Germany's Deutsche Börse is to slash its cash equities clearing fees by up 20% later this year, as it steels itself for greater competition in the European post-trade market.

The Frankfurt-based exchange said this morning that its clearing house, Eurex Clearing, would lower volume-dependent fees for transactions completed on its Xetra equities markets by 0.02 basis points. The new pricing will take effect from 1 July.