ICE Treasury Clearing Application and Rulebook Published by the SEC

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. announced that the application and rulebook of ICE Clear Credit to expand its current registered clearing agency designation to add U.S. Treasury clearing has been published by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This publication is a key step in the regulatory approval process needed for the company’s plans to launch a U.S. Treasury clearing service. Subject to regulatory approval, ICE Clear Credit plans to launch its Treasury clearing service later this year, which will give the market an opportunity to voluntarily clear for a period before the mandate goes into effect. ICE’s proposed service will leverage its leading global clearing house, ICE Clear Credit, which currently clears CDS instruments, to offer clearing for U.S. Treasury securities and repurchasing agreements. The Treasury clearing service is being established as a distinct offering from the current CDS clearing service with a separate rulebook, membership, risk management framework, financial and liquidity resources, and risk committee. ICE’s Treasury clearing solution will allow for both ‘Done Away’ and ‘Done With’ implementation, which allows market participants to choose their preferred clearing method. This is the same process that is used daily to trade and clear financial products through ICE’s global clearing houses. ICE Clear Credit, launched by ICE in 2009 to bring centralized clearing to the CDS market, enables clearing of more than 670 Single Name, Index, and Index Option CDS instruments referencing corporate and sovereign debt. ICE Clear Credit clearing has reduced counterparty risk exposure for parties to trades with a combined notional amount of over $385 trillion, with current open interest at ICE Clear Credit over $2 trillion. ICE Clear Credit has been designated a systemically important financial market utility (SIFMU) by the Financial Stability Oversight Council and is a qualified central counterparty under U.S. bank capital rules.