SINGAPORE - Transatlantic clearing house LCH.Clearnet has been granted the status of Recognised Clearing House by Singapore's regulator, it said on Monday (Feb 1).
Recognition applies to LCH.Clearnet's EnClear freight division, and over-the-counter ForexClear and SwapClear services.
LCH.Clearnet currently clears Singapore dollar-denominated interest rate swaps as well as commodities futures, including freight, iron ore, and steel, executed on Cleartrade Exchange, a trading venue regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
A number of Singapore-based clients also access the clearing house through clearing brokers such as banks to clear interest rate derivatives and commodities.
Last year, the MAS proposed to mandate Singapore-dollar and US-dollar interest rate swaps for central clearing.
With its new clearing house license, LCH.Clearnet will be qualified to clear these trades on its SwapClear service once the mandate is enforced.
Mr Martin Pluves, chief executive of LCH.Clearnet, said in a statement: "Singapore is an established international hub for finance and we continue to see tremendous demand for our services in the region."
"Singapore's proposal to introduce a mandate for the clearing of US Dollar and Singapore Dollar-denominated interest rate swaps in the future is a significant development and we look forward to supporting firms in meeting their clearing obligations."
