InterContinental Exchange hopes to launch its European central counterparty for credit default swap clearing “well in advance” of the platform planned by LCH.Clearnet, a spokesperson for the exchange group in Atlanta told Futures and Options Intelligence on Friday February 13.
The swirl of initiatives in the international clearing market, especially as regards CDS, thickened last week.
On Tuesday February 10, during ICE’s annual earnings call, CEO Jeffrey Sprecher revealed that ICE Clear Europe was working on a European clearing solution for credit derivatives.
Then on Friday, LCH.Clearnet surprised market participants by declaring that it would introduce a Paris-based central counterparty (CCP) for CDS by the end of this year.
Thus the number of planned CCPs for CDS went up from four to six in one day. ICE and CME Group are waiting for regulatory clearance to launch their platforms in the US, while Liffe...