CDS, Inc

What CDS, Inc does

CDS, Inc (legally CDS Clearing and Depository Services Inc. / The Canadian Depository for Securities Limited) operates as Canada's designated central securities depository, providing post-trade infrastructure for the Canadian capital markets. Founded in 1970 and headquartered in Toronto, the company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of TMX Group Limited (TSX: X). CDS's core platform, CDSX, processes over 2.1 million exchange trades daily and maintains custody of securities valued at over $8 trillion, with stated continuous availability and zero days of operational disruption. Its subsidiary CDS Innovations Inc. and affiliate TMX Post-Trade Innovations Inc. support technology and innovation activities.

The company's product architecture is platform-centric. CDSX is the foundational clearing, settlement, depository, custodial, and entitlement system, surrounded by data products (CDSX Entitlements, Canadian Corporate Disclosure Service, Fixed Income Terms and Conditions Service, Fixed Income Price Service, CDSX Security Master File, ITP Stats), tax services (Tax Breakdown Services, Dividend Eligibility, NR7-R Certification, Tax Reporting), issuer services (ISIN issuance, Legal Entity Identifier, Holders of Record, Confirmation of Registered Holdings, Notice of Record & Meeting Dates), and key initiatives including the Canadian Collateral Management Service (CCMS, a partnership with Clearstream/Deutsche Börse Group), the T+1 settlement transition completed in 2024, and the forthcoming TMX Securities Lending Recalls Hub. The CCMS, launched in 2024, is Canada's first domestic triparty collateral management service for repurchase agreements.

CDS monetizes through a transaction-based fee model applied to clearing, settlement, and depository services (per a published annual fee schedule, e.g., 2026 Fees – CDS Clearing), subscription and transaction fees for data products distributed via the TMX Webstore, transaction fees for issuer services such as ISIN issuance and eligibility, and tax service fees. Its customer base comprises essentially all Canadian broker-dealers and investment dealers as participants in CDSX, corporate and fund issuers requiring ISIN and corporate action services, and market data consumers. Go-to-market is primarily direct enterprise engagement, supplemented by self-serve portals (CDS Login, TMX-CDS Connect, Tax Services Portal) and the TMX Webstore for data products. CDS holds registered trademarks including CDS®, CDSX®, ATON™, and CCMA®. No external funding is present given its parent ownership structure.

Name

CDS, Inc

Legal name

CDS Clearing and Depository Services Inc.

Website

https://cds.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

CDS, Inc is Canada's central securities depository, providing clearing, settlement, depository, and issuer services through its CDSX platform, which processes over 2.1 million daily trades and holds more than $8 trillion in custody. It serves Canadian broker-dealers, corporate issuers, and market data consumers as a wholly-owned subsidiary of TMX Group Limited.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Securities Depository and Clearing

NAICS

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

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Central Securities Depository (CSD) & Securities Settlement Services (FSAAAOAD)

Keywords

• Central securities depository
• Trade clearing settlement
• Post-trade infrastructure
• Securities custody services
• Issuer services

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Clearing and Settlement Services: Fees charged to participants for trade clearing and settlement services, securities depository, custodial and entitlement services.
2. Data Products and Services: Revenue from data products including Canadian Corporate Disclosure Service, CDSX Entitlements, Fixed Income services, and ITP Stats.
3. Issuer Services: Fees for ISIN issuance, eligibility services, Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) services, and professional services to securities issuers.
4. Tax Services: Tax Breakdown Reporting Service and related tax certification services for issuers and participants.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CDS operates Canada's central securities depository, providing post-trade infrastructure including trade clearing and settlement, securities depository and custodial services, entitlement management, ISIN issuance, tax reporting, and market data products. Its core platform, CDSX, processes over 2.1 million exchange trades daily and holds more than $8 trillion in custody. The company also offers the Canadian Collateral Management Service (CCMS) in partnership with Clearstream and the TMX Securities Lending Recalls Hub.

Product overview

CDS, Inc (The Canadian Depository for Securities Limited) operates as Canada's central securities depository, providing a comprehensive suite of post-trade infrastructure services. The company offers a platform-plus-modules architecture centered on CDSX, its core clearing and settlement system that processes over 2.1 million exchange trades daily with securities valued at over $8 trillion in custody. Supporting the core platform are data products (Canadian Corporate Disclosure Service, CDSX Entitlements, Fixed Income Terms and Conditions Service, Fixed Income Price Service, CDSX Security Master File, ITP Stats, and bulletins), tax services (Tax Breakdown Services, Dividend Eligibility, NR7-R Certification, Tax Reporting), issuer services (ISIN Issuance, Legal Entity Identifier, Professional Services, Holdings Confirmation, Holders of Record), and key initiatives including the Canadian Collateral Management Service (CCMS) in partnership with Clearstream, Post-Trade Modernization (T+1 settlement), and the TMX Securities Lending Recalls Hub.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Canadian Collateral Management Service (CCMS): Triparty collateral management service operated in partnership with Clearstream (Deutsche Börse Group) for managing domestic repurchase agreement services.

Products and services

• CDSX (CDS System) Canada's core clearing and settlement system that processes over 2.1 million exchange trades daily, providing trade clearing and settlement, securities depository, custodial services, and entitlement management for securities market participants.
• ISIN Issuance and ISIN Eligibility Services Service for requesting new ISIN (International Securities Identification Number) or CUSIP numbers and making securities eligible for trading in Canadian markets, available to both CDS participants and non-participants via the TMX-CDS Connect Registration portal.
• Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) Service Service assisting issuers with obtaining and managing Legal Entity Identifiers required for regulatory reporting.
• BEO (Book-Entry Only) Services Services for book-entry only securities, including the BEO Securities Services Agreement and Acknowledgement for managing securities held in electronic book-entry form.
• International Services Services enabling cross-border securities processing and international market participation for Canadian securities market participants.
• CDS Special Handling Specialized handling services for unique or non-standard securities processing requirements.
• Canadian Corporate Disclosure Service Data product providing corporate disclosure information for Canadian securities, distributed through the TMX Webstore.
• CDSX Entitlements Data feed and messaging service for corporate actions entitlements, providing information on security holder rights and corporate event processing.
• Fixed Income Terms and Conditions (FITC) Service Service providing fixed income terms and conditions data for Canadian securities, distributed via the TMX Webstore.
• Fixed Income Price Service (FIPS) Price service for fixed income securities in the Canadian market, distributed via the TMX Webstore.
• CDSX Security Master File Comprehensive master file containing security reference data including identifiers, characteristics, and corporate action parameters for all securities in the CDS system.
• Holders of Record Service providing issuers with information on registered holders of their securities.
• Confirmation of Registered Holdings Service for confirming registered security holdings for issuers.
• Notice of Record and Meeting Dates Service for issuers to submit notices of record dates and shareholder meeting dates.
• Tax Breakdown Services (CTBS) Online application enabling issuers to publish tax allocations and distributions for mutual fund trusts, mutual fund corporations, split share corporations, and limited partnerships, compliant with Canada Revenue Agency requirements.
• Dividend Eligibility Service Service for determining and reporting dividend eligibility for tax purposes.
• CDS NR7-R Certification Service Certification service for NR7-R forms related to non-resident withholding tax.
• Canadian Collateral Management Service (CCMS) First domestic triparty collateral management service in Canada, developed in partnership with Clearstream (Deutsche Börse Group). Optimizes and automates domestic triparty Repurchase Agreement services throughout the transaction lifecycle with features including collateral upgrade/downgrade trades, increased buy-side usage capability, full automation of repo lifecycle across baskets of assets, and inventory optimization.
• TMX Securities Lending Recalls Hub Platform automating securities lending recalls and replacing email communications with efficient electronic messaging for the Canadian securities lending market.
• CDS Professional Services Professional services supporting issuers with CDS-related processes and requirements.

Quantifiable outcome

• Processing over 2.1 million exchange trades daily
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Clearstream (Deutsche Börse Group)coreTechnology or IntegrationCCMS (Canadian Collateral Management Service) is a collaboration between TMX Post-Trade Innovations Inc., an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of TMX Group Limited, and Clearstream (the international central securities depository of Deutsche Börse Group). The partnership facilitates domestic triparty Repurchase Agreement services and optimizes collateral management for Canadian market participants. Clearstream brings its triparty collateral management expertise to the Canadian market, enabling clients to benefit from various funding sources, collateral mobility, and outsourced settlement functions.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• DTCC (Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation): U.S. central securities depository and clearing corporation operating the DTCC system for equities, fixed income, and derivatives. Directly comparable to CDS as a national CSD providing clearing, settlement, depository, and reference data services.
• Euroclear: International central securities depository operating across European and global markets, providing settlement, custody, and collateral services. Directly comparable as a settlement-system operator, with a deeper international footprint than CDS.
• Clearstream (Deutsche Börse): International CSD headquartered in Luxembourg and part of Deutsche Börse Group; CDS's partner in CCMS. Directly comparable in CSD and settlement services, with a comparable collateral management offering that CDS is leveraging through the partnership.
• LCH (London Clearing House): Major global clearing house (LCH Ltd, LCH SA, FCM Clearing) clearing equities, fixed income, derivatives, and repo across markets. Comparable as a regulated clearing and risk-management infrastructure provider serving broker-dealer participants.
• ASX (Australian Securities Exchange, incl. ASX Settlement / CHESS): Australian integrated exchange and CSD operator running CHESS settlement. Comparable as a single-jurisdiction post-trade infrastructure provider combining clearing and settlement systems for national capital markets.
• SIX SIS (SIX Group): Swiss central securities depository operating under SIX Group, providing settlement, custody, and asset servicing. Comparable as a national CSD offering clearing, settlement, and reference data services analogous to CDSX.
• JASDEC (Japan Securities Depository Center): Japan's central securities depository for equities, corporate bonds, and investment trusts. Comparable as the sole CSD for a major capital market, with similar functions in book-entry settlement and entitlement processing.
• B3 (Brasil, Bolsa, Balcão): Brazilian integrated exchange, clearing house, and central securities depository. Comparable as an integrated post-trade infrastructure operator providing clearing, settlement, depository, and custody services for its domestic market.
• KSD (Korea Securities Depository): Korea's central securities depository providing book-entry settlement, safekeeping, and related services for Korean equities, bonds, and ETFs. Comparable as a national CSD with a similar regulatory-monopoly mandate in its home jurisdiction.

Broad incumbents

• TMX Group Limited: Parent company of CDS, also operating Toronto Stock Exchange, TSX Venture, and Montréal Exchange. Comparable as the broader incumbent marketplace operator within which CDSX sits, but covers wider functions (listing, trading, clearing) beyond CDS's pure CSD/settlement focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TMXGroup
• YouTubeyoutube.com/tmxgroup
• Facebookfacebook.com/144002475754218
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tmx-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries2 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 CDS, Inc