NEW YORK, March 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- IntercontinentalExchange(R) , a leading operator of regulated global futures exchanges and over-the-counter (OTC) markets, today announced that ICE US Trust, LLC (ICE Trust), a New York limited liability trust company, has received regulatory approval from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to become a member of the Federal Reserve System and to serve as a clearing house and central counterparty for credit default swap (CDS) transactions. Pending the receipt of all required regulatory approvals, ICE anticipates closing its acquisition of The Clearing Corporation (TCC) within a week. On March 2, ICE and TCC received early termination of the Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period from the U.S. Department of Justice.
TCC has developed the CDS risk management framework, operational processes and infrastructure for ICE Trust's clearing operations. Upon closing the transaction, ICE Trust will begin processing and clearing positions held by the members of the clearing house. Clearing of North American CDS indexes will be followed by liquid single-name credit default swaps.
About IntercontinentalExchange
IntercontinentalExchange(R) operates regulated global futures exchanges and over-the-counter (OTC) markets for agricultural, energy, equity index and currency contracts, as well as credit derivatives. ICE(R) offers these markets to participants around the world through its technology infrastructure and trading platform, together with clearing, market data and risk management services. ICE Futures Europe(R) is ICE's regulated energy futures exchange. ICE's regulated North American exchanges, ICE Futures U.S.(R) and ICE Futures Canada(TM), offer markets for agricultural and financial contracts. Creditex, a market leader in trade execution and processing for credit derivatives, is also a wholly-owned subsidiary of ICE. A member of the Russell 1000(R) and S&P 500 indices, ICE is headquartered in Atlanta, with offices in New York, London, Chicago, Winnipeg, Calgary, Houston and Singapore. http://www.theice.com/.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 - Statements in this press release regarding IntercontinentalExchange's business that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of additional risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see ICE's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, including, but not limited to, the risk factors in ICE's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008, as filed with the SEC on February 11, 2009.
