A firm that undertakes guaranteeing the performance and contractual fulfillment of the parties to the transactions of exchange-traded derivatives (ET derivatives). By so doing, the clearing corporation facilitates the validation, delivery and settlement of securities transactions (which all constitute the so-called clearing process). In clearing, the clearing corporation becomes the buyer to each seller of a futures contract (or derivative) and the seller to each buyer of its clearing members.

The clearing corporation (American English) is also referred to as a clearing house (British English).