OCC Clears Record-Setting 5.24 Billion Total Contracts in 2018

  • December volume up 26.2 percent year-over-year; most active December in OCC's history
  • ETF options volume up 25.7 percent in 2018, securities lending CCP activity up 17.2 percent
January 02, 2019
Chicago -

OCC, the world's largest equity derivatives clearing organization, announced today that it set new annual cleared contract volume records for the U.S. exchange-listed options and futures industry. In 2018, OCC cleared 5.24 billion total contracts and 5.14 billion options contracts. These numbers surpass the previous records, set in 2011, of 4.60 billion total contracts and 4.56 billion options contracts. Compared to 2017, OCC had a 21.1 percent increase in total contracts cleared and a 22.6 percent increase in options contracts cleared.

Year
Options Contracts Cleared
Total Contracts Cleared (Options and Futures)
2011
4,562,748,194
4,600,955,949
2012
4,003,871,308
4,042,175,801
2013
4,111,275,659
4,170,855,768
2014
4,265,368,807
4,333,019,384
2015
4,143,637,271
4,210,542,258
2016
4,063,224,196
4,167,747,777
2017
4,189,547,168
4,327,576,930
2018
5,137,201,519
5,242,089,870

"Throughout 2018 OCC delivered operational and capital efficiencies to our participating exchanges, clearing firms, and market users in our role as a systemically important financial market utility. As we look forward to 2019, my OCC colleagues remain committed to strengthening our resiliency and risk management capabilities to ensure confidence in the financial markets and the broader economy, and to continue to clear the path for growth in the U.S. equity options and futures industry," said John Davidson, OCC President and Chief Operating Officer.

Additionally, last month was the most active December in OCC's history. Total cleared contract volume reached 436,771,941 contracts in December, up 26.2 percent compared to the December 2017 volume of 346,006,092 contracts.

Overall exchange-listed options volume reached 429,078,216 contracts in December, up 27.7 percent from 335,958,673 in 2017. Equity options volume reached a total of 376,883,978 contracts, a 27.7 percent increase from December 2017. This includes cleared ETF options volume of 197,508,790 contracts last month, a 52.2 percent increase compared to the December 2017 volume of 129,784,607 contracts. Index options volume was up 27.5 percent with 52,194,238 contracts in December, with average daily volume up 12.8 percent for 2018, compared to 2017.

Futures cleared by OCC reached 7,693,725 contracts in December, down 23.4 percent from December 2017. OCC's average daily cleared futures volume for 2018 was 417,882 contracts, 24.0 percent less than 2017.

OCC's securities lending CCP activity was up 3.9 percent in new loans from December 2017 with 107,214 transactions last month. For the year, stock loan activity increased 17.2 percent from 2017, with 1,374,319 new loan transactions in 2018. The average daily loan value at OCC in December was $70,160,856,931.

Note: Beginning in October 2018, OCC adjusted its reporting of stock loan transactions and average daily loan value to better reflect prevailing industry standards. OCC now reports average daily loan value and number of transactions based only on loans; previous reporting was based on both loans and borrows.

For 2018 monthly exchange market share information, click here.

 
December 2018 Total Contract Volume
December 2017 Total Contract Volume
December Total Contract % Change vs. 2017
Avg. Daily Contract 2018
Avg. Daily Contract 2017
2018 Avg. Daily Contract % Change vs. 2017
Equity Options
376,883,978
295,021,139
27.7%
18,217,061
14,697,265
23.9%
ETF Options
197,508,790
129,784,607
52.2%
7,995,284
6,362,264
25.7%
Index Options
52,194,238
40,937,534
27.5%
2,249,877
1,994,157
12.8%
Total Options
429,078,216
335,958,673
27.7%
20,466,938
16,691,423
22.6%
Total Futures
7,693,725
10,047,419
-23.4%
417,882
549,919
-24.0%
Total Volume
436,771,941
346,006,092
26.2%
20,884,820
17,241,342
21.1%