The acceleration follows the launch of Universal Stock Futures (USFs) on Bclear on 1 March which complements the existing range of equity options. USF volumes have climbed dramatically during the last month with over seven million contracts registered.
Mike Chadney, Director of Structured Products at Henderson Global Investors said: “Euronext.liffe's Bclear service provides the equity derivatives community, particularly end-users, with a viable alternative to the often administratively complex OTC environment and extends the breadth of liquidity for bespoke derivatives. Bclear has demonstrated its ability to deliver a well-designed exchange service which I am more than happy to use."
Since launch, 60 member firms have used Bclear to register wholesale equity derivative transactions. These have included index futures and options as well as single stock options and Universal Stock Futures (USFs) on securities from 11 different European countries.
Bclear is the on-exchange administration and clearing service that provides a simple and cost-effective way to register and process wholesale equity derivatives trades through Euronext.liffe to clearing at LCH.Clearnet Ltd. This reduces the counter-party credit, legal and operational risks associated with off-exchange deals. Bclear enables registration of both ‘standard exchange’ and ‘flexible’ trades in futures and options covering 12 country and pan-European indices as well as futures and options on over 300 European securities from 15 markets.
