Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) has completed its acquisition of a majority stake in Holland Clearing House (HCH), and been granted full authorisation by the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR).
The clearing house is based in Amsterdam, and is regulated by the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) and the Dutch central bank, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB). It is the primary clearing house for trades on The Order Machine (TOM) exchange.
Joost Beckers, CEO of HCH, said: “We are excited to welcome ICE as a new shareholder, and together with ICE we will continue to service TOM and our clearing participants competitively. The support of ICE will add to HCH’s strengths, and through robust and efficient services, HCH is well positioned for growth."
ICE now operates six clearing houses, but HCH is its first that it controls in continental Europe. The previous majority shareholders, ABN AMRO Clearing Bank, continue to hold a minority stake in the company.
Paul Swann, president of ICE Clear Europe, said: "We look forward to building on our existing relationship with Holland Clearing House, as well as with TOM and ABN AMRO Clearing Bank. The addition of our first continental European-based clearinghouse allows us to further develop our comprehensive clearing strategy."
