NYX Nyse Euronext

NYSE Euronext (NYX) on Thursday called a push to limit banks' stakes in derivatives clearinghouses anti-competitive, arguing that dealers have expertise and capital needed to help lower risk in over-the-counter derivatives markets.

The transatlantic exchange operator, along with industry groups, in a letter urged members of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee to do away with the proposed restrictions inserted by Rep. Stephen Lynch (D., Mass.) into legislation designed to reform swaps markets.

The provisions would prohibit dealer banks and major swap market participants from owning more than a 20% voting stake in swaps clearinghouses and are backed by NYSE Euronext rival Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. (NDAQ).

"This special interest amendment is anti-competitive because it would exclude dealers and major swap participants from the market for clearing and execution services," said the letter, a copy of which was seen by Dow Jones Newswires.

"These entities have the business, legal, and operational expertise needed to establish and operate a clearinghouse, and they are the most likely source of investment capital for such an enterprise," it said.

Alongside NYSE Euronext, the letter was signed by representatives of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association and the ABA Securities Association.

The Lynch amendment is intended to address perceived conflicts of interest in allowing dealer banks to control clearinghouses and swap trading platforms, developed to mitigate risks that contributed to the financial crisis.

Clearing, the process in which a central counterparty stands as the buyer to every seller and the seller to every buyer, is being pushed by the Obama administration as one way to reduce systemic risk in over-the-counter derivatives markets.

The OTC derivatives market, estimated at nearly $600 trillion, has been targeted by critics for exacerbating the credit crisis.

-By Jacob Bunge, Dow Jones Newswires; (312) 750 4117; jacob.bunge@dowjones.com

(Sarah N. Lynch contributed to this article.)

Grafico Azioni NYSE Group (NYSE:NYX)
Storico
Da Giu 2024 a Lug 2024

Grafico Azioni NYSE Group (NYSE:NYX)
Storico
Da Lug 2023 a Lug 2024