On 12 March 2025, Euronext N.V. moved the issuance of its own shares to Euronext Securities in a concrete step in its mission to streamline and unify equity capital markets. This milestone demonstrates the value issuers can derive from joining a pan-European Central Securities Depository (CSD). Aurélie Cohen, Chief Investor Relations and Communications Officer at Euronext, discusses the significance of the move, the rationale behind it and the message it sends to issuers across Europe.

“We wanted to lead by example, to show our clients that migrating to Euronext Securities is not only feasible but beneficial,”  says Aurélie Cohen. “By moving our own shares, we have shown that the process can be done smoothly and sets a precedent for others to follow.”

Tackling European post-trade fragmentation

The decision aligns with Euronext’s broader strategy under the ‘Innovate for Growth 2027’ plan, aiming to tackle the long-standing issue of post-trade fragmentation in Europe. With settlement historically scattered across more than 30 CSDs, Euronext’s consolidation initiative is designed to enhance market efficiency and integration.

“By consolidating settlement within Euronext Securities, issuers and investors benefit from greater efficiency, lower costs and simplified access to multiple markets,” Aurélie Cohen explains. “This initiative enhances operational efficiency by streamlining post-trade processes and enabling access to all Euronext markets through one account at Euronext Securities, making it easier to manage operations and reducing the complexity of dealing with multiple CSDs. Additionally, investors can benefit from reduced settlement and custody fees, as well as improved access to European markets via a more integrated infrastructure, ultimately strengthening the global appeal and competitiveness of European capital markets.”

The move is particularly relevant for issuers wondering whether the investment of time and resources is worthwhile. “The effort of the migration was minimal compared to the long-term benefits,” Aurélie Cohen says. “There was a clear roadmap, strong support from Euronext Securities teams and no operational or legal disruptions. We used this opportunity to improve efficiencies for both our internal teams and for our clients." Collaboration between Euronext’s operations, legal and investor relations teams, alongside Euronext Securities and Euroclear France, ensured smooth execution and compliance.

Modernising and consolidating post-trade infrastructure for Europe

Jérôme Blais, Head of European Expansion at Euronext Securities, was also an integral part of this process. 

"This migration is a crucial step toward modernising and consolidating Europe’s post-trade infrastructure. We are proud to be at the forefront of this shift, ensuring the migration process for issuers and investors is seamless, cost-effective and beneficial in the long term," he comments. 

To support the migration process, Euronext collaborated with Uptevia, a leading provider of tailored issuer services. "Uptevia's expertise in handling transactions and managing securities operations was instrumental in ensuring the smooth and efficient move of Euronext’s shares to the new CSD infrastructure," Jérôme Blais adds.

Mathieu Bourgeois, Head of Development at Uptevia, says, “We are proud to have supported Euronext NV in streamlining its operations by migrating its shares to the new CSD. Our expertise in cross-market operations made the difference. This migration project as well as holding Euronext’s general meeting and the dividend payment under this new innovative set-up proves the success of this long-term collaboration.” 

A seamless transition with real benefits for issuers

Importantly, the change in the place of issuance had no impact on shareholders or existing investor CSD arrangements, Aurélie Cohen explains. “From a shareholder perspective, the transition was completely seamless.”

When asked about the real value this brings for other issuers, she remarks: “For companies listed on Euronext markets, this change enables easier access to international investors, reduced settlement and custody fees and a more integrated post-trade infrastructure, which has a positive impact on efficiency, liquidity and long-term investor relations.”

Key benefits for issuers include unified access to all Euronext markets through one account at a single CSD, attractive custody fee schemes, an integrated listing-to-issuance solution, improved shareholder services and a dedicated account manager for all post-trade activities.

Shaping capital markets for future generations

“This is a significant milestone and another step forward in shaping the future of capital markets in Europe,” Aurélie Cohen concludes. “With the infrastructure in place and the benefits clear, now is the time for issuers to begin their own path towards greater integration and operational efficiency.”

By moving the issuance of its own shares, Euronext N.V. simplifies its internal operations and reinforces its leadership role in shaping the future of integrated, competitive European capital markets. 

For more information about Euronext’s Central Securities Depository and how it supports issuers, visit the Euronext Securities website or LinkedIn/EuronextSecurities.

For more information about Uptevia, visit Uptevia's website or LinkedIn/Uptevia. 

Each year on World Oceans Day, we are reminded of the critical role oceans and water resources play in sustaining life, economies and ecosystems across the globe. At Euronext, our commitment to empowering sustainable finance means actively supporting investment solutions that promote the health of our oceans and responsible water stewardship.

As part of our ESG commitment to empowering sustainable finance, we are proud to highlight two key Euronext index families that put water and ocean sustainability at the forefront of sustainable investing.

Euronext CDP Water Eurozone EW Index

This index tracks the 50 leading companies in the Eurozone 300 universe with top CDP Water scores under the CDP’s environmental disclosure system, reflecting outstanding water stewardship practices and stringent environmental, social and governance criteria. Constituent companies demonstrate strong governance, social responsibility and environmental commitment, with an ESG rating above the benchmark and a focus on managing water-related risks and eco-efficiency.

Key index highlights:

• ESG performance: The index outperforms its benchmark on overall ESG scores, particularly in governance, while maintaining a strong environmental profile focused on climate strategy, energy management, water risk mitigation and eco-efficiency.
• Social and governance:  The index shows low social risk exposures and solid governance frameworks, including monitoring of board independence and anti-corruption policies.
• EU taxonomy alignment: Over 34% of revenues in the index align with the EU taxonomy environmental objectives, reflecting a growing commitment to sustainable economic activities.

By selecting companies that actively mitigate water risks and contribute to sustainable water management, the Euronext CDP Water Eurozone EW offers investors a transparent, equal-weighted exposure to businesses aligned with global water sustainability goals.

Euronext Water and Ocean Europe 40 EW

Designed to track the top 40 companies within the Euronext Europe 500 with the highest environmental performance scores for water and ocean sustainability, this index relies on ISS ESG’s rigorous Water & Ocean scoring framework. It focuses exclusively on environmental factors such as contribution to the UN SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), water usage efficiency, scarcity management and pollution control.

Key index highlights:

• Selection and composition: Constituents are selected from companies with a minimum free float market capitalisation of €3 billion and sufficient liquidity. Equal weighting promotes diversification and rebalancing occurs annually.
• ESG integration: The index emphasises environmental stewardship and ocean sustainability, making it a specialised benchmark for investors prioritising these critical areas.
• Performance overview: Recent data shows strong returns with an annualised 5-year return of approximately 9.5%, reflecting the resilience of companies leading in water and ocean sustainability.
• Sector and geographic exposure: Top sectors include finance, utilities, consumer discretionary and technology, with key country representation from France, Germany, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands.

Through its focus on companies driving innovation in water efficiency, pollution control and ocean sustainability, the Euronext Water and Ocean Europe 40 EW offers investors diversified exposure to businesses at the forefront of protecting vital aquatic ecosystems.

Supporting sustainable finance and the Blue Economy

Both indices reflect Euronext’s broader ESG commitment and our role as a leading European ESG index provider. They offer transparent, data-driven tools for investors to align their portfolios with global sustainability goals, including the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 6 on clean water and sanitation.

Celebrating innovation for ocean health with the Euronext Blue Challenge

Euronext’s commitment to protecting ocean health is year-round. As part of our ongoing dedication to the Blue Economy, we recently hosted the Euronext Blue Challenge 2025, empowering young entrepreneurs across Europe to develop sustainable innovations addressing marine and water-related challenges. This flagship initiative highlights the dynamic intersection of sustainable finance, education and environmental stewardship that defines Euronext’s ESG commitment.

Learn more about Euronext’s water-related indices* and the Blue Challenge, and join us in advancing a sustainable future for our oceans and water resources.

Euronext’s Yama Darriet, head of OTC capture and Repo Expansion Initiative, derivatives and post-trade, discusses the firm’s major step forward in strengthening collateral management and repo clearing capabilities across Europe. 

With European capital markets in flux, collateral efficiency and robust repo clearing have never been more critical. The latest International Capital Market Association (ICMA) European Repo Market Survey (Number 48), conducted on 11 December 2024 and published in April 2025, reports that outstanding repo and reverse repo volumes fell to €10,860 billion—a 2.3 per cent decline from June 2024 and the first contraction since mid-2020. 

At the same time, the survey showed a slight convergence of outstanding reverse repo vs repo balances, underscoring how European Central Bank (ECB) quantitative-tightening measures and the repayment of targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTROs) are expanding available collateral pools and normalising repo rates.

Additionally, the ICMA survey data showed, that against this backdrop of shrinking volumes, electronification patterns are shifting; Voice and bilateral-brokered trades are regaining market share even as dealer-to-customer platforms continue to grow. 

Cross-border US dollar (USD) transactions are surging, US Treasury securities (USTs) now dominate collateral pools at record levels, and haircut dynamics are evolving—asset-backed securities (ABS) and financial-corporate haircuts have increased, while covered bonds and mortgage-backed securities (MBS) have seen some relief. 

Meanwhile, regulatory reforms—from the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) Refit in Europe to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s delayed US Treasury-clearing mandate—are driving firms to rethink collateral workflows and reporting infrastructure.

In the US, as noted previously, the SEC has recently extended the compliance deadlines for new regulations requiring certain US Treasury and repo transactions to be centrally cleared. Reuters reported that, originally set to be phased in by June 2026, the deadlines have been pushed back by a year to 2027 following concerns from US trade associations about possible market disruption. This extension provides firms with additional time to adapt and ensure operational readiness for the new clearing requirements, Reuters reporting concluded. 

While Europe does not yet have a similar mandate for central clearing of repo transactions, the developments in the US have sparked discussions among European market participants, a recent risk.net article reported. Notably, the Bank of England (BoE) is actively exploring the potential benefits of mandating central clearing for repo transactions on UK Gilts (UK government bonds), though no formal decision has been made. 

According to Risk.net, the BoE has been assessing the implications of such a mandate, particularly considering lessons learned from the 2022 Liability-Driven Investment (LDI) crisis and its recent system-wide exploratory scenario (SWES) stress test. This test revealed that during periods of market stress, banks tend to withdraw from repo markets, limiting liquidity precisely when buy-side firms need it most. Central clearing could mitigate these risks by reducing counterparty credit exposures and enhancing market resilience.

Although the BoE has not yet confirmed its plans, Governor Andrew Bailey has acknowledged that improving financial infrastructure — for example, expanding clearing for Gilt repo — could be a viable policy response to vulnerabilities in the market. 

Similarly, discussions are emerging in the European Union regarding a possible government bond clearing mandate, reflecting a broader regulatory trend inspired by US reforms, risk.net’s reporting concluded. 
 

Euronext’s strategic response: Enhancing repo clearing and collateral management

In response to these evolving trends, Euronext is committed to delivering innovative clearing and collateral management solutions that enhance market efficiency and liquidity — not just for repo, but across all asset classes.

A key development in this strategy is Euronext’s recently announced collaboration with Euroclear, its first of several strategic alliances with Tri-party agents (TPAs). 

On 11 February 2025, Euronext confirmed the alliance with Euroclear to strengthen its collateral management services. This alliance, and future similar collaborations, will enhance Euronext Clearing by providing clients with automated and adaptable collateral services.

Anthony Attia, Global Head of Derivatives and Post-Trade at Euronext, said of the announcement: “This partnership marks a significant milestone in Euronext’s “Innovate for Growth 2027” strategy, reinforcing Euronext Clearing’s role as a cornerstone of the group's broader strategic ambitions. 

It demonstrates our commitment to delivering best-in-class clearing and collateral management solutions for our clients. It is a key milestone in the expansion across Europe of Euronext Clearing’s repo franchise. As we develop Euronext Clearing’s services, we are creating value for stakeholders and positioning Euronext at the forefront of innovation in clearing and collateral management."

Through these TPA collaborations, firms, such as Euroclear, manage the selection, valuation, and substitution of collateral, ensuring compliance with eligibility standards while optimising operational efficiency. 

Expansion of repo clearing services

The Euroclear collaboration is a key enabler of Euronext’s upcoming Repo Expansion Initiative; a phased-approach expansion of its repo clearing services; building on the 25-year strong foundation and expertise, where Euronext has been the trusted home of Italian repo clearing. The first phase — the Repo Foundation — is scheduled to launch in June 2025.

This enhanced offering is designed to attract international counterparties and expand Euronext’s repo clearing operations beyond Italy; covering a broader range of European government bonds, including Spanish, Portuguese, and Irish govies in June 2025, followed by German, French, Dutch, Belgium, and Euro-denominated in September 2025. Austrian and Finnish will follow by December 2025.

The Repo Expansion Initiative marks an important milestone in Euronext Clearing’s broader transition from an Italian-focused CCP to a pan-European cross-asset clearing house with membership solutions for both sell and buy-side firms. By providing clearing services across multiple markets and asset classes, Euronext is reinforcing its role in supporting liquidity, collateral efficiency, and risk management across European fixed income and repo markets. 

Additionally, this initiative aligns with Euronext’s wider market infrastructure, including the addition of the MTS trading platform; now part of the Euronext group after the acquisition of Borsa Italiana. Notably, repo trading at Euronext, through the MTS trading platform, now sees volumes exceeding 180 billion EUR a day*. 

*Internal MTS data accurate as of April 2025. 

For more details on the Repo Expansion Initiative, click here.
 

Market Trends and Regulatory Developments

The Euronext collaborations and the Repo Expansion Initiative coincide with a period of structural change in the European repo market. As the European Central Bank (ECB) ceases reinvestments of maturing bonds from its monetary policy portfolios from January 2025—equivalent to approximately €40 billion per month—the market is undergoing a substantial withdrawal of central bank-provided liquidity.

A Securities Finance Times article highlights a marked resurgence in cash-driven and triparty repo activity. Average daily term-adjusted repo volumes rose by 70% in 2023, increasing from €210.3 billion to €357.8 billion. Over the same period, general collateral and special repo segments expanded by 142% and 38% year-on-year, respectively.

However, growth has moderated in 2024, with a slowdown in overall volumes and a contraction in activity in some segments, reflecting changing collateral dynamics and reduced scarcity in certain sovereign bonds.

At the same time, triparty repo activity has continued to build momentum. As the ECB’s TLTRO III facility winds down, market participants have sought alternative funding sources. This has led to a rise in uncleared triparty repo transactions, with banks re-entering the lending space, corporates increasing their participation, and buy-side firms actively seeking returns through repo markets.

These shifts underscore the growing importance of netting efficiency and collateral optimisation—particularly as spreads between core and peripheral eurozone repo rates continue to compress to historic lows. The full findings are detailed in the April 2025 repo market analysis published in the latest ICMA European Repo Market Survey. 

A major step forward

Euronext’s Repo Expansion Initiative marks a major step forward in strengthening collateral management and repo clearing capabilities across Europe. By expanding access to cleared repo markets and reinforcing cross-border infrastructure, Euronext is helping market participants adapt to a rapidly evolving regulatory and liquidity environment.

Findings from the latest ICMA European Repo Market Survey indicate a contraction in outstanding volumes—reflecting the impact of central bank balance sheet reductions and seasonal balance sheet adjustments. Notably, net reverse-repo positioning has dropped to its lowest share of market activity in years, underscoring the importance of efficient collateral reuse and robust clearing solutions.

Looking ahead, repo desks should prepare for ongoing changes in collateral availability amid sustained sovereign issuance and quantitative tightening. Diverging funding dynamics between US dollar and euro markets, the continued push toward market electronification, and shifting post-trade regulatory requirements—such as SFTR and margining rules—are set to reshape operating models and counterparty workflows.

As Euronext continues its journey to a pan-European, cross-asset clearing provider, it is uniquely positioned to support firms navigating these shifts. The growing demand for transparency, resilience and efficiency across funding markets reinforces the critical role of clearing in the next phase of European capital markets.

Please note that since publication, some data included may no longer reflect the latest market developments, particularly considering the significant movements seen during the first quarter of 2025.

Footnotes

(Source: ICMA-European-Repo-Market-Survey-Number-48-Conducted-December-2024-Published-April-2025-090425.pdf, April 2025)
(Source: SEC extends key deadlines for US Treasury clearing rule, Reuters, 26 February 2025)
 (Source: Gilt repo clearing mandate on Bank of England’s radar, Risk.net, 12 March 2025)
(Source: ICMA European repo survey shows outstanding value of €10.8 trillion, Securities Finance Times, 09 April 2025)

Euronext will introduce Container Freight Cash-Settled Futures contracts in Europe, settled to the Xeneta Shipping Index by Compass (XSI®-C).

Access the replay: webinar “Introducing Euronext Container Freight Futures” 

The Euronext Container Freight Cash-Settled Futures contracts will provide an effective solution to face volatile ocean freight rates, while empowering the shipping industry with the same tools used in commodities and finance. 
 
With prices based on the Xeneta Shipping Index by Compass (XSI®-C) daily freight rate benchmark, administered by Compass, Euronext’s Container Freight Futures will bring predictability, transparency, and opportunity to freight pricing. 

The introduction of Container Freight Futures responds to a growing recognition that freight rate hedging is the missing link in comprehensive supply chain risk management. Euronext Container Freight Futures address the industry's need for effective tools to manage geopolitical uncertainty, capacity fluctuations, and shifting demand. With this initiative, Euronext provides both the logistics sector and the financial community with a long-awaited, robust solution for managing freight rate risk.

Who are Container Freight Futures for? 

Importers, exporters (shippers), freight forwarders, NVOCCs, ocean carriers, logistics procurement teams, as well as investors and traders looking to hedge container freight rate risk, secure logistics costs, or take positions on freight rate movements with daily price transparency and central clearing.

Why trade Container Freight Futures?

Volatility Protection 
Freight futures provide a hedge against unpredictable rate fluctuations, reducing exposure to sudden cost surges or drops. 

Price Transparency 
Continuous trading and daily publication of index pricing (via Xeneta’s XSI®-C) enhance visibility in a traditionally opaque market.  

Budget Stability 
More predictable logistics costs and revenues support accurate financial planning and help prevent margin erosion. 

Competitive Advantage 
Early adoption enables more stable pricing models and improved negotiation leverage with supply chain partners.
 

Key features of the Euronext Container Freight Futures include:

Route-Specific Contracts 
Hedge exposure with precision using contracts tailored to four major trade lanes for Forty-Foot Equivalent Unit (FEU) containers across Asia–Europe, Transatlantic, and Trans-Pacific routes: 

• Far East to Northern Europe 

• Far East to US West Coast 

• Northern Europe to Far East 

• Northern Europe to US East Coast 

Each contract corresponds to a selected corridor and is linked to the Xeneta XSI®-C, enabling granular risk management across both headhaul and backhaul flows. 

Market Transparency 
Continous trading on a central order book that reflects real-time freight rate movements. Establishing the first forward curve for container shipping, enhancing price discovery and planning. 

Financially Settled, No Physical Delivery 
Contracts are cash-settled in USD, eliminating the need to move containers or manage physical delivery. At expiry, Euronext Clearing handles final settlement based on the difference between the traded price and the index value — simplifying participation for both logistics and financial players. 

Central Clearing & Risk Management 
All trades are centrally cleared through Euronext Clearing (CCP), which guarantees contract performance and eliminates bilateral counterparty risk. Margining and robust risk controls provide security and market stability, even in volatile conditions. 

Contract Maturities
Futures are listed with 18 consecutive expiries. This allows for short-term hedging of seasonal price spikes or longer-term exposure management. 

Index-Linked Pricing 
Each futures contract is based on Xeneta’s trusted XSI®-C index — a neutral, independent benchmark of real market container freight rates sourced from a global data pool. 

Broad Market Access 
Open to a wide range of participants: shippers, NVOCCs, freight forwarders, ocean carriers, shipowners, brokers, and institutional investors. This inclusive design concentrates liquidity in a single, transparent marketplace and supports dynamic two-way trading.

For more information

Contact the Euronext Commodities team at Commodities@euronext.com  

Visit the official index calculation agent's website

Access the webinar replay  “Introducing Euronext Container Freight Futures” organised on 26 June 2025, where Euronext and Xeneta provided an overview of the project, shared some technical details and answered questions.

Following the binding agreement to acquire Nasdaq’s Nordic Power Futures business, Euronext confirms that the transfer of open interest from Nasdaq Clearing to Euronext Clearing is scheduled to take place over the weekend of 14 March 2026.

This migration will follow the technical launch of the Euronext Nord Pool Power Futures market, which will benefit from Euronext Clearing’s proven risk model and comprehensive clearing services.

Clearing Members Readiness
 

The onboarding documentation for Clearing Members is accessible on Connect.

The External User Acceptance (EUA) environment has been available to support testing of the Euronext Nord Pool Power Futures Market since 17 March 2025.

Migration rehearsals

The successful completion of at least one migration rehearsal is mandatory for all Clearing Members with open interest to be migrated. This must be conducted in close coordination with their respective Trading Members. The rehearsal is a critical step to simulate the migration of positions under conditions identical to the actual migration weekend, thereby validating the robustness of procedures and controls. To participate meaningfully, clients must be fully set up in the Production environment prior to the start of the migration rehearsal window.
 

Migration milestones

The migration of open interest from Nasdaq to Euronext Clearing and the wind-down of Nasdaq’s Nordic Power Futures trading and clearing services, are both contingent on the completion of the transaction between Euronext and Nasdaq. The remaining regulatory approval for Euronext Clearing is expected by the end of June 2025.

For further information, contact the Euronext Clearing Sales team at

 CCP-sales@euronext.com