Swiss Euro Clearing Bank

Last updated

The Swiss Euro Clearing Bank or SECB is a special-purpose bank based in Frankfurt, Germany, whose role is to facilitate transactions in euros by banks in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is the centerpiece of the euroSIC system, which is the euro counterpart to the Swiss Interbank Clearing (SIC) system for transactions in Swiss francs. [1]

Contents

Overview

SECB was established in 1998 and started operations on 1 January 1999, [1] the same day as the euro was introduced as single currency of 11 member states of the EU. It settles transactions in euros that are processed on the SIC system, thanks to its access to the TARGET Services platform of the Eurosystem. [2] :66

Use of SECB is not obligatory. In the mid-2000s, UBS preferred to process transactions in euro via its own direct access to the German real-time gross settlement system, which was subsequently replaced by TARGET2. [2] :66

Originally owned by several Swiss financial sector participants, SECB has been a fully owned by SIX Group since 2018. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ISO 4217</span> Standard that defines codes for the representation of currencies

ISO 4217 is a standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that defines alpha codes and numeric codes for the representation of currencies and provides information about the relationships between individual currencies and their minor units. This data is published in three tables:

Real-time gross settlement (RTGS) systems are specialist funds transfer systems where the transfer of money or securities takes place from one bank to any other bank on a "real-time" and on a "gross" basis to avoid settlement risk. Settlement in "real time" means a payment transaction is not subjected to any waiting period, with transactions being settled as soon as they are processed. "Gross settlement" means the transaction is settled on a one-to-one basis, without bundling or netting with any other transaction. "Settlement" means that once processed, payments are final and irrevocable.

SIX Swiss Exchange, based in Zürich, is Switzerland's principal stock exchange. SIX Swiss Exchange also trades other securities such as Swiss government bonds and derivatives such as stock options.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giro (banking)</span> Payment transfer from one bank account to another bank account and initiated by the payer

A giro transfer, often shortened to giro, is a payment transfer between current bank accounts and initiated by the payer, not the payee. The debit card has a similar model. Giros are primarily used in Europe; although electronic payment systems exist in the United States, it is not possible to perform third-party transfers with them. In the European Union, the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) allows electronic giro or debit card payments in euros to be executed to any euro bank account in the area.

A payment system is any system used to settle financial transactions through the transfer of monetary value. This includes the institutions, payment instruments such as payment cards, people, rules, procedures, standards, and technologies that make its exchange possible. A payment system is an operational network which links bank accounts and provides for monetary exchange using bank deposits. Some payment systems also include credit mechanisms, which are essentially a different aspect of payment.

A bank code is a code assigned by a central bank, a bank supervisory body or a Bankers Association in a country to all its licensed member banks or financial institutions. The rules vary to a great extent between the countries. Also the name of bank codes varies. In some countries the bank codes can be viewed over the internet, but mostly in the local language.

Sort codes are the domestic bank codes used to route money transfers between financial institutions in the United Kingdom, and formerly in the Republic of Ireland. They are six-digit hierarchical numerical addresses that specify clearing banks, clearing systems, regions, large financial institutions, groups of financial institutions and ultimately resolve to individual branches. In the UK they continue to be used to route transactions domestically within clearance organizations and to identify accounts, while in the Republic of Ireland they have been deprecated and replaced by the Single European Payment Area (SEPA) systems and infrastructure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Bank of Kosovo</span> Monetary Authority of Kosovo

The Central Bank of Kosovo is the central bank of Kosovo. It was founded in June 2008, the same year Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia, with the approval of Law No. 03/L-074 on the Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo by the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo. Before being established as the Central Bank of Kosovo, it operated as the Central Banking Authority of Kosovo. The official currency in Kosovo is the Euro, which was unilaterally adopted by the United Nations administration for Kosovo in 2002; however, Kosovo is not a member of the Eurozone. The headquarters of the CBK are located in the capital of Kosovo, Pristina.

The Clearing House Automated Transfer System, or CHATS, is a real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system for the transfer of funds in Hong Kong. It is operated by Hong Kong Interbank Clearing Limited (HKICL), a limited-liability private company jointly owned by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Hong Kong Association of Banks. Transactions in four currency denominations may be settled using CHATS: Hong Kong dollar, renminbi, euro, and US dollar. In 2005, the value of Hong Kong dollar CHATS transactions averaged HK$467 billion per day, which amounted to a third of Hong Kong's annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP); the total value of transactions that year was 84 times the GDP of Hong Kong. CHATS has been referred by authors at the Bank for International Settlements to as "the poster child of multicurrency offshore systems".

girocard Interbank network and debit card service

girocard is an interbank network and debit card service in Germany connecting virtually all automated teller machines (ATMs) and banks. It is based on standards and agreements developed by the German Banking Industry Committee.

SIX is a key financial market infrastructure company in Switzerland. The company provides services relating to securities transactions, the processing of financial information, payment transactions and is building a digital infrastructure. The company name SIX is an abbreviation and stands for Swiss Infrastructure and Exchange. SIX is globally active, with its headquarters in Zurich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CLS Group</span> Financial infrastructure group

CLS Group, or simply CLS, is a specialized financial market infrastructure group whose main entity is the New York-based CLS Bank. It started operations in 2002 and operates a unique and global central multicurrency cash settlement system, known as the CLS System, which plays a critical role in the foreign exchange market. Although the forex market is decentralised and has no central exchange or clearing facility, firms that chose to use CLS to settle their FX transactions can mitigate the settlement risk associated with their trades. CLS achieve this thanks to a central net and gross payment versus payment settlement service directly connected to the real-time gross settlement systems of participating jurisdictions through accounts at each of their respective central banks.

Vocalink is a payment systems company headquartered in the United Kingdom, created in 2007 from the merger between Voca and LINK. It designs, builds and operates the UK payments infrastructure, which underpins the provision of the Bacs payment system and the UK ATM LINK switching platform covering 65,000 ATMs and the UK Faster Payments systems.

SIX Interbank Clearing AG, based in Zürich, Switzerland, is a subsidiary of SIX Group.

The Swiss Interbank Clearing (SIC) system is a mechanism for the clearing of domestic and international payments.

EBA Clearing is a provider of pan-European payment infrastructure wholly owned by shareholders that consist of major European banks. It derives its name from the Euro Banking Association which was instrumental in its establishment in June 1998, but has always been a separate organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SIA S.p.A.</span>

SIA S.p.A. is an Italian company operating in the area of ICT, providing services to the banking and finance sector in addition to platforms for financial markets and e-payment services.

A bank clearing number or BC number is a number used for the identification of financial institutions in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Bank clearing numbers are connected to the Swiss Interbank Clearing and the euroSIC system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Automated clearing house</span> Type of electronic network for financial transactions

An automated clearing house (ACH) is a computer-based electronic network for processing transactions, usually domestic low value payments, between participating financial institutions. It may support both credit transfers and direct debits. The ACH system is designed to process batches of payments containing numerous transactions, and it charges fees low enough to encourage its use for low-value payments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Financial market infrastructure</span> Critical component of the financial system

Financial market infrastructure refers to systems and entities involved in clearing, settlement, and the recording of payments, securities, derivatives, and other financial transactions. Depending on context, financial market infrastructure may refer to the category in general, or to individual companies or entities.

References

  1. 1 2 "SECB Swiss Euro Clearing Bank GmbH". secb.de. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
  2. 1 2 Morten L. Bech, Christine Preisig, & Kimmo Soramäki (September 2008), "Global Trends in Large-Value Payments" (PDF), FRBNY Economic Policy Review, Federal Reserve Bank of New York{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. "SIX Increases Its Stake in SECB GmbH to 100%". SIX Group. 3 September 2018.