This exchange guide explains what the Deutsche Börse Group (DBG) is, which other exchanges are part of the collective group, and what services they offer to traders.
Contents
- What is the Deutsche Börse Group?
- Deutsche Börse Exchanges & Products
- History of the Deutsche Börse Group
- Executive Board of Deutsche Börse Group
- How is the Deutsche Börse Group Regulated?
- How Does the Deutsche Börse Group Conduct Trading?
- What Types of Memberships Does DBG Offer?
- Deutsche Börse Group’s Margins & Clearing Houses
- Traders’ Fees & Charges At Deutsche Börse
- What Market Data is Available?
- What Educational Materials Are On Offer?
- How Can I Start Trading?
- Further Reading
Read on to find out about what products DBG offers, who the leading executive board members are, and what types of memberships traders have access to.
We also cover the brief history of Deutsche Börse.
What is the Deutsche Börse Group?
Deutsche Börse Group (DBG) is a German-based financial services company and one of the largest exchange organizations in the world.
The company operates an integrated business model.
DBG’s activities cover every phase of the market life cycle from capital formation, trading, clearing, and settlement through to the custody of securities:
What Services Does Deutsche Börse Offer?
| Service | Description |
|---|---|
| Pre-IPO and Listing | Deutsche Börse assists companies at all stages of development with capital formation: |
| Exchange-Traded Markets | Operates exchange trading for a variety of different asset classes through nine unique marketplaces (see below for more details):
|
| Clearing | Deutsche Börse’s two clearing houses act as central counterparties (central counterparties act as a buyer to the seller and a seller to the buyer):
|
| Settlement | |
| Custody | |
| Collateral and Liquidity Management | The Deutsche Börse brands for collateral and liquidity services are Clearstream, Eurex Clearing, and Eurex Repo®. They provide: |
| Market Data and Regulatory Services | |
| Indexes | Deutsche Börse subsidiary, Qontigo licenses several proprietary indexes and analytics solutions. |
| Technology | The exchange offers a wide range of technology services through the brands A7®, C7®, F7®, M7®, N7®, and T7, including: |
Deutsche Börse Exchanges & Products
Deutsche Börse operates several exchange brands for trading its products.
Traders can transact business in three categories of asset classes/products:
- Cash / Spot market: Transactions in which delivery and payment take place shortly after the transaction is concluded
- Derivatives: Securities that derive their value from the performance of another instrument such as an asset, index, or interest rate. Futures and options are the most commonly traded derivatives.
- Foreign Exchange: Currency markets
| Category | Exchange | Products | Market Facts |
|---|---|---|---|
Cash Market | Xetra | Shares, ETFs, ETPs | Xetra transacts shares from German exchanges and major European ETFs |
| BörseFrankfurt | Equities, Bonds, ETFs/ETPs, Funds, Commodities, Currencies, Certificates, Sustainable Products | More than one million German and international securities trade on this exchange | |
| Tradegate Exchange | An exchange geared for private investors trading Equities, ETPs, Bonds, and Funds | Regulated market under MiFID | |
| Warrants Exchange | Certificates, Warrants, Reverse Convertibles | Runs on Börse Frankfurt trading infrastructure | |
| EEX Group | Spot markets like Power, Natural Gas, Emissions | Europe’s leading energy exchanges | |
Derivatives Market | Eurex Exchange | Derivatives markets like Interest Rate, Equity Index, Equity, Volatility, Dividend, FX, ETF, Commodity, Property | Offers trading on international benchmark products |
| Eurex Repo | International financing in secured money markets like Repos, Securities, Lending | Offers trading in international fixed income and equity securities in a variety of different currencies | |
| EEX Group | Derivatives markets on Power, Natural gas, Emission allowances, Agricultural products, Freight, Metals, Coal | Europe’s leading energy exchanges | |
Foreign Exchange | 360T® | OTC financial instruments (especially FX), Short-term money market products, FX and interest rate derivatives | Web-based trading technology |
History of the Deutsche Börse Group
The following timeline lists some key events in the history of Deutsche Börse Group:
| Year | Event | Commentary |
|---|---|---|
| 1585 | Birth of Frankfurt Stock Exchange | Merchants from all across Europe meet in Frankfurt to establish uniform exchange rates for currencies |
| 1854 | Introduction of the trading floor | Frankfurt Stock Exchange creates an enclosed area accessible only to officially approved traders |
| 1896 | Integration of after-hours trading into official exchange organization | |
| 1949 | Founding of Frankfurt central securities depository | |
| 1958 | Foreign shares listed for first time since end of war | |
| 1968 | Free floating of gold | Leads to resumption of gold trading |
| 1970 | Founding of new data center | Data center becomes one of the precursors of Deutsche Börse Systems AG |
| 1983 | Standardization of equity options | Secondary trading commences |
| 1987 | ntroduction of KISS price information system | Replaces display boards on the exchange floor |
| Creation of DAX index | ||
| 1990 | Founding of Deutsche Terminbörse exchange | Futures trading begins for the first time in Germany |
| 1998 | Founding of Eurex | Merger of the Soffex and DTB futures market produces first cross-border derivatives exchange |
| 2000 | Founding of Clearstream International | |
| European Energy Exchange | Begins trading in spot electricity | |
| 2005 | Establishment of Entry Standard | Allows listing of more small and medium sized companies |
| 2010 | Acquisition of major interest in Tradegate Exchange | Expands presence in retail market for trading equities, bonds, funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) |
| 2011 | Floor trading migrates to Xetra technology-based trading | |
| 2014 | Launch of first renminbi bond | |
| 2015 | Acquisition of 360T® trading platform | |
| 2016 | Launch of Venture Network | Facilitates financing rounds between investors and growth companies |
Who Are the Deutsche Börse Group Executives?
The Executive Board of Deutsche Börse Group consists of five individuals who oversee the management of the daily operations of the exchange group.
Executive Board of Deutsche Börse Group
| Name | Position | Information |
|---|---|---|
Theodor Weimer | Chief Executive Officer | Weimer has served as CEO of Deutsche Börse Group since January 2018. Some of his previous roles include: HypoVereinsbank / UniCredit Bank AG, Munich - Spokesman of the Management Board Bayerische Hypo-und Vereinsbank AG / UniCredit Group, München Goldman, Sachs & Co. oHG, Frankfurt/Main |
Christoph Böhm | Chief Information Officer/Chief Operating Officer | Böhm became the member of the Deutsche Börse executive board in November 2018 with prior executive experience at SAP SE, Vodafone plc, and Deutsche Telekom AG. |
Thomas Book | Executive Board Member | Book became the member of the Deutsche Börse executive board in July 2018 . He's responsible for trading and clearing, and has worked with Deutsche Börse since 1995 after graduating from the University of Münster. |
Heike Eckert | Executive Board Member | Eckert is the most recent member of the executive board since July 2020. She also serves as the Director for Labour Relations. |
Stephan Leithner | Executive Board Member | As an executive board member since July 2018, Leithner is responsible for pre and post trading processes. Leithner has a professional work history with Deutsche Bank AG and McKinsey & Company. |
Gregor Pottmeyer | Chief Financial Officer | Pottmeyer has been on the board of executives for the longest, since October 2009. His professional career crossed paths with the likes of Mercedes-Benz and DaimerChrysler Bank. |
Images sourced from https://www.deutsche-boerse.com/dbg-en/investor-relations/corporate-governance/executive-board
Does Deutsche Börse Group Have Vendor Partners?
Deutsche Börse Group works with many Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) to supply data to market participants.
You can obtain a full list of these vendors along with their products and contact information at the Deutsche Börse website.
How is the Deutsche Börse Group Regulated?
Deutsche Börse Group touts as its objective the operation of “efficient, secure and transparent markets.”
As one of the largest exchange organizations in the world, Deutsche Börse Group operates in a highly regulated environment. Its activities fall under the jurisdiction of many regulatory agencies and laws throughout Germany and Europe.
How Does The Deutsche Börse Group Participate To Regulatory Compliance?
Deutsche Börse Group monitors and actively participates in discussions on national and European market regulation and closely follows global regulatory trends.
The exchange group also produces statements, white papers, and studies that outline the challenges regarding market regulation.
The company aims to offer possible regulatory solutions, too. Publications can be found on the Deutsche Börse Group website.
Types Of Exchange Regulation
Regulation of Deutsche Börse Group exchanges takes place at three levels:
- Exchange
- State
- Federal
Organizations at each of these levels complement each other in carrying out the rules of the exchanges and enforcing market regulations.
What Is DBG’s Exchange Regulation?
The Trading Surveillance Office (TSO) is an independent supervisory body in Deutsche Börse Group.
Its responsibilities include monitoring the proper conduct of exchange trading as well as the pricing process.
TSO oversees price fixing on the exchange as well as electronic trading on Xetra® and Eurex®.
If TSO notices irregularities in trading, it notifies supervisory bodies and management boards of the exchange. In some cases, TSO notifies BaFin (see below).
What Is DBG’s State Regulation?
The state-level agency responsible for the regulation of Deutsche Börse exchanges is the Exchange Supervisory Authority (ESA).
This organization has similar responsibilities as TSO, but at the state level:
- Pricing processes
- Supervision of the proper conduct of trading
- Investigation of violations of the Exchange Act
How Does The ESA Work?
The Exchange Supervisory Authority examines irregularities reported to it by TSO. In addition, it may conduct its own supervision of markets.
Along with the Disciplinary Committee and the management boards of the exchanges, the Exchange Supervisory Authority may also impose sanctions on market participants.
It also approves the rules and regulations of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and Eurex.
What Is DBG’s Federal Regulation?
The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) is responsible for investigating cases of suspected insider trading and market manipulation at the federal level.
BaFin is an independent federal institution and financial regulatory authority in Germany.
Legislation in 2002 merged three predecessor agencies and empowered BaFin as the principal financial regulator.
How Does the Deutsche Börse Group Conduct Trading?
Trading models on Deutsche Börse Group exchanges vary by asset class.
However, all venues employ trading models that define the following factors:
- Order types
- Price determination rules
- Matching principles
- Order handling (or auction types)
Cash Market Trading With Deutsche Börse
- Xetra
- Frankfurt Exchange
- Tradegate
What Does Xetra Offer Traders?
Xetra offers the “continuous trading with auctions” service for trading liquid securities.
This service combines auctions, which occur three times a day, with continuous trading at other times. Traders can enter the market or limit orders and specify additional execution conditions and validity constraints (e.g., conditional orders).
More, traders can consult the Market Model for the Trading Venue Xetra manual for additional details on how Xetra conducts trading.
Designated sponsors are banks and broker-dealers that are exchange members and provide liquidity in less liquid issues. Designated sponsors must adhere to minimum criteria for posting bids and offers and providing liquidity.
What Does Frankfurt Börse Offer Traders?
The trading instruments on the Frankfurt Börse necessitate different models for trading than those offered on Xetra:
Since less liquid shares, funds and bonds trade on the Frankfurt Börse, the exchange employs specialists to provide liquidity.
Market makers make structured products more appealing to trade by adding additional liquidity
What Does Tradegate Offer Traders?
Tradegate allows order types with intelligent control. This market model is described in the Terms and Conditions section of Tradegate.
Derivatives Markets With Deutsche Börse
DBG’s three derivatives exchanges are:
- Eurex Exchange
- Eurex Repo
- EEX Group
The main feature of the Eurex market model is the central limit order book. Traders enter all orders and quotes into this book during the trading day.
Types Of Derivatives Orders
Eurex traders can enter seven types of orders on the exchange:
- Limit Orders
- Market Orders
- Closing Auction Limit Orders
- Closing Auction Market Orders
- Book-or-Cancel Orders
- Stop Market Orders
- One-Cancels-The-Other Orders
Eurex also supports strategy trading including:
- Futures Combinations: time spreads, packs & bundles, strips, inter-product spreads
- Standard Options Strategies
- Non-Standard Options Strategies
- Option Volatility Strategies: Option legs against an underlying futures leg or, in the case of equity options, the exchange of shares
Traders can consult the Eurex website for additional details about how the exchange conducts trading.
What Types of Memberships Does DBG Offer?
Each Deutsche Börse Group exchange has its own individual policies and applications for membership.
In addition, each exchange has its own classes of membership. Traders should consult the Deutsche Börse website for specific details.
Deutsche Börse notes the following about traders and trading companies on the vast majority of their trading venues:
- They have to meet strict requirements
- They have to be considered reliable
- They have to possess the required professional skills (relevant expertise and practical experience) to prove their suitability.
Does Deutsche Börse Provide Training?
Some Deutsche Börse trading venues require examinations of traders as part of the admissions process.
Deutsche Börse Group and its related companies offer training courses and examination materials for prospective traders.
Deutsche Börse Group’s Margins & Clearing Houses
Deutsche Börse Group operates two main clearinghouses – Eurex Clearing AG and European Commodity Clearing AG.
These clearinghouses act as central counterparties (they are buyers to sellers and sellers to buyers) on all transactions on Deutsche Börse exchanges.
Each of these clearinghouses employs the necessary procedures to protect market integrity and safeguard market participants from systemic risk.
Each clearinghouse also tries to balance market safeguards with the optimization of capital efficiency. Specific margin requirements vary among the clearing houses.
How Does The Eurex Clearing Margin Work?
Eurex employs two main methods for the calculation of traders’ margin requirements:
- Risk Based Margining (RBM)
- Eurex Clearing Prisma
Risk Based Margining
Eurex previously offered the RBM Calculator, which is a computer-based simulation program to calculate and simulate margin.
The program allowed traders to calculate margin on both new and existing positions for listed derivatives, equities, and bonds cleared by Eurex Clearing.
Eurex Clearing decommissioned RBM at the end of 2015 and mandated that clients migrate to the newer Eurex Clearing Prisma risk margin system).
Eurex Clearing Prisma
Eurex Clearing Prisma is the newest method for calculating margin requirements for exchange participants.
Eurex Clearing Prisma offers two different margin calculators for customers of the exchange.
The Prisma Online Margin Calculator is a browser-based calculator for Members running on Eurex Clearing’s production and simulation environments.
The Prisma Margin Estimator (PME) is a newer calculator that offers enhanced margin analysis capabilities.
European Commodity Clearing Margin
ECC is a Central Counterparty (CCP) licensed under European Markets Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR).
In the development of its margin system, ECC works closely with partner exchanges, clearing members and the financial supervisory authority.
ECC uses two main types of margin:
- Spot Margin: ECC measures credit exposure on a real-time basis 24/7 using Current Exposure Spot Margin (CESM). Spot traders must post Initial Margin Spot Market (IMSM), which serves as a buffer to cover exposure from movements in spot markets. Any margin shortfalls must be covered immediately with additional collateral.
- SPAN® Margin Model: ECC uses the SPAN® Margin Model to calculate futures and options margin on at least a daily basis. Traders generally have to post an initial margin based on the riskiness of a position and any possible offsets ECC may apply. Sometimes ECC will require additional margin to account for factors such as illiquidity, concentration risk in an asset class, or other factors.
Nodal Clear
Nodal Clear uses an expected shortfall methodology for its initial margin calculations.
The calculation is designed to cover an expected two-day loss to a 99.7% confidence level.
Traders’ Fees & Charges At Deutsche Börse
Each Deutsche Börse Group exchange has its own exchange and clearing fees.
Traders can find a list of these fees under the section for the respective exchange.
What Market Data is Available?
Deutsche Börse Group makes a variety of different types of market data available to its customers. The exchange group also makes regulatory services available to its customers.
Real-time market data: Market participants can obtain real-time data either directly though the exchange or through authorized vendor partners of the exchange.
Types Of Real-Time Data Offered By DBG
Deutsche Börse Group offers real-time data in the following products:
- Spot markets
- Derivatives markets
- Indices
- Energy and Commodities
- European spot markets
- Fixed income
- FX markets
- Asian markets
- The exchange group also offers two MiFID services
Analytics, Historical, & Referenced Data
The exchanges offer real-time order book and trade analytics that cover market liquidity and trends:
- Eurex IOC Liquidity Indicator for Options
- Eurex Real-time Analytics
- Intraday Volatility Forecast
- Risk Alerts
- Xetra Real-time Analytics
The exchange also provides historical data, which allows traders to back-test trading strategies, and reference data that allows vendors to accurately disseminate data to other market participants.
What Educational Materials Are On Offer?
Deutsche Börse operates Capital Markets Academy, which offers training in a variety of capital markets subjects. The Academy offers several ways for market participants to learn:
Training for Trading Exams
The Academy offers on-site training to prepare market participants for the exams administered by the exchanges.
Both the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and Eurex Germany require the certification of traders through examinations.
Certificate Programs With The DBG Academy
The Academy offers on-site certification programs for both clearing and trading. Traders can be certified in two categories: Certified Financial Engineer and Certified Derivatives Trader.
Clearing participants can receive a designation as a Certified Clearing Specialist.
DBG Academy Live Seminars
The Academy offers seminars and systems training for trading, back office and capital markets professionals.
Other E-Learning Opportunities
Traders can obtain basic stock exchange knowledge free of charge at the Frankfurt Exchange website. In addition, the Eurex website offers e-lectures for the Certified Derivatives Trader certificate program.
How Can I Start Trading?
Many regulated brokerage firms worldwide offer traders ways to speculate on assets traded on Deutsche Börse Group exchanges.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 74%-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Further Reading
Learn more about the world’s largest commodity exchanges including:
- Intercontinental Exchange (ICE)
- Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE)
- Tokyo Commodity Exchange
- Brasil Bolsa Balcão
If you’d like a primer on how to trade commodities in general, please see our introduction to commodity trading.
We also have guides on different tradable products like CFDs, options, stocks, forex, cryptocurrencies, and bullions.
