IntercontinentalExchange, a leading operator of global futures and over-the-counter (OTC) marketplaces and clearing houses, and ICAP, the world's premier interdealer broker, announced the successful execution through ICE Clear US of the first agricultural cleared swap transaction in the history of US exchanges.
The OTC sugar swap transaction was submitted to the clearinghouse by ICAP, on behalf of Infinium Capital Management and Credit Suisse. "Consistent with ICE's track record of innovation, we're the first-ever to offer and successfully clear an agricultural swap transaction," said Tom Farley, President and COO of ICE Futures U.S.
"Clearing OTC swaps reduces counterparty risk, and we plan to further expand our cleared swaps offerings over time by adding new commodities and contract types in response to increasing market demand."
"ICAP has long been supportive of OTC clearing, and we are proud to again be at the forefront of providing new risk management tools to our customers," said Dennis Crum, Chief Executive Officer of ICAP Energy LLC. "In this instance, our customers, Credit Suisse and Infinium, were able to effectively hedge their exposure to the global sugar market in a capital efficient manner."
The new cleared swaps, launched on February 13, 2009, are the first such contracts offered by ICE and combine the characteristics of an OTC-traded contract with the benefits and security of the futures clearing model. ICE was approved to clear agricultural swaps by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on December 12, 2008.