OCC

OCC serves as the central counterparty for all options trading on US securities exchanges and clears equity options, index options, and securities futures. The corporation issues, guarantees, and settles all option contracts, enabling standardized terms and reducing counterparty risk. OCC uses sophisticated risk management including real-time position monitoring, margin requirements calculated using proprietary models, and stress testing. The organization operates comprehensive default procedures and maintains substantial financial resources to protect market participants. OCC provides various services including trade settlement, exercise and assignment processing, and risk management tools for clearing members. The corporation processes over 7 billion option contracts annually and has never experienced a clearing member default that resulted in loss to other members.