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ICE Endex offers membership to market participants active in the European energy and environmental markets. Applicants may become members of the derivatives and/or spot markets of ICE Endex, subject to a membership application process and a due diligence review. Members are required to comply with applicable ICE Endex regulations including the ICE Endex Market Rules.
Categories
ICE Endex offers two categories of membership, which determine the types of business members may conduct.
General Participants
General Participants may trade their own business* and business for the account of clients. They may also conduct give-up trades: trade, or facilitate trade, on behalf of clients. If the General Participant is also a clearing member, it may clear its own business, business for the account of clients, or clear for any other member of ICE Endex who is not a clearing member.**
Trade Participants
Trade Participants may only trade their own business*. If a Trade Participant is a clearing member, it may only clear its own business.**
Additional Notes
*Own business is business transacted solely for the benefit of the member itself, a wholly owned subsidiary of that member, the parent company of that member, or another company in that member's group of companies. Such business undertaken by a member on behalf of another group company must not in turn be business undertaken on behalf of a third party.
**General Participant and Trade Participant categories of membership must either be clearing members or must, as non-clearing members, enter into a clearing agreement with a General Participant who is a clearing member.
Criteria
The detailed membership criteria are set out in the ICE Endex Market Rules and apply both at admission and on an ongoing basis. Members are expected to inform ICE Endex of any failure, or anticipated failure, to meet the membership criteria.
The main membership criteria can be summarized as follows.
- A company, its representatives and its owners are each fit and proper to become a member, and each have sufficient financial, compliance and managerial capacity, and their business integrity, competence and reputation are beyond doubt.
- A company has policies, procedures, systems and controls which are adequate to ensure compliance with applicable laws relevant to its behaviour as a member.
- A company maintains a properly established office, in a location which is acceptable to ICE Endex, for the conduct of its business on ICE Endex.
- A company is a legal entity which is a body corporate.
- A company ensures it has sufficient adequately trained employees, directors and representatives for the nature and scale of business being conducted.
- A company has sufficient systems and controls in place to ensure that all employees, directors, partners, agents, and representatives who may act on its behalf or in its name in the conduct of business on the ICE Endex platform are fit and proper with suitable qualifications and experience, and adequately trained and properly supervised to perform such functions.
- A company must be a member of the clearing house, or be a party to, a clearing agreement with a clearing member. This criterion is not applicable for a Block Broker only member.
- A company holds all necessary licenses, authorisations and consents, or benefits from available exemptions, to allow it to carry on its business as market participant on the ICE Endex platform in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations.
- A company enjoys the financial standing suitable for admission.
- Where relevant, a company has arrangements in place to ensure that its physical deliveries or the physical deliveries of its clearing member, resulting from open positions, can be settled or physically delivered.
Member and authorisation requirements
Membership is open to regulated entities and other market participants that meet applicable legal and regulatory requirements. The following parties may be admitted as a member of ICE Endex.
- Investment firms within the meaning of article 1:1 of the Dutch Act on Financial Supervision (AFS) who hold a licence pursuant to article 2:96 of the AFS.
- Financial institutions within the meaning of article 1:1 of the AFS who hold a licence pursuant to article 2:11 of the AFS, but only if this licence allows them to also perform investment services and investment activities.
- Investment firms and financial institutions who have their statutory seat in a state that belongs to the European Economic Area (EEA) and who hold the equivalent of a licence mentioned pursuant to article 2:96 or article 2:11 of the AFS, respectively, from the equivalent regulatory competent authority of their home country, provided that the financial institution in question is duly notified to the Dutch Central Bank or in the case of an investment firm that such investment firm is duly notified to the AFM.
- Investment firms and financial institutions that are exempted from having a license to perform investment services and investment activities pursuant to article 10 of the exemption regulation of the AFS and that meet the requirements as laid down in article 5:32c under c of the AFS.
- Other legal entities who, to the satisfaction of ICE Endex, have proved to be professionally active in trading power, natural gas, carbon emission rights and/or derivatives related thereto and that meet the requirements as laid down in article 5:32c under c of the AFS.