LCH.Clearnet announces new Chief Executive 

London, 15 February 2011

LCH.Clearnet Group (LCH.Clearnet), the world's leading independent clearing house group, has appointed Ian Axe as chief executive of both LCH.Clearnet Group Limited (the group holding company) and LCH.Clearnet Limited (the UK based subsidiary).  Mr Axe joins from Barclays Capital where he was most recently global head of operations and COO EMEA.  He will replace Roger Liddell, who has been chief executive since July 2006 and who announced his intention to retire in July 2010.

Commenting on the appointment Jacques Aigrain, chairman, LCH.Clearnet said: “Ian has experience of building successful businesses around the world.  This, combined with his extensive financial expertise, makes him well placed to lead LCH.Clearnet at this exciting and challenging time.  As the market leader in OTC clearing and with expertise in a broader range of assets than any other clearing house globally, LCH.Clearnet is well placed to benefit from the worldwide drive to reduce systemic risk.” 

Mr Aigrain continued; “Roger has successfully steered the company through a period of unprecedented turmoil in the financial markets and built the foundations for future growth.  I would like to thank him for his years of excellent leadership.”

Ian Axe said; “I’m delighted to be joining LCH.Clearnet; never has the importance of clearing been so evident, nor the opportunities so great.  LCH.Clearnet is at the forefront of its industry and plays a vital role in reducing risk across financial markets globally.”

Mr Axe has 17 years of broad experience in the financial sector.  He joined Barclays Capital in 2002 from Booz Allen Hamilton, where he was a principal in the financial services practice, advising leading financial institutions on strategic issues.  At Barclays Capital he was responsible for a number of key initiatives, including the formation of Barclays Wealth, the development of ABSA Capital into South Africa’s leading investment bank, the integration of Lehman Brothers and the divesture of BGI.  He was also global head of equity finance and was appointed COO EMEA Barclays Capital in 2009 and head of operations in 2010.

Mr Axe is expected to commence his duties in early April.

To view the press release as a pdf click here.

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About LCH.Clearnet

LCH.Clearnet is the leading independent clearing house group, serving major international exchanges and platforms, as well as a range of OTC markets. It clears a broad range of asset classes including: securities, exchange traded derivatives, commodities, energy, freight, interest rate swaps, credit default swaps and euro and sterling denominated bonds and repos; and works closely with market participants and exchanges to identify and develop clearing services for new asset classes. 

A clearing house sits in the middle of a trade, assuming the counterparty risk involved when two parties (or members) trade.  When the trade is registered with a clearing house, it becomes the legal counterparty to the trade, ensuring the financial performance; if one of the parties fails, the clearing house steps in.  By assuming the counterparty risk, the clearing house underpins many important financial markets, facilitating trading and increasing confidence within the market.

Initial and variation margin (or collateral) is collected from clearing members; should they fail, this margin is used to fulfil their obligations.  The amount of margin is decided by the clearing house’s highly experienced risk management teams, who assess a member’s positions and market risk on a daily basis.  Both the soundness of the risk management approach and the resilience of its systems have been proven in recent times.

LCH.Clearnet is regulated or overseen by the national securities regulator and/or central bank in each jurisdiction from which it operates.