CENTRAL COUNTERPARTIES ON ROMANIAN CAPITAL MARKET

Capital markets refer to clearing as to the process of establishing „positions”, i.e., ownership of a particular security, like a stock or derivative, at a given time, including the calculation of net obligations, and ensuring that financial instruments, cash, or both, are available to secure the exposures arising from those positions. The calculation of net obligations is a complex process that requires the presence of a new participant: Central Counterpart (CCP). CCP means a legal person that interposes itself between the parties to the contracts traded on a financial market, becoming the buyer to every seller and the seller to every buyer. Such CCPs know two avatars: central depositaries intervene in the stock market for clearing transactions while other companies intervene on derivates markets. For clarity, the Romanian Law assign the term CCP for derivates only. Stock market use in clearing process the depository only. CCPs, have in present a European Regulation, updated several times1. This regulation marked a turning point on Romania Capital market and in the end led to the disappearance, probably temporary, of the internal market of derivative financial instruments. The companies that operated as clearing companies on the Romanian derivatives market – „Casa Română de Compensație SA” from Bucharest Stock Exchange group and „Casa de Compensare București SA” from Sibex group – did not meet the new authorization requirements and ceased to participate to derivatives market. Romanian Regulation issued by Romanian Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA)2 implemented the European Regulation. The new Romanian Law on financial instruments markets3 enacts the same European rules for CCPs.