OCC wins S&P clearing deal

The Options Clearing Corporation, the world’s biggest derivatives clearing organisation, announced a licensing deal on Monday with Standard & Poor’s, the index provider, to clear over-the-counter (OTC) options based on the S&P 500 index.

The landmark agreement will allow Chicago-based OCC to offer the first central clearing facility in the US for the $6,500bn OTC equity derivative market by next year. Equity indexes account for some $4,800bn of the OTC market, and the S&P 500 is thought to be the biggest single index product.