Eurex Contemplates Improvements in Light of Cboe Flex Option Debut
Cboe Europe Derivatives (CEDX), part of Cboe Global Markets, Inc., plans to introduce FLEX options in Europe in Q1 2026. This move extends a US product pioneered by Cboe in 1993. The announcement was made at Cboe's risk management conference in Munich, with Iouri Saroukhanov, head of European derivatives at Cboe Europe, expressing excitement about bringing Cboe FLEX options to the European market.
Cboe FLEX options aim to provide OTC-like customization with exchange transparency and CCP netting, lowering counterparty, operational, and capital costs compared to bilateral deals. They also allow traders to negotiate key contract terms within the safety of an exchange rulebook and central clearing.
The launch directly challenges Eurex's flexible contract facility, which has been operational since 2005 via its T7 entry service (TES)/off-book workflow. Eurex has reported growing volumes in FLEX options, especially in the single equity space.
CEDX plans to initially list FLEX options on a select set of Cboe equity indices, single stocks, and ETFs, with expansion throughout 2026.
The BIS reports that the gross market value (GMV) of OTC derivative contracts makes a like-for-like comparison with listed derivatives difficult. However, for US equity OTC options, the BIS figure was US$279 billion GMV in 2024. If the 3% flexible contract share of option volume were extended to open interest at Eurex, it would imply about US$11.8 billion in flexible-contract OI.
Flexible options, like OTC, are often intended to be held rather than traded, making the actual open interest likely to be lower than this figure. As of 15 September, 7.87 million flexible contracts were traded at Eurex year-to-date, versus 213 million total equity option contracts.
Cboe's volume of FLEX options has grown from two million contracts traded in 2019 to 35 million so far in 2025. Eurex is reportedly exploring options to further enhance its flexible derivatives offering.
All trades will clear at Cboe Clear Europe, its pan-European central counterparty (CCP). The go-live for Cboe's FLEX options is targeted for Q1 2026.
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