Securities industry to receive $8.5 million rebate from CDS

TORONTO , Dec. 11 /CNW/ - For the fifth year in a row, CDS Clearing and Depository Services Inc. (CDS), Canada's national securities depository, clearing and settlement hub, will be depositing a holiday bonus into its industry customers' bank accounts.

Distribution of this year's $8.5 million rebate will be based upon the type and volume of business that each customer transacted throughout the year. In addition to issuing a rebate, CDS customers also received volume discounts in 2009 totaling $4.12 million that were automatically applied to customer invoices throughout the year.

CDS has been able to offer rebates and discounts to its customers for two reasons - effective containment of operating expenses and its ability to process increasingly higher market volumes without a consequent increase in costs.

Since 2005, CDS has rebated a total of $61.5 million dollars back to its customers at year-end, and since 2006, provided a further $30.5 million in savings from discounts.

"As a cost-recovery organization, CDS is dedicated to providing value to its customers. That is why we have committed to reducing all prices in our core services by five per cent (adjusted for volume and inflation) each year for three years. These reductions were first applied in 2008 and have been applied again to the new price list for 2009," said Ian Gilhooley , president and CEO.

Perhaps the most relevant example of this commitment to efficient pricing is that over the past five years, the cost to participants of clearing a single trade executed on a stock exchange has been reduced by more than 85 per cent, to less than three cents from 18 cents.

About CDS Clearing and Depository Services Inc.

As Canada's national securities depository, clearing and settlement hub, CDS Clearing and Depository Services Inc. supports Canada's equity, fixed income and money markets, holding over $3 trillion on deposit and handling over 250 million domestic securities trades annually.

Our Vision

To be recognized in the Canadian capital markets as a world-class leader in the design, development and operation of capital market infrastructure and information services.

For further information: Janet Comeau, Director, Corporate Communications, The Canadian Depository for Securities Limited, [phone], [email protected]