Already a member of LCH Limited’s Repoclear service, by extending its membership, Cecabank will also benefit from EquityClear’s access to 13 European equities trading venues, offering risk management across Spain and Europe.

This new EquityClear member is the latest milestone for EquityClear, which began clearing Spanish equities in 2015. The Spanish equities market has undergone significant change in recent years, with the Spanish Market Reform and T2S initiatives offering market participants opportunity to access secondary markets and clearing services across Europe.

Bruce Kellaway, Global Head of RepoClear, EquityClear and Collateral, LCH, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Cecabank as our first Spanish member of EquityClear. Since launch, the service has seen significant growth in volumes, a trend that we anticipate to continue into 2018. LCH is committed to providing greater choice of CCP providers across European markets, on an open access basis, to enable members to maximise efficiencies and netting opportunities.”

José Luis Rebollo, Head of Securities Services, Cecabank, said: “MiFID II has a wide reaching impact for market participants in Spain and across Europe. Joining LCH Limited as an EquityClear clearing member is an important step that enables us to clear for clients to assist them in complying with the regulations and allow them to trade on a variety of trading venues, while achieving the risk management and efficiency benefits associated with clearing. We’re pleased to be a pioneer and become the first Spanish bank to extend our membership to join EquityClear.”