Eurex, the International Securities Exchange (ISE), and The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) announced they would create a trans-Atlantic trading and clearing link. The project would allow Eurex customers to access ISE’s options market using their existing Eurex connections and allow access to all options products listed on ISE, and order execution in the ISE order book using their current Eurex connections.
“ISE has beaten everyone to the punch,” says Gary Katz, ISE CEO. “This will be the first time ISE will be distributed outside the United States, and it will be to 21 countries. An increase in foreign participation in U.S. markets will increase the order flow at ISE, which will benefit all users.” Katz characterized the project as “ambitious and significant.”
As part of this initiative, ISE, Eurex and Eurex Clearing, the clearing house of Eurex, signed a term sheet with the OCC, the central counterparty for all U.S. listed securities options contracts. When a definitive agreement is signed, Eurex customers will be able to clear contracts traded via the link to ISE through their existing clearing accounts at Eurex Clearing. Eurex, ISE and OCC expect the transatlantic link will be implemented by the second half of 2009, subject to all necessary regulatory approvals.
“The clearing link will be the first modern cross Atlantic securities clearing link,” observed Wayne Luthringshausen, chairman and CEO at The Options Clearing Corporation.
In a press statement, Andreas Preuss, CEO of Eurex, said, “By establishing the first modern transatlantic trading and clearing link between the US and European options markets, our customers will benefit from full and seamless access to the world’s largest equity options market. Eurex’s established trading and clearing distribution will greatly simplify U.S. market access for our customers and generate additional trading volume. We are very pleased to expand Eurex’s product coverage through this link and deliver a key component of the cross-selling revenue synergy opportunities that we identified from our combination with ISE.”
