SEC Grants ICE Clear Credit Registration for U.S. Treasury Clearing

The SEC approved the application for registration of ICE Clear Credit LLC ("ICE") as a clearing agency to provide central counterparty services for transactions involving U.S. Treasury securities.

The approval expands ICE's existing operations to include a "Treasury Business" aimed at facilitating the prompt and accurate clearance and settlement of repurchase agreements ("repos") and purchases and sales of U.S. Treasury securities.

Under the approved Treasury Rules, ICE will function as the central counterparty for eligible trades, utilizing a novation process where the original trade is extinguished and ICE becomes the buyer to every seller and the seller to every buyer. The framework is designed to segregate the new Treasury Business from ICE’s existing Credit Default Swap business, ensuring that separate default resources are maintained to prevent automatic cross-default between the two business lines.

In addition to establishing specific account structures to segregate House and Client margin, the approval mandates several operational frameworks, including:

• Risk Management: Implementing a framework that collects Initial Margin calculated using a 99% Value-at-Risk equivalent measure and maintains a Treasury Guaranty Fund sized to meet "Cover-2" standards—ensuring sufficient resources to cover the default of the two largest participant families;
• Governance Structure: Establishing a Treasury Risk Committee, composed of representatives from participants and non-participants, which must be consulted on rule modifications and will eventually possess the authority to designate members for election to the ICE Board of Managers;
• Participation Standards: Setting business integrity and financial capacity requirements for applicants—including broker-dealers, banks, and Futures Commission Merchants—such as maintaining a minimum of $50 million in Adjusted Net Capital; and
• Operational Compliance: Instituting specific procedures for managing settlement fails through "Fail Charges" and a disciplinary process that allows ICE to investigate violations and impose sanctions, including fines or revocation of clearing privileges.

The SEC noted that while commenters requested modifications regarding the explicit inclusion of Futures Commission Merchants ("FCMs") and specific capital requirements, ICE’s proposed framework was sufficient as it maintained a non-exclusive participant list open to FCMs meeting the standards.

The order approving the application for registration became effective on January 30, 2026.