Canadian Derivatives Clearing Corporation

What Canadian Derivatives Clearing Corporation does

Canadian Derivatives Clearing Corporation (CDCC) is the central clearing counterparty (CCP) for exchange-traded derivatives in Canada and for a growing range of customized financial instruments. Operating since 1975 (under its current name since 1996) and headquartered in Montreal with a Toronto operational office, CDCC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Montréal Exchange, which is itself a wholly-owned subsidiary of TMX Group. CDCC clears and settles equity, ETF, index, interest-rate and currency derivatives traded on the Montréal Exchange, plus customized (OTC) equity options via its Converge service, fixed-income/repo transactions since 2012, and a new SGC Notes (Secured General Collateral Notes) money-market instrument launched in 2024.

The company's core technology is SOLA Clearing, a proprietary platform co-developed with the Montréal Exchange that supports real-time novation, clearing and settlement through WAN, LAN-to-LAN and VPN connections. CDCC's risk-management stack includes the CME-licensed SPAN margining system (primary since 2006) and the legacy TIMS system as a secondary check, a multi-tier Clearing Fund, membership standards calibrated to IIROC and OSFI rules, and a Collateral Management API for automated pledge and movement workflows. CDCC is the only integrated CCP in North America clearing futures, options and options on futures on a single platform, and is designated by the Bank of Canada for regulatory oversight under the Payment Clearing and Settlement Act (PCSA) in addition to supervision by AMF, OSC and BCSC.

CDCC generates revenue primarily through per-lot clearing and exercise fees (e.g., $0.30-$0.70 per lot with per-trade caps), membership-related Clearing Fund deposits, and transaction fees from the SGC Notes program, with growing cross-border clearing volumes coming from direct access by U.S. Futures Commission Merchants. It serves more than 30 clearing members — virtually every major Canadian bank and dealer (BMO, CIBC, RBC, TD, Scotiabank, National Bank) — plus Limited Clearing Members such as CDPQ, CPPIB, OTPP and HOOPP. Marketing and member engagement run through direct enterprise relationships, a member extranet, quarterly user groups and member notices, with public communications via the cdcc.ca site and TMX social channels.

Name

Canadian Derivatives Clearing Corporation

Legal name

Canadian Derivatives Clearing Corporation

Website

https://cdcc.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CDCC is the Canadian central clearing counterparty for exchange-traded and customized derivatives, wholly owned by the Montréal Exchange (TMX Group), serving 30+ dealer and institutional clearing members via the proprietary SOLA Clearing platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Central Counterparty Clearing Services

NAICS

Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320), Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (52232)

SIC

Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200)

akta.pro primary industry

Cleared Derivatives & Margin (CCP, IM/VM) (FSACADAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Clearing & Settlement Operations (Post-Trade) (FSACALAC), Clearing & Settlement Operations Services (FSAFALAB), FX Clearing CCPs (FSAFAFAE), Commodity Clearing & Settlement Services (Commodity CCPs & Clearing Members) (FSAFAMAI)

Keywords

• Central counterparty clearing
• Derivatives clearing services
• Risk management
• Collateral management
• Fixed income clearing

Headquarters

HQ city

Montreal

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Clearing and Transaction Fees: CDCC charges clearing fees for processing derivative contracts and customized equity options. Fee structure includes per-lot charges for clearing members and clients, with fee caps. Exercise fees are charged separately.
2. Membership Fees: Clearing members pay fees for membership and contribute to the Clearing Fund. Base deposits vary by product type: $25,000 for options, $75,000 for futures, $100,000 for OTC instruments, $1,000,000 for fixed income transactions.
3. SGC Notes Program Fees: Fees charged for the Secured General Collateral Notes program including issuance and administration fees for the special purpose trust structure.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Canadian Derivatives Clearing Corporation (CDCC) is a central clearing counterparty that issues and clears all derivative products traded on the Montréal Exchange, including equity options, ETF options, interest rate derivatives, currency derivatives, and fixed income (repo) transactions. CDCC also provides customized clearing services for off-exchange bilateral transactions through its Converge platform. Its proprietary SOLA Clearing Application supports real-time trade novation, multilateral netting, margin management, collateral handling, and settlement for clearing members.

Product overview

CDCC operates as an integrated central clearing counterparty offering a unified platform for clearing and settling exchange-traded and customized derivative products. The core technology platform is SOLA Clearing, a proprietary clearing system that processes equity, interest rate, currency, and index derivatives traded on the Montréal Exchange. Adjacent to the core platform, Converge extends central counterparty clearing to customized (OTC) equity options and ETFs. CDCC also offers fixed income clearing services for repo transactions, and has launched SGC Notes (Secured General Collateral Notes), a secured short-term money market instrument. A Collateral Management API enables Clearing Members to automate pledge and movement workflows. CDCC's clearing infrastructure serves over 30 clearing members and is subject to regulatory oversight by the Bank of Canada, AMF, OSC, and BCSC.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SOLA Clearing Application Proprietary clearing platform developed by the Montréal Exchange that supports real-time clearing and settlement of exchange-traded derivatives, fixed income transactions, and customized instruments. Clearing Members enter and modify data via the SOLA Clearing Application from their offices using WAN, LAN-to-LAN secured Internet link, or VPN connections.
• Converge Customized Equity Options Clearing Central counterparty clearing services for customized equity options and ETF options that originate off-exchange. Available exclusively to Clearing Members; institutional participants access through clearing member client relationships. Benefits include multilateral netting, anonymity, and optimal usage of capital and collateral; ISDA agreement not required.
• SGC Notes (Secured General Collateral Notes) Secured, short-term discount instruments backed by a basket of high-quality debt securities (government and corporate bonds). Offers institutional investors highly rated Canadian bank credit exposure with enhanced security of collateralization. Targeted P-1 rating by Moody's, issued in minimum denominations of C$100,000, with terms of 1, 2, 3, 6, or 12 months.
• Collateral Management API Service API service that allows Clearing Members to automate collateral management at CDCC through seamless exchange of information regarding collateral pledges and movements. Encompasses collateral deposit/withdrawal instructions with acknowledgement or rejection, collateral inquiry, and reporting.
• Fixed Income Clearing Clearing services for fixed income transactions including cash buy or sell trades and repurchase transactions (repos) from acceptable marketplaces. Positions are updated to the SOLA Clearing Application upon novation to CDCC.
• Equity Derivatives Clearing Issuance and clearing of all equity derivative products traded on the Montréal Exchange including individual equity options and ETF options. CDCC reviews quarterly the criteria for eligibility of equity options.
• Interest Rate Derivatives Clearing Clearing services for interest rate derivative products traded on the Montréal Exchange, including BAX (three-month Canadian bankers' acceptance futures) and other IRD products.
• Foreign Exchange Derivatives Clearing Clearing services for currency derivative products traded on the Montréal Exchange including USX options on the US Dollar.
• Risk Management Services Comprehensive risk management framework including membership standards, margin requirements using SPAN methodology, clearing fund deposits, collateral management, default management processes, and the Gross Client Margin (GCM) regime for client protection.
• Margining Services (SPAN) CDCC employs the Standard Portfolio Analysis of Risk (SPAN) system for margining. The methodology includes Base Initial Margin, Variation Margin, and additional margin components covering market liquidity risk, wrong-way risk, and other risk factors. SPAN uses historical volatility of daily price returns with 99% confidence level.

Quantifiable outcome

• Risk mutualization across clearing members protects market integrity
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Montréal Exchange (MX)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMX is the sole shareholder of CDCC. CDCC clears and settles all derivative products traded on MX. MX offers equity, ETF, index, interest rate, and currency derivative products that are cleared by CDCC. The organizations share the SOLA platform technology.
• TMX GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTMX Group is the parent company of Montreal Exchange. CDCC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MX, which itself is wholly-owned by TMX Group. CDCC operations and strategy align with broader TMX Group post-trade services.
• CDS (The Canadian Depository for Securities Limited)coreTechnology or IntegrationCDS is the central securities depository for Canada. CDCC works with CDS for settlement and collateral management. CDSX clearing and settlement system is used for SGC Notes and other instruments.
• Bank of CanadacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBank of Canada designates CDCS for oversight under Payment Clearing and Settlement Act (PCSA). SGC Notes use Bank of Canada Standing Liquidity Facility (SLF) haircuts. CDCC accepts SLF-eligible securities as collateral.
• Canadian Securities AdministratorscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegulatory oversight from provincial securities regulators including AMF (Quebec), OSC (Ontario), BCSC (British Columbia), and other Canadian securities commissions.
• Moody'sminorOthersMoody's provides credit ratings for SGC Notes (targeting P-1 rating). Research paper on SGC program published by Moody's.
• Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSRO regulatory partner. CDCC works with IIROC for information sharing and monitoring of SRO Clearing Members. IIROC-regulated dealers file monthly financial reports with CDCC.
• Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada (OSFI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegulatory partner for bank clearing members. CDCC obtains relevant information from OSFI to monitor bank clearing members' financial status. Bank Clearing Members must meet OSFI capital requirements.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC): OCC is the world's largest equity derivatives clearing house and the central counterparty for all U.S. exchange-listed options. Like CDCC, it clears and settles options and futures, serves as CCP, and operates under banking regulator oversight (SEC, CFTC). OCC is the closest functional peer given CDCC's equity options clearing focus and integrated multi-asset approach.
• LCH (London Clearing House, part of LSEG): LCH is a leading global multi-asset CCP offering clearing services across listed derivatives, OTC derivatives, repos, and fixed income. LCH's SwapClear and RepoClear services compete directly with CDCC's interest rate and fixed income clearing offerings and represent the global standard for cross-border CCP services.
• Eurex Clearing (Deutsche Börse): Eurex Clearing is one of Europe's largest CCPs, clearing derivatives, securities lending, and repo transactions. It is directly comparable to CDCC in providing integrated clearing across multiple product types and serving institutional clearing members.

Broad incumbents

• CME Group (clearing arm): CME Group operates the largest derivatives exchange in the U.S. and provides central counterparty clearing for futures, options, and OTC interest rate swaps. CME's risk infrastructure (including SPAN, which CDCC licenses) makes it a direct comparable and the developer of CDCC's core margining methodology.
• ICE Clear Credit: ICE Clear Credit is the world's largest credit derivatives CCP, clearing CDS instruments globally. As a CCP within a larger exchange group, it represents the integrated exchange-CCP model that CDCC also follows within the TMX Group family.
• Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (FICC, part of DTCC): FICC is the U.S. central counterparty for fixed income trades, including government securities and repo transactions. FICC competes with CDCC's fixed income clearing offering and represents the global benchmark for repo CCP infrastructure.

Regional players

• Japan Securities Clearing Corporation (JSCC): JSCC is the Japanese central counterparty for equities, derivatives, and OTC transactions. It serves as the regional CCP equivalent to CDCC for the Japanese market and follows a similar model of integrated clearing across asset classes under regulatory oversight.
• ASX Clear (Australian Securities Exchange): ASX Clear is the Australian CCP for cash equities, derivatives, and OTC interest rate products. It is comparable to CDCC in serving as the integrated clearing house for a single national market within a vertically integrated exchange group.
• B3 (Brasil, Bolsa, Balcão): B3 operates as a vertically integrated exchange and CCP in Brazil, providing clearing across equities, derivatives, and fixed income. It is comparable to CDCC's TMX-Group-style structure and serves a similar role as the national integrated clearing infrastructure.

Others

• CDS (The Canadian Depository for Securities Limited): CDS is CDCC's sister company within TMX Group, providing central securities depository and settlement services in Canada. While not a CCP itself, CDS is CDCC's key infrastructure partner for collateral management and SGC Notes settlement, and is closely related by corporate parentage.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/postfakeit
• YouTubeyoutube.com/tmxgroup
• Facebookfacebook.com/montrealexchange
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/canadian-derivatives-clearing-corporation-cdcc-

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Canadian Derivatives Clearing Corporation