Firms were cautiously optimistic last week about the clearing linkage deal between Chicago Board of Trade (CBoT) and Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME).
Most futures commission merchants (FCMs) want to see more details before forming a final opinion, but the concept of clearing two exchanges under one roof is appealing.
Chris Malo, senior vice president and director of Cargill Investor Services in Chicago, told FO Week that the clearing link offers capital efficiencies for FCMs, cross margining benefits and a cost savings on back office technology.
"We haven't seen the details but there appears to be a significant opportunity for FCMs to reduce the amount of capital we have in the two organisations separately," Malo said...