LCH RepoClear has merged its RepoClear Euro debt service, which includes specials and general collateral, with its tri-party basket repo clearing service €GCPlus.
The firm believes the amalgamation of the two units will provide members with additional netting opportunities, as well as enabling faster access to secured liquidity and collateral management capabilities.
Emmanuel Rolland, COO RepoClear, Collateral and Liquidity Management (CaLM), said: “We are delighted to build on our long-standing collaboration with Euroclear and Banque de France, to offer the sell side and buy side alternative access to general collateral liquidity and the world’s largest Euro cleared pool with enhanced collateral management capabilities.”
Members will now make payments into a single default fund, where it was previously two, while there will be one set of margin calls and reports across the combined services. Clearing members will also be able to lend specific securities and recycle the cash proceeds into €GCPlus, reclaiming their asset inventory on a single platform.
The merger extends the relationship between RepoClear, Euroclear and Banque de France, which last year saw RepoClear extend its settlement connections to investor central securities depositories (CSDs). As a result, members are now able to settle Dutch government bonds at Euroclear Netherlands as well as Austrian and Spanish government bonds at Clearstream Banking Frankfurt.
Olivier Grimonpont, managing director, head of product management, market liquidity at Euroclear, added: “This merger is the natural evolution of the service which has seen growing interest from fixed income and treasury desks and other key market participants to manage Eurosystem-eligible collateral efficiently and to generate liquidity in a cleared environment. We are extremely pleased to be taking this next step with LCH and Banque de France and to continue to support the market.”