management deals outstanding at Euroclear Bank and in daily Delivery-by-Value (DBV) and money-market instrument repo instructions at Euroclear UK & Ireland both increased 19% compared with the average in 2006. Reflecting market trends in the second half of 2007, triparty collateral management deals outstanding managed by Euroclear Bank at year-end 2007 rose 6% to a daily average of EUR 328.1 billion compared with EUR 308.7 billion at the end of 2006. Euroclear Bank reached a new record of EUR 350 billion in daily outstanding during 2007. Euroclear UK & Ireland processed the equivalent of EUR 266.9 billion in daily Delivery-by-Value (DBV) and money-market instrument repo instructions in 2007, 16% more than the EUR 229.2 billion in 2006.

Funds/FundSettle

The number of fund transactions processed at Euroclear reached a record 8.5 million in 2007. The average number of FundSettle transactions grew 24% in 2007 compared with 2006.

FundSettle now covers more than 36,000 offshore and domestic funds from 21 markets, including clients' in-house funds, having added more than 3,000 funds in 2007. The number of active FundSettle accounts increased by 22% in 2007, while total client holdings in funds increased by 20% during the year. As Europe's only fully integrated fund-transaction platform - where order routing, settlement and custody processing is centralised in a single location - FundSettle automates and standardises the straight-through processing of offshore and domestic fund transactions. Launched in April 2007, fund transactions carrying the FundSettle Premier quality label cost significantly less to process, while receiving superior service levels.

In December 2007, Euroclear France processed over 10,000 instructions per month on its investment fund order-routing platform. Launched in 2006, the service has attracted centralising agents accounting for 80% and account holders representing more than 45% of investment-fund order flows in France.

EMXCo, the UK's leading provider of investment-fund order routing, became part of the Euroclear group on 1 January 2007. The EMX Message System routed over 19.2 million messages in 2007, equating to over EUR 65 billion in investment-fund flows, growing 44% and 97%, respectively, from the 13.3 million messages and EUR 33 billion in fund flows in 2006.