Borsa Italiana has granted permission for EuroCCP to act as a central clearing counterparty (CCP).
EuroCCP will gain access to Borsa Italiana’s trade feed for the clearing of shares and depository receipts for markets including Mercato Telematico Azionario (MTA), BIt Global Equity Market (BIt GEM), as well as ETFs traded on the ETF+ market.
Borsa Italiana plans to introduce EuroCCP as an additional CCP for its cash equity and ETF markets, on a preferred CCP basis, allowing traders to designate EuroCCP as it preferred clearinghouse.
The move means that if both sides of a transaction designate EuroCCP as the preferred CCP, the trade will be cleared by EuroCCP, otherwise it will be cleared by the incumbent CCP.
“Since its inception, EuroCCP has been an advocate of open access for the benefit of clearing and trading participants alike,” Diana Chan, CEO of EuroCCP, commented.
“With the introduction of competition in the Italian market, clearing services will become more efficient and post trade costs will be significantly reduced, as evidenced in those markets which already offer competitive clearing arrangements.”
Chan, who has been chief executive of the clearinghouse for 10 years, is due to step down from her position at EuroCCP in July to become a senior advisor to the company.
She was appointed CEO in 2007 and oversaw major developments at the firm, including the merger with EMCF in 2013 which led to the creation of EuroCCP N.V as a pan-European equities CCP.
The partnership with Borsa Italiana is expected to go-live by the fourth quarter this year.