NEW YORK, March 16, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The International Derivatives Clearing Group, LLC (IDCG), a majority owned, independently operated subsidiary of The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.SM, is pleased to announce the appointment of Commerzbank AG, New York Branch as a Joint Lead Arranger and Co-Book Manager for the International Derivatives Clearinghouse LLC's (IDCH) $100 million line of credit. Commerzbank has provided IDCH the initial $25 million tranche of this facility. Bank of America has joined Commerzbank as a Joint Lead Arranger and Co-Book Manager.
Michael Reuther, Member of the Board of Managing Directors of Commerzbank AG states, "Commerzbank welcomes the opportunity to be part of IDCG's solution to provide clearing for OTC interest rate swap futures. There is a global movement toward clearing OTC products in an effort to provide financial safeguards against systemic risk and to provide transparency. Commerzbank looks forward to working with the NASDAQ OMX/IDCG team and making a material contribution to the success of this enterprise."
Christopher Edmonds, Chief Executive Officer of IDCG states, "IDCG appreciates the contribution Commerzbank is making to the successful launch of IDCH. We all realize the challenging credit environment that exists today and applaud Commerzbank for sharing our vision. We look forward to expanding our relationship with them as IDCG continues to grow its business."
"IDCG is delivering a sophisticated private sector clearing solution to help mitigate credit risk in truly unprecedented times. We are proud to have Commerzbank and Bank of America as part of our NASDAQ OMX/IDCG team," said Chris Concannon, Executive Vice President of NASDAQ OMX.
The OTC interest rate swap market is the largest derivative asset class in the world, with an estimated $460 trillion dollars in notional principal outstanding as of June 2008 according to the Bank for International Settlements. It is also estimated that over a trillion dollars in notional principal trades every day. Because interest rate swap futures are traded over the counter, the structure of this market is largely opaque, and participants bear substantial counterparty credit risk. The use of a centrally cleared platform for OTC interest rate swap contracts provides a solution to these problems.
About the International Derivatives Clearing Group:
The International Derivatives Clearing Group (IDCG) is a majority owned, independently operated subsidiary of The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.SM. IDCG will operate International Derivatives Clearinghouse (IDCH), a CFTC regulated clearinghouse that will be a central counterparty for interest rate swap futures contracts and other fixed income derivatives. IDCH, in conjunction with Razor Risk Technologies, will utilize NASDAQ OMX Click XT matching and NASDAQ OMX SECUR clearing technology to provide an efficient and transparent forum to clear and settle futures products. For more information about IDCG and IDCH, visit www.IDCG.com.