As a service provider to the clearing agencies in the energy industry, OeKB conducts various risk management and financial clearing activities. In addition, OeKB manages cash margin deposits and settlement accounts for market participants.
Financial Clearing
OeKB has been commissioned to transact the financial clearing for the clearing agencies for balancing energy (A&B, AGCS and APCS) and the clearing and settlement agency for green energy (OeMAG).
Financial clearing comprises booking, invoice generation, invoice dispatch, and payment settlement.
The clearing agencies and the energy exchange provide all master and invoice data. Based on these inputs, OeKB determines and books the receivables and payables .
Details on Risk Management and Clearing
You can find details on the clearing agencies’ websites:
Risk Management
Collateral Management
The clearing agencies A&B, AGCS, APCS and OeMAG require collateral from the market participants, according to their market rules, to ensure fulfilment of the counterparties’ payment obligations. OeKB continually recalculates the value of collateral required. It manages the collateral, and realises it in the event of non-payment.
Credit Assessment
Through credit assessments, OeKB evaluates the market participants’ business situation, company structure, financial status, and human resources. The assessment is based especially on the audited annual financial statements for the last two fiscal years and ongoing observation of the market.
The credit rating categories 1 to 5 are used, with category 5 representing the lowest credit quality. A good credit rating can lead to lower collateral requirements.
Collateral Deposit and Account Management
Depending on the clearing agency, acceptable forms of security are bank guarantees, independent (absolute) guarantees, securities margin and cash margin. As an additional service for market participants, OeKB offers cash margin accounts and clearing accounts.
