NEW YORK, LONDON, PARIS, 9 March 2011. Bclear has processed its billionth derivatives contract, NYSE Liffe announced today. The news follows strong growth in Bclear volumes during 2010: last year Bclear processed 340m contracts, a 31 percent increase on 2009.
Bclear was launched in October 2005 after NYSE Liffe first identified customers' needs for a flexible platform for the processing of pre-negotiated equity derivatives transactions. The service was designed to bridge the gap between the bilateral, OTC markets and the listed on-exchange markets, providing traditional users of the OTC markets with the security of trade administration and clearing of a range of options and futures on individual equity and index contracts. Today, the service covers over 1,000 underlyings from 22 countries, is governed by a single set of market rules, has a low pricing structure and unsurpassed flexibility. New contracts are continually added to Bclear: forty-eight regional and country-specific Bclear MSCI index futures, which were listed recently on the platform, have seen growing volumes and open interest.
According to Bill Templer, Global Co-head of Listed Derivatives at Morgan Stanley, "Bclear has been a stand-out innovation of the Futures industry over the past few years and its success is clear as it passes this significant milestone. Morgan Stanley embraced the platform at its inception in 2005 and we are delighted to have been one of the leading partners in its success."
Ade Cordell, Director and Co-Head of Equity Derivatives and OTC Services at NYSE Liffe, said, "We are proud to have developed a service that has proven to be successful at meeting the needs of our customers. Today Bclear is used by all the major banks and brokers in Europe and it is with their support that we have passed this significant milestone. We will work closely with our customers to ensure that Bclear continues to evolve to meet their changing needs and thank them for their trust in Bclear."