CME Group Announces CME Authorization To Provide OTC Clearing And Settlement Services And Designation As A Central Counterparty By Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission

HONG KONG, Sept. 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- CME Group, the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today announced that Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. has been granted authorization to provide OTC clearing and settlement services and has been designated as a central counterparty (CCP) by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) in Hong Kong.

With this authorization, the clearing house division of CME (CME Clearing) can now provide market participants in Hong Kong clearing and settlement services in its OTC interest rate swaps. In addition, with the designated CCP status, CME is now able to provide a choice to market participants subject to mandatory clearing under Hong Kong law.  Market participants may now fulfil their mandatory clearing obligations by clearing their trades through CME Clearing for transactions in certain standardized interest rate swaps that are denominated in Hong Kong dollars or one of the G4 currencies (USD, EUR, GBP and JPY).

"We are pleased to receive authorization to provide clearing services in Hong Kong to help clients here manage their risk," said Sunil Cutinho, Senior Managing Director, and President of CME Clearing.  "We look forward to working with Hong Kong market participants who may now benefit from capital efficiencies for their interest rate swap portfolios, and at the same time meet their mandatory clearing obligations for certain OTC interest rate swaps."

"CME Group is committed to serving the needs of our clients in the region," said Christopher Fix, Managing Director, and Head of Asia Pacific, CME Group.  "CME's newly-granted authorization as well as our designated CCP status in Hong Kong complement the various licenses and permissions we have across Asia, as we continue to step up to offer products and services that meet the evolving risk management needs of our clients."

Over the past few months, CME has received approvals across Asia Pacific, including Foreign Clearing Organization (FCO) status by the Japan Financial Services Agency in June 2016, and Recognized Clearing House (RCH) status by the Monetary Authority of Singapore in May 2016.  In August 2015, the SFC authorized CME Clearing to provide clearing services for its exchange-traded complex, and in September 2014, CME was granted a Clearing and Settlement Facility License by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission. Along with this Hong Kong authorization and designated CCP status, these various approvals allow market participants to utilize CME Clearing to fulfil clearing mandates across the region.

About CME Group

As the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, CME Group (www.cmegroup.com) is where the world comes to manage risk. CME Group exchanges offer the widest range of global benchmark products across all major asset classes, including futures and options based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural products and metals. Around the world, CME Group brings buyers and sellers together through its CME Globex® electronic trading platform and its exchanges based in Chicago, New York and London. CME Group also operates one of the world's leading central counterparty clearing providers through CME Clearing and CME Clearing Europe, which offer clearing and settlement services across asset classes for exchange-traded and over-the-counter derivatives. CME Group's products and services ensure that businesses around the world can effectively manage risk and achieve growth.

CME Group is a trademark of CME Group Inc. The Globe Logo, CME, Globex and Chicago Mercantile Exchange are trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. CBOT,  the Chicago Board of Trade, KCBOT, KCBT and Kansas City Board of Trade are trademarks of the Board of Trade of the City of Chicago, Inc. NYMEX, New York Mercantile Exchange and ClearPort are registered trademarks of New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc. COMEX is a trademark of Commodity Exchange, Inc.  All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Further information about CME Group CME and its products can be found at www.cmegroup.com.

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SOURCE CME Group