Clearing Service to Launch Next Week CME Group is claiming a first for derivatives trading with the September 27 launch of the Sustainable Clearing service intended to help firms “track and report on how their hedging activities are advancing their sustainability goals,” officials announce. “This service will allow clients to demonstrate commitment to ESG-positive business… Read More >>
CME Group, GCSA Capital Build Collateral Solution
The CME Group, which operates derivatives exchanges, and GCSA Capital, a provider of collateral and risk transfer solutions, have been developing an additional form of collateral — a letter of credit issued by a bankruptcy-remote trust — acceptable for use via CME Clearing. The two companies have been readying the Prefunded Treasury Facility (PTF), a… Read More >>
CME Group to Buy NEX Group for $5.5 Billion
Derivatives exchange operator CME Group Inc. is set to acquire NEX Group plc for an estimated $5.5 billion and, if all goes well, the combined provider of transaction processing across futures, cash and over-the-counter (OTC) instruments will be able to offer many post-trade capabilities beyond clearing services. The CME Group encompasses: CME Clearing; the Chicago… Read More >>
Clearinghouses Pass CFTC Liquidity Stress Tests
The CFTC’s recent settlement liquidity stress test analysis of three well-known clearinghouses — CME Clearing, ICE Clear U.S., and LCH, Ltd. — finds that all three could “meet their settlement obligations on time,” despite simulated defaults by clearing members. The CFTC analysis, which follows its initial supervisory stress test of clearinghouses that was published in… Read More >>
Client Cleared Trades Part of Mexican Peso Compression Cycle
In a pioneering effort, client cleared trades were included in a triReduce Mexican Peso (MXN) compression cycle via CME Clearing, according to officials at TriOptima, a vendor offering risk mitigation support for over the counter (OTC) derivatives markets. This latest cycle involved 17 participants, officials say. Client cleared trades are transactions that a clearing broker… Read More >>
CME to Offer CCP Services in Europe
CME to Offer Clearing for Global Firms The Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. (CME) has gotten the approval of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) to operate in the European Union as central counterparty clearinghouse (CCP). The notice came as part of an ongoing update of approved CCPs based in third countries, according to ESMA… Read More >>
CME Group to Start Swaption Clearing in April
CME Clearing, part of the CME Group conglomerate of derivatives marketplaces, reports that it will begin processing interest rate swaptions, starting April 11, in a bid to cut bilateral counterparty credit risk and to free up credit lines, say CME officials. The service will also target firms that want to get ahead of the regulators… Read More >>
CFTC, EU Finally Agree on a Clearing Deal
After three years of often bitter political squabbling, the European Commission and its U.S. counterpart the commodities regulator CFTC finally reached an agreement on a common approach to equivalent recognition of central clearing counterparties (CCPs). The two sides, which oversee around 90 percent of the $553 trillion derivatives market, have been at loggerheads over mutual… Read More >>
CME Group Overhauls Leadership Structure
CME Group, the Chicago-based derivatives marketplace created from a merger of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade, has announced what it characterizes as a “new leadership structure” intended to “better meet the needs of its global customer base,” according to a CME statement. The new structure will see the former… Read More >>
Things to Do After the Apocalypse
This might be my last Minding the Gap column ever as the ancient Mayan calendar points to the world ending on Dec. 21, 2012. However, my guess is that discerning an expiration date for humankind is tricky as multiple cultures have conflicting calendars. But, if the Mayans were wrong, we will have lots to do… Read More >>
