Options on Eris SOFR,
no upfront premium
June 16, pending regulatory review, CME Group will launch Eris Options. With monthly expiries that physically deliver into Eris SOFR Swap futures, Eris Options offer the risk profile of OTC swaptions with the centralized clearing, streamlined reporting, and dedicated liquidity providers of listed options. For capital-conscious hedgers, such as REITs, mortgage companies, banks, and insurers, futures-style margining requires no upfront premium payment.
Keep the upside.
Limit the downside.
Eris Options enable hedgers to protect against adverse rate movements while preserving upside when rates move in their favor. They offer four consecutive European-style monthly expiries (e.g., Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct) that physically deliver into 2-year, 5-year, or 10-year Eris SOFR Swap futures. Tradeable as outrights or multi-leg strategies (e.g., straddles and strangles), Eris Options can be executed electronically on CME Globex or via privately negotiated block trades.
Eris SOFR–the underlying futures of Eris Options–have grown significantly since CME Group enabled portfolio margining with interest rate swaps in 2023. With Q1 2026 average daily volume of 22,000 contracts (+33% from Q4, +150% year-on-year), and open interest over 680,000 contracts (+36% YTD, +182% since start of 2025), Eris SOFR is a liquid and margin-efficient alternative to interest rate swaps.
No upfront premium, preserving capital
Eris Options use futures-style margining (initial margin and daily variation margin), which does not require upfront premium payment. Similar to forward-premium swaptions, but accessible to all CME Group market participants, futures-style margining reduces the initial outlay required by option buyers, allowing them to preserve capital and retain flexibility in managing their interest rate risk.
Eris Options are supported by leading liquidity providers active in CME Group Treasury Options and SOFR Options, helping to deliver two-sided markets from an option’s listing date through its expiration. Futures brokers are available to execute orders electronically or solicit liquidity in the block trade market.
No ISDA agreements.
No UMR.
Eris Options are designed to be balance sheet-friendly and straightforward to use. As listed, centrally-cleared instruments, they are not subject to uncleared margin rules (UMR) and do not require bilateral ISDA negotiation. By removing capital and regulatory burdens associated with OTC trading, Eris Options help improve capital efficiency while minimizing counterparty risk.
Eris Options don’t require bilateral documentation, manual trade confirmations, swap data repository reporting, or counterparty management. Instead, Eris Options offer all the benefits of exchange trading and clearing, including standardized execution, streamlined post-trade processing, and the margin netting benefits offered by CME Clearing.