Citing anti-competitive suspicions, ELX Futures has asked the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to extend its deadline to review a competing exchange's plan to clear trades in Treasury futures.
ELX Futures, which was launched by several large banks last year, has asked to regulator to allow it more time to review a plan by NYSE Euronext to also get into the U.S. interest rate market. NYSE Euronext is in the process of establishing New York Portfolio Clearing, which would join ELX Futures in vying for business that currently is dominated by CME Group.
Specifically, the ELX cited concerns over NYSE Euronext's cooperation with the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp.
“There are significant and complex legal issues involved in this application, which are atypical of the issues that arise in DCO registration applications and that require additional time for review. This application implicates Section 5b(c)(2)(N) – DCO Core Principles: Antitrust Considerations – of the Commodity Exchange Act...”
The letter was addressed to David Stawick, secretary of the CFTC, and signed by Richard D. Marshall of the law firm Ropes & Gray LLP.