The Financial Instruments Clearing Membership (FICM), which is expected to be offered by the end of the first quarter, will provide margin offsets of up to 65% to qualified firms that trade both US Treasury securities and CME Group Interest Rate futures products.
The FICM membership category leverages existing infrastructure of firms that are active in both the US Treasury securities and CME Group Interest Rate futures markets.
A number of trading firms, including Breakwater Trading, Endeavor Trading, Henning-Carey Proprietary Trading, and HTG Capital Partners, have tested and validated the FICM membership and are working with CME Group to become FICM members.
A full CME clearing member must sponsor the FICM and act as the firm’s facilities manager to transact in the US Treasury securities market, said CME Group.
CME Group COO and managing director of products and services Bryan Durkin said they are establishing this new clearing membership category to provide customers who trade both US Treasury securities and CME Group’s Interest Rate futures with greater capital efficiencies, enabling firms to trade cash/futures strategies in a highly cost-effective manner.
"With our interest rate complex open interest at 37 million contracts or $30 trillion in notional value, the new FICM membership provides a strong value proposition for our global customers who trade these products," Durkin said.
