Clearing & Settlement Model

The Swiss Value Chain is an integrated service of Swiss Financial Market Services Ltd, which was created in 2008 as the result of the merger of the SWX Group, the SIS Group and Telekurs Group. It is an infrastructure company with an international activity range and one of the main pillars of the Swiss financial centre. The company covers the entire value chain provided by the infrastructure of the financial marketplace - from securities trading, settlement and safekeeping to financial information and payment transactions.

The various divisions of Swiss Financial Market Services perform the following tasks:

• Cash & Derivatives Markets Division: SWX Swiss Exchange, SWX Europe, Eurex and Scoach platforms for trading
• Securities Services (formerly SIS Group): clearing & settlement
• Cards & Payments: Swiss Interbank Clearing for payments
• Financial Information: numbering agency and financial information

With the Swiss Value Chain, Swiss Financial Market Services does not seek profit maximisation, but to offer services as cost-effectively as possible. The Swiss Value Chain is fully integrated and has multicurrency capability. Each step - from the initiation of an order at the SWX Swiss Exchange to the execution of the securities transaction and to clearing and final settlement - is fully automated and can be performed in real time by means of STP. This high level of functional efficiency is a key factor in the Swiss financial marketplace.

The following international partners provide services for the companies belonging to Swiss Financial Market Services:

• Clearstream Luxembourg
• Euroclear Bank, Brussels

Our real-time links allow us to send settlement instructions straight to the CCP in the case of transactions matched on-Exchange and to the appropriate CSD in the case of transactions that have not been cleared. CCP and Straight Through Processing minimise the risk of uncertainties and delays after completion of a transaction and ensure a consistently high level of settlements and a low number of failed settlements.