The Bundesbank uses a pooling system in connection with the collateralisation of Eurosystem credit operations. The main feature of this flexible procedure is that, instead of allocating individual eligible assets to specific monetary policy operations, the lending values of all the submitted assets are pooled in a collateral account.

Contact details for questions regarding the settlement of monetary policy operations and the mobilisation of collateral can be found under Contact.

Marketable assets may be submitted to the Bundesbank in the form of a pledge, and non-marketable assets may be submitted by way of (undisclosed) assignment. The following means of submission are available.

• Domestic securities pledge in favour of the Bundesbank via Clearstream Banking Frankfurt (CBF) or a domestic custodian bank (third-party custodian)
• Cross-border use of assets via the correspondent central banking model (CCBM)
• Cross-border use of marketable assets via links between securities settlement systems (SSS Links)
• Pledging a global amount via Xemac
• Electronic submission of credit claims (KEV)

The lending value of a counterparty's collateral account, which is calculated daily by the Bundesbank, must cover the total amount of the counterparty's borrowing. Provided the lending value required to collateralise refinancing operations is not undershot, assets may generally be released.

Submission of marketable assets

1. Domestic: Eligible securities deposited at Clearstream Banking Frankfurt (CBF) may be transferred via the CASCADE securities settlement system to the safe custody account held there by the Bundesbank. Securities deposited at a domestic custodian bank may be transferred to the Bundesbank by means of third-party safe custody.
2. Eligible securities deposited in other Eurosystem member states may be used on a cross border basis under the corresponding central banking model (CCBM). The national central banks maintain safe custody accounts with each other for this purpose.In addition the provison of triparty-global amounts via the CCBM is admitted. Accredited are the triparty-Systems CmaX of Clearstream Banking S.A. Luxembourg and AutoSelect of Euroclear France S.A./Euroclear Bank S.A.
3. The securities named in item 2 may also be transferred between securities settlement systems (SSSs) via eligible links. In order to do this, the foreign custodian must be instructed to transfer the collateral to the Bundesbank's safe custody account at CBF or Clearstream Banking Luxemburg (CBL).
4. The securities named in item 1 and eligible securities deposited at CBL may also be made available in favour of the Bundesbank by means of Xemac, CBF's collateral management system. The Bundesbank is sent global amounts (total lending values of securities) via Xemac. Further information on Xemac is available at CBF's website.

Submission of non-marketable assets

The web-based procedure "KEV" (Bank loans – submission and administration; Kreditforderungen – Einreichung und Verwaltung) enables the convenient submission of credit claims. KEV is accessed via the ExtraNet, the Bundesbank's e-business platform, in order to ensure secure data transfer. Further information can be found in the KEV section of the Bundesbank's website.

Delivery and release of collateral

Notifications and applications for the delivery and release of collateral can be made electronically in different ways. Under exceptional circumstances, they can be made by fax in the event of technical problems. You can access the relevant forms in the download section of our website. No notification/application is required for delivery and release via Triparty (Xemac, Cmax, Autoselect) or KEV.

In order to release collateral, a signed fax application, a SWIFT message or – in the case of Xemac and KEV – the relevant system instruction must be sent to the Bundesbank.

Posted collateral

The table below provides an overview of the collateral submitted to Deutsche Bundesbank by its counterparties. These marketable and non-marketable assets are available as collateral for monetary policy operations and intraday credit. The most important technical terms are explained in the glossary.