ICE Cleared By SEC, CDS Clearinghouse Launches Monday

As expected, the SEC promptly granted an exemption for the ICE to begin guaranteeing CDS. ICE competitor CME Group has not received an SEC exemption and it is not clear how long it would take for the SEC to make a decision on the competitive platform.

Either way, the ICE has said it will begin backing trades in the market as soon as Monday of next week. Farewell basis trade (unless our readers feel otherwise, in which case we welcome their thoughts).