Clearstream Banking AG
Clearstream Banking AG is the main national central securities depository in Germany. It is a fully owned subsidiary of the Clearstream Group, itself part of Deutsche Börse Group. As of 2018, it was the world's fourth-largest CSD by value of securities held, only surpassed by Fedwire Securities Service, the Depository Trust Company, and Euroclear Bank.
Overview
On, the Frankfurter Kassenverein was established to handle the settlement and clearance of securities traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange following the wartime and post-war disruption. The word Kassenverein was a reference to a number of pre-war financial institutions that provided market infrastructure services in the German-speaking world, including the and the Wiener Giro- und Cassen-Verein, the latter being described as the oldest CSD.In 1970-71, the Auslandskassenverein was formed to act as clearing and settlement agent and international gateway for German banks to various foreign depositories, including but not limited to Cedel in Luxembourg.
In December 1989, the Kassenverein arms of the regional stock exchanges in Berlin,, Frankfurt, Hamburg,, Munich, and Stuttgart merged as a single CSD for all of Germany, branded Deutscher Kassenverein, henceforth a subsidiary of Deutsche Börse.
In 1996, the AKV was merged into DKV, which was subsequently renamed Deutsche Börse Clearing AG in 1997.
In 2000, DBC merged with Cedel in Luxembourg, and the merged entity became a fully owned subsidiary of Deutsche Börse in mid-2002.