Swiss clearing house SIX x-clear has opened a representative office in Stockholm, Sweden, ahead of its participation in exchange group Nasdaq OMX’s pan-Nordic central counterparty (CCP) clearing service, which will launch later this year.
The new office will be run by Ann Flodström, whom x-clear has appointed as head of the Nordic region. Flodström will primarily focus on strengthening client relationships and supporting entities involved in clearing.
X-clear will start clearing for Nasdaq OMX’s Nordic CCP initiative from January 2010. It will be joined by pan-European clearing house EuroCCP, which currently clears for European trading platforms Turquoise, SmartPool, NYSE Arca Europe and Pipeline Europe.
Pan-European CCP European Multilateral Clearing Facility (EMCF), in which Nasdaq OMX owns a 22% stake, will clear for the Nordic CCP initiative from launch.
X-clear has been heavily involved in the numerous CCP interoperability links that have been forged this year. In addition to the connection it established with LCH.Clearnet last year, x-clear has agreed to interoperate with EMCF and EuroCCP. The CCP currently clears for the London Stock Exchange (LSE), NYFIX Euro Millennium and SIX Swiss Exchange, and it expects its array of links will enable it to clear for Chi-X, BATS and Nasdaq OMX Europe in August and Turquoise in September.