At present, there are three representative futures trading settlement methods at home and abroad: one is to set up a settlement department in the exchange, which is the futures settlement method being adopted in Zhengzhou, Shanghai and Dalian in China; Second, a completely independent settlement institution, with London Clearing Company as the most representative; Third, the exchange fully controls the clearing institutions, and the Hong Kong Futures Clearing House is the most typical example. Then, in the long history of futures development, how did futures settlement institutions develop? Taking the United States as an example, the development of futures settlement institutions is divided into several stages.
In the initial stage, that is, before 1920, the American futures market has not yet formed a formal settlement institution, and the settlement is mainly organized by the organizers themselves. In the early futures market, due to the lack of relevant basic system constraints, the futures settlement cost was very high, and sometimes it was even impossible to settle. At this time, the establishment of a settlement institution has become a historical need. In the establishment stage, in the following 40 years, the commodity futures market in the United States has reached a considerable scale, and the expansion of commodity scope has basically established the legal framework of the commodity futures market. The establishment of the clearing house of Chicago Board of Trade guarantees futures trading, prevents the occurrence of settlement risks and maintains the integrity of the futures market. In the electronic stage, after 1963, the establishment of legal system and supervision system has made the futures market enter a standardized development stage. The realization of electronization not only reduces the cost, but also improves the efficiency, which provides technical support for cross-transaction and settlement. In the stage of competition and cooperation, after 1990s, internationalization and the development of IT industry promoted the development of American futures market, and a series of major events, such as the merger of futures giants Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), occurred, and the major exchanges also encountered challenges in the competition.
The development of American futures market needs the establishment and development of settlement institutions, and futures trading needs to control settlement risks, reduce settlement costs and improve settlement efficiency, which is also an inspiration for China's spot market.
The main function of spot market settlement system is to prevent market risk, credit risk and liquidity risk. In the current market environment, solving the problems of settlement structure development and margin system is the key to prevent risks. A reasonable development model of settlement structure is conducive to the exchange's better supervision function, thus better preventing market risks; Reforming the margin system is conducive to improving market liquidity. In the spot market system, giving full play to the relevant role of the settlement structure, cooperating with the settlement bank to supervise, preventing the occurrence of risks and ensuring the safety of customers' funds plays a vital role in the operation of the whole spot market.
After a long period of development, China's commodity market is gradually moving towards a benign development track, which is manifested in the increasingly sound laws and regulations, the continuous improvement of risk management capabilities in the spot market, and the continuous increase in trading volume and turnover. In the spot market, the establishment and development of settlement system is of great significance for controlling the risk of spot market, reducing settlement cost and improving market settlement efficiency. Foreign commodity markets have developed for a long time. Mature foreign systems and experiences can be combined with the actual situation in China. Only by proceeding from reality and integrating theory with practice can we better promote the development of the settlement system and thus promote the development and progress of the spot market in the direction of standardization.