Nasdaq Liffe Markets (NQLX) and The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) have entered an official clearinghouse agreement for single-stock futures.
Under the terms of the agreement, OCC will provide processing, settlement and guarantee services for NQLX contracts. It will also optimise margin offsets between futures and options through its Timso portfolio risk management system.
Wayne Luthringshausen, OCC chairman and CEO, comments: "Our agreement with NQLX marks our initial entry into the security futures marketplace. We're confident that our expertise in clearing derivatives, our open interest in options which enables us to offer margin offsets, and our commitment to security futures products will serve this relationship well."
NQLX was the first new exchange approved by the Commodities Future Trading Commission under the new US regulatory structure designed for trading of single-stock futures.