Well it is all happening at once in the world of clearing. As I mentioned in a previous article Eurex were also about to launch a service and here is the press release for it:
Service complements existing market infrastructure to offer effective counterparty risk management
22 Jul 2008
A European OTC CCP platform would increase capital efficiency by reducing balance sheet exposure. It seeks to promote the optimal use of margin deposits, eliminates manual process errors and effectively covers the OTC market’s counterparty default risk. “The benefits of our service extension would be increased market stability and capital efficiency. Customers would profit from straight through processing, enhanced collateral management and multilateral netting for OTC trades which currently account for 84 percent of all derivatives traded”, says Thomas Book, responsible for Clearing on the Eurex Executive Board.
The new service can deliver an optimal solution for effective risk management services and is designed to address recent developments in the OTC market which suggest that concerns about systemic risk due to the backlog of transaction confirmation and potential counterparty defaults require improvements in the market’s infrastructure.
About Eurex Clearing
Eurex Clearing is one of the world’s leading clearinghouses offering central counterparty services for instruments traded on Eurex, Eurex Bonds and Eurex Repo as well as the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Xetra® and floor trading) and the Irish Stock Exchange. Central counterparty clearing services provide effective risk management and strengthen financial market integrity. Eurex Clearing is a wholly owned subsidiary of Eurex Frankfurt AG and is jointly operated by Deutsche Börse AG and SWX Swiss Exchange.
Similarly here is a release from ICE about the imminent launch of their service too:
LONDON, July 15, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- ICE Clear Europe(TM), a wholly-owned subsidiary of IntercontinentalExchange (NYSE: ICE), today announced that it has reached agreement with LCH.Clearnet (LCH) and Members on the transition date for the movement of all ICE Futures Europe(TM) and ICE over-the-counter (OTC) trading positions from LCH to ICE Clear Europe. The transition will occur over the weekend of September 13-14, 2008. Existing futures and OTC clearing arrangements between ICE and LCH remain unchanged until the transfer is complete. ICE Clear Europe had previously announced that the transition date was expected to occur in the month of August, but was subject to further consultation with LCH and clearing members.
Since its recognition by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) on May 12, 2008, ICE Clear Europe has received membership applications from 47 clearing firms and the transfer of 100% of the open positions established at ICE Futures Europe and ICE OTC from LCH to ICE Clear Europe has been facilitated (effective at transition). Under the active oversight of the FSA, ICE Clear Europe has worked diligently with clearing members and third-party systems providers to complete the transition plan.
Despite the two-month delay, ICE expects to be at or near the low end of its prior 2008 revenue guidance for ICE Clear Europe, which was based on an expected transition date of July 21, 2008. Additional financial guidance regarding ICE Clear Europe will be provided with IntercontinentalExchange, Inc.'s second quarter earnings announcement on August 4.
About IntercontinentalExchange
IntercontinentalExchange(R) (NYSE: ICE) is a leading operator of global regulated futures exchanges and over-the-counter (OTC) markets. ICE offers futures and OTC markets on a single trading platform, including markets for crude oil and refined products, natural gas, power and emissions, as well as agricultural commodities and financial products such as canola, cocoa, coffee, cotton, ethanol, orange juice, wood pulp, sugar, foreign currency and equity index futures and options. ICE(R) conducts its energy futures markets, including the leading oil benchmark contracts, through its London-based exchange, ICE Futures Europe(TM). ICE conducts its global agricultural commodity, foreign exchange and equity index futures markets through its U.S. and Canadian exchanges, ICE Futures U.S.(TM) and ICE Futures Canada(TM), and offers clearing services through ICE Clear U.S.(TM) and ICE Clear Canada(TM). ICE's state-of-the-art electronic trading platform serves market participants in more than 55 countries. ICE is included in the Russell 1000(R) Index and the S&P 500 Index. Headquartered in Atlanta, ICE has offices in Calgary, Chicago, Houston, London, New York, Singapore and Winnipeg. For more information, please visit www.theice.com.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 - Statements in this press release regarding IntercontinentalExchange's business that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see ICE's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, including, but not limited to, the risk factors in ICE's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, as filed with the SEC on February 13, 2008.
SOURCE IntercontinentalExchange
http://www.theice.com/
