SEC Approves FICC Rules Creating New "ACS Triparty Service"
Commentary by Sebastian Souchet
The SEC approved a rule change by the Fixed Income Clearing Corporation ("FICC") to establish the "ACS ('Agent Clearing Service') Triparty Service."
FICC stated that the new service is "designed to provide an avenue of access to FICC’s clearance and settlement systems for indirect participants unable to onboard directly with FICC due to regulatory, cost, legal, operational or jurisdictional reasons." The amendment applies to FICC Government Securities Division participants and is designed to facilitate central clearing access for indirect participants, such as money market funds, that rely on triparty repo clearing banks for collateral management.
FICC stated that the new ACS Triparty Service allows Agent Clearing Members to submit triparty repo transactions on behalf of "Executing Firm Customers" using securities represented by Generic CUSIP Numbers for comparison and novation. These transactions, which can be "done-with" or "done-away," will be risk-managed similarly to Sponsored GC Trades—with margin calculated based on the specific account recording the transaction—and incorporate the settlement of the "Start Leg" on a gross basis between pre-novation counterparties via a triparty repo platform.
The SEC approved the rule without modification on December 22, 2025, after receiving no comments on the proposal.
Commentary
The SEC's approval of the FICC's ACS Triparty Service provides another pathway for Indirect Participants—particularly money market funds—to clear and settle done-with and done-away triparty repo transactions. Notably, the FICC's changes to its GSD Rulebook to incorporate the ACS Triparty Service attempt to align treatment of ACS Triparty Trades with trades cleared through its Sponsored Service. Thus, ACS Triparty Trades would be treated as GCF Repo Transactions for margin purposes and would be "incorporate[d] into [the FICC's] liquidity risk management calculations and into the calculation[s] of the Agent Clearing Members' obligations with respect to the Capped Contingency Liquidity Facility...in the same respect as Sponsored GC Trades" (p. 7 of the Order). In addition, the Order notes that both FICC's ACS Triparty Service and Sponsored GC Service will "utilize identical schedules of eligible securities" and the "Start Leg of transactions within both services will settle on a gross basis between pre-novation counterparties via the triparty repo platform of a triparty clearing agent bank" (p. 8 of the Order).
As market participants continue to build out their done-with and done-away offerings, they should evaluate the costs and benefits of the ACS Triparty Service in comparison to other FICC services and the services of other covered clearing agencies entering into the market.