Strate (South Africa)

Strate, whose name stands for Share Transactions Totally Electronic, is South Africa's primary central securities depository, providing electronic settlement and depository services for equities, bonds, derivatives such as warrants, exchange-traded funds, retail notes and tracker funds, and money market securities. It traces its roots to 1989, when the South African Reserve Bank and major banks created UNEXCor for bond market settlement; Strate itself was incorporated in November 1998 and began operations on September 10, 1999. It is owned by a group of financial institutions including JSE Limited, which holds 44.55 percent, and Nedbank and Standard Bank, which hold 15 percent each.