The institution standing between counterparties so neither faces the other.
A clearing house, or central counterparty, interposes itself between the two sides of a trade: it becomes buyer to every seller and seller to every buyer, so each party's exposure is to the clearing house rather than to a stranger.
It manages that exposure with margin, and it nets — a member trading many times a day settles a single net obligation rather than each trade gross.
Its calendar is its own. A clearing house observes the holidays of its jurisdiction and its currency, which may differ from the exchanges it clears for, and members have to hold both.
Clearing is the process. A clearing house is one institutional arrangement for performing it.
See also clearing · net settlement · settlement finality · rtgs
We hold no settlement or clearing calendars. This entry defines the term and demonstrates nothing, because a near-miss borrowed from exchange closures would imply coverage that does not exist. See what we hold.