MarkitSERV, the most widely used electronic trade processing service for OTC derivative transactions, has enhanced its connectivity and trade management support for buy-side clearing of credit default swap (CDS) transactions at ICE Clear Credit. The first production trades using MarkitSERV’s enhanced service were cleared by ICE on November 28th.
MarkitSERV has been connected to ICE since 2011 and updated that connectivity earlier in 2012 to support the transition to ICE Clear Credit. The latest enhancement supports an additional ICE Clear Credit API, and allows clearing members the ability to perform take-up using their existing integration to ICE Clear Credit when the trades are submitted via MarkitSERV.
Henry Hunter, head of Product Management at MarkitSERV, said: “MarkitSERV is pleased to continue to work closely with ICE Clear Credit and to expand our capabilities related to clearing. With CDS clearing connectivity to ICE Clear Credit, ICE Clear Europe, CME, and LCH.Clearnet CDSClear, MarkitSERV is the only platform to provide trade routing to all active OTC credit clearinghouses.”
More than 2,500 buy-side firms use MarkitSERV to confirm/affirm and manage life cycle events for CDS trades. MarkitSERV is helping buy-side firms respond to regulatory changes in the market by expanding the connectivity it provides to electronic swap markets, central counterparties (CCPs) worldwide, and trade repositories. In doing so, MarkitSERV provides a comprehensive middleware solution for OTC derivatives trade processing for cleared and non-cleared trades, across electronic execution venues and off-facility execution in credit, rates, equity and foreign exchange derivatives.
MarkitSERV now connects the global derivatives industry to 12 CCPs that clear credit default swaps, interest rate derivatives, foreign exchange derivatives and equity derivatives. CCPs to which MarkitSERV is connected include CME, Eurex, ICE Clear Credit, ICE Clear Europe, ICE Clear US, Japan Securities Clearing Corporation, LCH.Clearnet (CDSClear, ForexClear and Swapclear), NASDAQ OMX, OCC and SGX. MarkitSERV has signed agreements to route trades to a number of additional clearinghouses soon to launch, and will connect to additional ones as they become operational. With a connection to MarkitSERV, market participants have efficient and simplified access to key pieces of market infrastructure without having to incur duplicative costs of building and maintaining their own direct connections to CCPs.
