LCH.Clearnet, the independent clearinghouse and a CFTC-regulated derivatives clearing organization, has upgraded its SwapClear platform to accept a broader range of collateral for initial margin, including Canadian dollars, euros, pounds and Japanese yen to cover initial margin requirements, as well as non-USD sovereign and government-guaranteed bonds.
LCH.Clearnet says users also now have more ways to connect to the platform, including Tradeweb and Bloomberg via SwapClears ClearLink API, as well as through MarkitSERV.
The firm also broadened its product range, which now includes variable notional swaps, additional day count conventions and overnight indexed swap discounting for Japanese yen. LCH.Clearnet says it has also added flexible, risk-free compression; enhanced allocation workflow; and safer and more efficient portability.
Todays rollout exemplifies our commitment to innovation, says Daniel Maguire, head of SwapClear US. We engage continuously with clients and are determined to offer solutions that help them efficiently manage their IRS business. These enhancements will support the entire buy-side community as it moves toward the adoption of centralized clearing.
According to the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA), SwapClear currently clears more than 50% of all OTC interest rate swaps globally and more than 95% of the overall cleared OTC interest rate swap market. SwapClear regularly clears in excess of $1 trillion in new OTC IRS trades each day and has close to one million cleared trades outstanding, equating to $290 trillion in notional open interest, including $226 billion in client clearing business.
(CG)