What is CLS
The CLS Group of companies is an industry-owned consortium that exists to deliver the CLS Settlement service to the market. The main holding company, CLS Group Holdings AG, is owned by CLS shareholders and its directors are representatives drawn from shareholder institutions. It has two main operating subsidiaries:
CLS Bank International
CLS Bank International (CLS Bank) is an Edge corporation regulated and supervised by the Federal Reserve. The central banks whose currencies are settled in CLS Bank have established a cooperative oversight arrangement for CLS to provide a mechanism for mutual assistance in carrying out their individual responsibilities in pursuit of their shared public policy objectives for the safety and efficiency of payment and settlement systems and their focus on the stability of the financial system. The Federal Reserve organizes and administers the CLS Oversight Committee, the primary forum for the participating central banks to carry out this cooperative oversight.
CLS Bank observes the Core Principles for Systemically Important Payment Systems published by the BIS Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems of the central banks of the G10 countries (CPSS). The Core Principles serve as guidelines for the design and operation of safer and more efficient systemically important payment systems by suggesting the key characteristics that these systems should have.
More information on this (CLS Bank Assessment of Compliance with the Core Principles)¹ and also details of CLS Bank’s eligibility criteria for Membership and currencies in the CLS system can be found by clicking the links to the right of this page.
CLS Services
CLS Services, a company organised under the laws of England and Wales and located in London, provides technical and operational support to CLS Bank.
¹ CLS remains in compliance with the Core Principles with the 2008 inclusion of the Israeli shekel and Mexican peso in the settlement service.