Content area
Full text
The proposed merger of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and CBOT Holdings, the holding company for the Chicago Board Of Trade, is not expected to have any significant impact on clearing services currently offered for derivatives transactions traded on either exchange. The two exchanges announced an agreement last month to merge the exchanges. The transaction is expected to close mid-2007 if regulatory approvals are received. CBOT began outsourcing its clearing to CME via its Clearing 21 system in January 2004. Allan Schoenberg, spokesman, said users should experience a seamless transition after the close. "Clearing would just be in perpetuity instead of the current contract now with the [Chicago] Board of Trade," he said, referring to the original contract that would have ended clearing services in 2009.