CME · Earnings call · 2026Q3T · Full report

Margin Efficiency Growth

CME GROUP INC. · 2026-10-21 · Importance 40 · Surprise 56

CME reported more than $100 billion of margin efficiencies, with savings growing across rates, equities, and energy offsets. Swap portfolio-margining savings averaged $13.2 billion per day in September, up 58% year over year, and reached a record daily $14 billion on September 30, compared with approximately $7.2 billion to $7.3 billion per day in 2024. CME FICC Cross Margining produced average daily savings of $2.3 billion in September and a Q3 record of $2.7 billion, up from $1.5 billion at the beginning of 2026; about 24 clearing members were registered, with many targeting Q4 operational readiness. Equity savings were just under $47 billion in Q3, including nearly $42 billion from CME’s base futures and options offsets and more than $5 billion from the CME-OCC agreement; 60% of the 2026 increase came from new positions and 40% from rising index or asset levels. Average daily open interest in CME equity swap-alternative products grew 30% year over year to 2.6 million contracts in Q3, representing just under $500 billion of additional open interest or contract value moved to CME.

Key facts

• CME Group’s swap portfolio-margining savings averaged $13.2 billion per day in September, up 58% versus September 2025.
• CME Group’s FICC Cross Margining program had average daily savings of $2.3 billion in September and a Q3 record day of $2.7 billion, up from $1.5 billion at the beginning of the year.
• CME Group’s dividend futures, dividend options, and adjusted interest rate total return futures had Q3 average daily open interest of 2.6 million contracts, up 30% year over year, representing just under $500 billion of additional open interest or contract value moved to CME.
• CME Group said it delivered $30 billion in margin savings across futures, options, swaps, and cash.
• CME Group’s daily swap savings were around $7.2 billion to $7.3 billion in 2024 and are closer to $14 billion now.
• CME Group’s swap portfolio-margining savings reached a record $14 billion on September 30.
• CME Group’s equity savings were just under $47 billion in Q3, substantially above levels in prior quarters and in 2025.
• CME Group’s base futures and options generated just under $42 billion in equity savings, and its CME-OCC cross-margin agreement delivered a little over $5 billion in Q3.