Belgium: Financial Sector Assessment Program-Detailed Assessment of Observance-Assessment of the CPSS–IOSCO Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures Euroclear Bank

Euroclear Bank (EB) is a large and highly interconnected international central securities depository (ICSD) that provides critical services for global financial markets. EB, domiciled in Belgium, issues and provides custody and settlement services for international bonds (i.e., Eurobonds) in its capacity as an ICSD. It shares this role primarily with Clearstream Banking Luxembourg (CBL). EB also settles and holds in custody a wide range of domestic and internationally traded securities. In December 2019, EB was authorized under the Central Securities Depository Regulation (CSDR) of the European Union (EU) to perform so-called core CSD services, as well as non-banking- and banking-type ancillary services. EB is also licensed as a credit institution under the Belgian Banking Act. To facilitate smooth settlement, EB provides uncommitted credit facilities to its participants on an intraday and fully collateralized basis. In 2021, the value of securities held on EB’s books was EUR 17.1 trillion and it had settlement turnover of 147 million transactions with a value of EUR 653 trillion. This makes EB the most active CSD in the world (by settlement turnover), as well as the largest ICSD and third largest CSD in the world (by value of securities held).