OCC, the equity derivatives clearing organisation, has reduced its clearing fees from four and a half cents per contract to two cents per contract, effective June this year.
The two cent clearing fee follows a previous fee reduction from five and a half cents per contract to four and a half cents per contract, which went into effect 1 September 2020.
In December last year, OCC’s board of directors approved a refund to clearing member firms of $156 million, which was paid on 19 April.
OCC says the reduction is part of its commitment to deliver operational excellence to the users of the US equity derivatives markets.
“Participation in listed options markets in 2021 has resulted in historic cleared contract volumes, outpacing even 2020 highs,” says John Davidson OCC CEO.
March and January 2021 were the first and second highest volume months, respectively, in OCC’s history, with March volume exceeding 904 million total contracts cleared.
Davidson explains: “These record volumes have provided us with an opportunity to enhance OCC’s financial resilience to the benefit of our market participants and the greater investing public.”
Scot Warren, COO at OCC, comments: “We take seriously our duty to manage OCC in a way that ensures we meet regulatory expectations and responsibly invest in OCC’s infrastructure, while also serving market participants as a financially responsible steward of clearing services.”
“Because of our strong focus on expense discipline coupled with record contract volumes, we can continue to take steps to lower costs for market participants, consistent with the capital management policy, while also investing in our enhanced operational resiliency and technology,” Warren adds.
