The high liquidity of Federal securities is strongly supported by the futures contracts traded on the German derivatives exchange Eurex. Only Federal securities are accepted for delivery of the contracts. The underlying securities of the futures contracts are the 2-, 5-, 10- and 30-year, and since 2020 also the green Federal securities.
The focus of turnover on the futures exchange in 2021 was clearly on the Bund future, with almost 203 million contracts traded and a trading volume in the market value of almost 35 tn euros. Delivery obligations from this contract are supplied with nominal interest-bearing federal bonds with 10-year original maturities. Accordingly, these have accounted for the lion's share of turnover in Federal securities for years.
Contract Specifications of Futures on German Government Securities
| Contract | Residual time of underlying (years) | cupon (%) | minimum volume (€ bn) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Euro-SCHATZ-Futures | 1,75 - 2,25 | 6 | 4 |
| Euro-BOBL-Futures | 4,5 - 5,5 | 6 | 4 |
| Euro-BUND-Futures | 8,5 - 10,5 | 6 | 4 |
| Euro-BUXL-Futures | 24,0 - 35 | 4 | 4 |