About a-team Marketing Services
The knowledge platform for the financial technology industry
The knowledge platform for the financial technology industry

A-Team Insight Blogs

CME Group Receives Regulatory Exemption from SEC to Launch CDS CCP in US

Subscribe to our newsletter

Following the approval and launch of IntercontinentalExchange’s (ICE) ICE Trust last week, CME Group has now announced that it has also been granted permission to operate as a clearing house and central counterparty (CCP) for credit default swap (CDS) transactions in the US. The derivatives exchange operator has received a special exemption from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch its CCP offering via CME Clearing and the CMDX platform.

The SEC exemption allows CME Group to use its existing clearing membership structure to offer CDS clearing services backed by the exchange operator’s financial safeguards package of approximately US$7 billion. Registered futures commission merchants and broker-dealers will be able to clear CDS trades on behalf of their customers, says CME.

CME reckons its size and history within the derivatives market mean it will hold sway over the rest of the CDS CCP contenders. “CMDX and CME will offer the most complete CDS solution for all market participants, providing segregation of customer funds and positions, and the broadest product offering, including all major CDS indices and single names,” claims group CEO Craig Donohue.

The exchange operator indicates that it believes its risk management framework to be considerably more robust than that of its competitors. In the event that a CME clearing member was to default on their proprietary positions, all customer positions and collateral will be fully protected, it claims.

Last week, ICE Trust launched and its founding clearing member participants have begun the transfer of bilateral CDS trades to the clearing house for processing and clearing, according to the firm.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Related content

WEBINAR

Recorded Webinar: In data we trust – How to ensure high quality data to power AI

Artificial intelligence is increasingly powering financial institutions’ processes and workflows, encompassing all parts of the enterprise from front-office to the back-office. As organisations seek to gain a competitive edge, they are trialling the technology in variety of ways to streamline and empower multiple use cases. Some are further than others along the path to achieving...

BLOG

Data Surge Argues for Enterprise-Grade Lineage: Webinar Review

The ingestion of growing volumes of data into financial institutions’ systems is posing a pressing challenge as data managers seek to optimise their data lineage, according to the latest A-Team Group webinar. Being able track data as it enters and is distributed within organisations is essential for prising the most value from that information. However,...

EVENT

TradingTech Summit London

Now in its 14th year the TradingTech Summit London brings together the European trading technology capital markets industry and examines the latest changes and innovations in trading technology and explores how technology is being deployed to create an edge in sell side and buy side capital markets financial institutions.

GUIDE

AI in Capital Markets: Practical Insight for a Transforming Industry – Free Handbook

AI is no longer on the horizon – it’s embedded in the infrastructure of modern capital markets. But separating real impact from inflated promises requires a grounded, practical understanding. The AI in Capital Markets Handbook 2025 provides exactly that. Designed for data-driven professionals across the trade life-cycle, compliance, infrastructure, and strategy, this handbook goes beyond...