ICE Clear Credit Seeks SEC Approval to Clear U.S. Treasury Securities

The SEC published ICE Clear Credit LLC’s ("ICC") application to register as a clearing agency under Exchange Act Section 17A ("National system for clearance and settlement of securities transactions").

In its application, ICC—currently registered as a clearing agency for credit default swaps—sought approval to expand into U.S. Treasury securities. The proposed Treasury Business would clear both secondary cash market transactions and repo transactions involving U.S. Treasury securities. To support this expansion, ICC submitted a proposed rulebook as part of its Form CA-1 exhibits.

In its application, ICC explained that the Treasury Business would be operationally distinct from ICC’s existing credit default swap clearing services. Specifically, it would include: (i) separate membership standards tailored to Treasury Participants, with requirements covering financial, operational, and risk management capacities; (ii) a dedicated Treasury Guaranty Fund, sized to Cover-2 standards, with minimum contributions of $20 million per participant and risk-based assessments; (iii) independent risk management systems, including initial margin, variation margin, and client protection measures; and (iv) default management and resilience frameworks, designed to address systemic risk and maintain market stability.