LCH.Clearnet appoints Charlie Longden as CEO of CDSClear 

London, 06 December 2011

LCH.Clearnet SA (LCH.Clearnet) has appointed Charlie Longden as CEO of CDSClear, its credit default swap (CDS) clearing service. Charlie joins LCH.Clearnet from Markit where he was managing director of fixed income, heading up the development of new credit services, including Markit’s new evaluated bonds platform, as well as managing the CDS product in Europe.

As CEO of CDSClear, Charlie will lead the development of CDSClear within the context of the evolving regulatory landscape.  He will report to Ian Axe, LCH.Clearnet Group CEO and will divide his time between London and Paris.

Charlie has over 20 years experience in credit.  He joined Markit in 2008 from ABN Amro where he was global head of credit trading and eco-markets.  During his time at ABN Amro, Charlie was instrumental in the establishment of a number of key initiatives, including iBoxx Notes in 2002, the forerunner of iTraxx / CDX.

LCH.Clearnet launched CDS clearing for four French banks in March 2010 and, since launch, €49.4 billion has been cleared.  An international clearing offering is being developed and is anticipated to launch in 2012.

Commenting on his appointment, Charlie Longden said:  “LCH.Clearnet is uniquely placed to benefit from the growing demand for OTC clearing services.  Its long pedigree in clearing OTC and close relationship with market participants is an excellent platform for growth. I’m delighted to be leading such an interesting service at such an exciting time.”

Ian Axe, CEO, LCH.Clearnet group added: “Charlie’s extensive industry expertise, coupled with his deep understanding of clients and their concerns, make him ideally placed to head up this important service for the next phase of its development. We are thrilled to have him on board.”

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To view the press release as a pdf click here.

About LCH.Clearnet

The LCH.Clearnet Group 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, CDS 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 fulfill 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.