ICE Preps Launch of Eris Standard Futures in EUR, GBP for Month’s End

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE) has revealed that ICE Futures Europe is going ahead with its plans to launch Eris standard interest rate futures contracts denominated in both Euro (EUR) and Pound Sterling (GBP) on June 29, 2015, according to an ICE statement.

ICE Futures Europe and ICE Clear Europe will both be utilizing the new contracts, with Eris Standard EUR Interest Rate futures and Eris Standard GBP Interest Rate futures both slated for trading and clearing on the aforementioned platforms. The framework and design borrows from the already available Eris Exchange US dollar-denominated futures.

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In particular, Eris interest rate futures contracts mirror all cash flows and tradable swaps in the over-the-counter market (OTC), including Price Alignment Interest (PAI). ICE has also made provisions for additional contract features, including capital, margin and operational efficiencies of exchange-traded, cash-settled futures contracts.

The announcement follows upon an April launch, in which the group initiated its first tranche of Eris futures contracts, Eris CDX HY and Eris CDX IG – presently, both contracts trade and clear at ICE Futures US and ICE Clear US.

According to David Peniket, President & COO, ICE Futures Europe, in a recent statement on the launch, “As the clearing mandate approaches in Europe, market participants are seeking more efficient means to hedge their interest rate exposure. Eris’ unique methodology provides our customers with an innovative, on-exchange solution for replicating the economics of interest rate swaps.”

ICE (NYSE:ICE) operates a global network of exchanges and clearing houses – more specifially, ICE’s futures exchanges and clearing houses service worldwide commodity and financial markets, whilst providing risk management and capital efficiency.

ICE made headlines earlier this month after it reported its futures and options average daily volume (ADV) for the month ending May 2015. Volumes witnessed a decline of -8.0% YoY compared to May 2014. Alternatively, commodities ADV was reported at 2,547,000 in May 2015, climbing 16% YoY from 2,203,000 contracts in May 2014 as well.