Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) announced today that Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has become a clearing member of ICE Clear Credit LLC, the leading global clearinghouse for credit default swaps.
ICE Clear Credit provides a comprehensive product offering, strong marketing services and advanced risk management approach. As a clearing member, RBC will have access to industry-leading solutions for clearing Single Name and Index CDS instruments, as well as CDS Index Option instruments referenced to the major North American and European corporate indices.
“Our ability to access central clearing for our full range of actively traded CDS products enables RBC to achieve significant capital and operational efficiencies across our CDS portfolios,” said Santosh Sateesh, MD, Global Head of Credit Derivatives RBC Trading.
“RBC is one of the largest banks in North America and globally, and we are very pleased to have them at ICE Clear Credit as a clearing member,” said Stan Ivanov, President of ICE Clear Credit. “The addition of RBC to our world-class list of clearing members brings an important participant to our ecosystem and builds on the leading liquidity we offer in the global CDS markets.”
Beginning in 2009, ICE Clear Credit clearing solutions offer clearing for more than 500 Single Name and Index CDS instruments referenced in corporate and sovereign debt and have reduced exposure to counterparty risk by clearing over $330 trillion in double-sided notional amount, with open interest of about $1.75 trillion.