ICE Clear U.S. Announces Revised Shareholding Requirements And Guaranty Fund Deposits For Clearing Members

ICE Clear U.S., the clearing house for ICE Futures U.S., today announced changes to the eligibility requirements for becoming a clearing member. The changes, effective December 17, 2007, were approved by the boards of directors of ICE Futures U.S. and ICE Clear U.S. earlier this month.

Currently, the 30 clearing members of ICE Futures U.S. are required to hold four exchange memberships and pledge 21,078 shares of IntercontinentalExchange (NYSE: ICE) common stock, which are available to satisfy their financial obligations to the exchange and ICE Clear U.S. Under the revised requirements, a clearing member must hold only one exchange membership and pledge 3,152 shares of ICE common stock. Clearing members must also meet the operational requirements of ICE Clear U.S.

In addition to the reduced membership and shareholding requirements, the minimum guaranty fund deposit required under the amended bylaws of ICE Clear U.S. will increase from $500,000 to $2 million per clearing member. The minimum capital requirement for clearing members remains the same at $5 million.

These changes are designed to assist firms that are considering membership at ICE Clear U.S. In combination, the modifications reduce the impact of volatility on the value of assets used to meet the financial requirements of clearing membership. Firms desiring further information on ICE Clear U.S. membership should contact ICE via e-mail at iceclearus@theice.com.