Denis Beau: Opportunities and risks for CCPs and their overseers in a changing environment
Keynote speech by Mr Denis Beau, First Deputy Governor of the Bank of France, at the CCP Global Annual Meeting 2026, Amsterdam, 23 June 2026.
Denis Beau, the First Deputy Governor of the Bank of France, addressed the CCP Global Annual Meeting 2026 in Amsterdam on June 23, 2026. Beau highlighted the significance of central clearing counterparties (CCPs) in the current financial system, which is undergoing profound transformations and facing numerous external shocks.
Beau emphasized that the expansion of non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) in financial markets, particularly in repo markets, poses both opportunities and risks for CCPs. NBFIs now contribute to over 40% of non-centrally cleared euro-denominated cash borrowing repo transactions, with this share projected to increase due to sustained public debt issuance in the euro area.
The adoption of central clearing by CCPs helps mitigate the vulnerabilities associated with the rise of NBFIs, such as excessive leverage. Central clearing centralises and mutualises counterparty risk, reduces contagion effects, and ensures market continuity during periods of stress. In response to this, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) introduced a mandatory clearing requirement in the US Treasury repo market in 2023, aiming to cover around 80% of the market.
Beau discussed the potential for CCPs to broaden access to central clearing for non-bank participants through sponsored clearing arrangements, which are already being developed in the US. However, Europe is still in an early stage of development, with sponsored clearing models accounting for only 5.8% of total repo transactions.
Cloud technologies are being widely adopted across financial market infrastructures, offering expectations for operational efficiency, scalability, and resilience. Meanwhile, AI technologies also have substantial potential to enhance anomaly detection, threat identification, process automation, resource allocation, and real-time risk monitoring.
Tokenisation is another area where CCPs are still exploring. CCPs could benefit from tokenisation in terms of market efficiency and liquidity, but challenges such as market fragmentation and liquidity constraints may arise. These challenges will be further discussed at the next workshop on tokenisation.
Beau concluded by acknowledging the growing integration of NBFIs into central clearing, which raises important financial stability concerns. While regulatory requirements and supervisory scrutiny exist, leveraged NBFIs may still amplify procyclical dynamics during market stress. Additionally, CCPs must adapt to a rapidly evolving risk environment and increasingly rely on a limited number of critical third-party technology providers, including cloud service providers and cybersecurity experts.
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