[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 213 (Monday, November 4, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 87656-87659]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-25533]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-101469; File No. SR-LCH SA-2024-004]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; LCH SA; Notice of Filing and 
Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Relating to Cash 
Spreads and Fees on Securities Collateral

October 29, 2024.
    Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(``Act''),\1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given that 
on October 23, 2024, Banque Centrale de Compensation, which conducts 
business under the name LCH SA (``LCH SA''), filed with the Securities 
and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') the proposed rule change 
(``Proposed Rule Change'') described in Items I, II and III below, 
which Items have been primarily prepared by LCH SA. LCH SA filed the 
proposed rule change pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act,\3\ and 
Rule 19b-4(f)(2) \4\ thereunder, so that the proposal was effective 
upon filing with the Commission. The Commission is publishing this 
notice to solicit comments on the Proposed Rule Change from interested 
persons.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
    \2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
    \3\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
    \4\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(2).
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I. Clearing Agency's Statement of the Terms of Substance of the 
Proposed Rule Change

    LCH SA is proposing to amend the fees it charges clearing members 
for cash and securities collateral posted as initial margin for its 
clearing services including CDSClear (the ``Proposed Rule Change'').
    The text of the Proposed Rule Change has been annexed as Exhibit 5 
to File No. SR-LCH SA-2024-004.\5\ The implementation of the Proposed 
Rule Change will be contingent on LCH SA's receipt of all necessary 
regulatory approvals.
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    \5\ All capitalized terms not defined herein have the same 
definition as in the CDS Clearing Rule Book available at https://www.lch.com/system/files/media_root/CDSClear_Rule_Book_01.02.2024.pdf.
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II. Clearing Agency's Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis 
for, the Proposed Rule Change

    In its filing with the Commission, LCH SA included statements 
concerning the purpose of and basis for the Proposed Rule Change and 
discussed any comments it received on the Proposed Rule Change. The 
text of these statements may be examined at the places specified in 
Item IV below. LCH SA has prepared summaries, set forth in sections A, 
B, and C below, of the most significant aspects of such statements.

A. Clearing Agency's Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis 
for, the Proposed Rule Change

1. Purpose
    LCH SA currently applies a spread for clearing member cash 
collateral and charges fees on securities collateral posted to cover 
initial margin requirements for its CDSClear business. Cash collateral 
spreads are primarily based on underlying market conditions for a given 
currency and are subtracted from a reference index to determine a total 
rate to be applied to CDSClear house and client accounts. Securities 
collateral fees are primarily based on a combination of factors, 
including, but not limited to operational costs to manage a specific 
non-cash collateral type, the liquidation profile and

[[Page 87657]]

subsequent impact on LCH SA's liquidity coverage ratio of the 
securities collateral and commercial considerations such as competitive 
landscape. The securities collateral fees charged to clearing members 
varies based on the instrument type (e.g., government securities), 
whether the securities collateral is posted on behalf of the CDSClear 
house account or on behalf of CDSClear clients and the method of 
posting the collateral (i.e., full title transfer, pledge or tri-
party). The purpose of the Proposed Rule Change is for LCH SA to amend 
the cash spreads and securities collateral fees for margin collateral 
posted by clearing members.
i. Changes to Cash Collateral Spreads
    LCH SA currently accepts euro, GBP and USD cash to satisfy initial 
margin requirements for its CDSClear business. Clearing members that 
post these eligible currencies as margin may receive interest on these 
balances based on an associated benchmark index and cash collateral 
spreads applied by LCH SA. The total rate that clearing members and 
their clients may be eligible for is the difference between the value 
of the underlying benchmark index and the spreads applied by LCH SA. 
Interest earned on cash collateral is based on daily balances by 
account and posted monthly to clearing member accounts.
    LCH SA currently applies the following cash collateral spreads for 
CDSClear house and client accounts:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                         Cash collateral fee/spread  (bps)
                                           Unsecured overnight   -----------------------------------------------
               Currency                           index                              CDSClear
                                                                    All markets       clients      Default funds
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EUR...................................  [euro]STR...............            21.5             6.5            11.5
GBP...................................  SONIA...................              35              20
USD...................................  FEDFUND.................              30              15
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    LCH SA is proposing to decrease the cash collateral spread for EUR, 
GBP and USD by 2bps. Accordingly, LCH SA will apply a revised spread of 
19.5bps, 33bps and 28bps for EUR, GBP and USD cash collateral balances, 
respectively, posted for initial margin. In addition, LCH SA is 
proposing to add a column reflecting the current Default Fund spread 
for purposes of transparency, however LCH SA is not proposing any 
changes to this spread. LCH SA is also not proposing any changes to the 
cash collateral spread for CDSClear clients. LCH SA is proposing these 
changes primarily to encourage members to post more cash collateral, as 
non-cash collateral deposited has become a larger proportion of all 
margin collateral on deposit. An increase in the proportion of cash 
collateral on deposit will enhance LCH SA's Liquidity Coverage Ratio, 
provide LCH SA with the required operational liquidity to inject into 
the settlement and payment networks and to ensure there is no 
disruption in clearing services, should LCH SA liquidate the portfolio 
of a defaulted clearing member.
    LCH SA is proposing to reduce the spreads for eligible cash 
collateral balances to encourage CDSClear clearing members to post more 
cash as initial margin for clearing and to better diversify the mix of 
collateral posted as initial margin from clearing members, as non-cash 
collateral has become a greater portion of all margin collateral on 
deposit. LCH SA believes this will enhance its liquidity risk 
management processes by ensuring it maintains sufficient liquid 
resources (i.e., cash) to facilitate the timely settlement of its 
payment obligations with a high degree of confidence under a wide range 
of foreseeable stress scenarios. In addition, an increase in cash 
collateral will support LCH SA's ability to manage the ongoing 
operational liquidity needs for the purposes of injecting liquidity 
into the various settlement and payment networks and will further 
support LCH SA's default management process (e.g., during the 
liquidation of a member portfolio). LCH SA does not believe any changes 
are necessary to the cash collateral spreads for CDSClear Clients or 
with respect to cash posted to satisfy Default Fund requirements. 
CDSClear Clients will continue to benefit from a larger spread than 
CDSClear House accounts and the Default Fund cash collateral spread 
will remain unchanged, as clearing members must continue to meet their 
Default Fund obligations in cash collateral.
ii. Changes to Securities Collateral Fees
    LCH SA is also proposing to amend the fees it charges clearing 
members for securities collateral posted as initial margin. Eligible 
securities collateral currently includes government securities from 
select countries, select European supranational debt, government agency 
debt issued by Rentenbank (Germany), Kreditanstalt f[uuml]r 
Wiederaufbau (Germany) and CADES (France) and select equities listed on 
the EURO STOXX 50 index. The fees charged on each securities collateral 
type varies based on the mechanism of how the clearing member posts the 
collateral. For example, securities collateral may be deposited via 
Full Title Transfer (FTT) to an account opened by LCH SA at various 
central securities depositories (CSDs). Clearing members may also 
pledge securities collateral directly to LCH SA, whereby it will 
deposit securities via a Single Pledgor Pledged Account (SPPA) opened 
by LCH SA at Euroclear Bank. LCH SA also offers a Tri-Party solution 
whereby LCH SA and a Clearing member may appoint Euroclear Bank and/or 
Euroclear France as a triparty agent and authorize such triparty agent 
to enter settlement instructions on their behalf into the securities 
settlement system to affect movements of securities between a giver 
account and a taker account opened with the relevant triparty agent on 
a full title transfer basis for the purposes of transferring Collateral 
to LCH SA or releasing such collateral. LCH SA currently applies the 
following fees for securities collateral for CDSClear house and client 
accounts:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                       House                          Client
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                   Securities       Full title                                       CDSClear
                                                     transfer         Pledge         Triparty         clients
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Government Securities.........  Australia.......              13              NA              NA              10
                                Austria.........              11              15             9.5              10

[[Page 87658]]

 
                                Belgium.........              11              15             9.5              10
                                Canada..........              13              NA              NA              10
                                Denmark.........              13              NA              NA              10
                                Finland.........              11              15             9.5              10
                                France..........              11              15             9.5              10
                                Germany.........              11              15             9.5              10
                                Italy...........              11              15             9.5              10
                                Japan...........              13              NA              NA              10
                                Netherlands.....              11              15             9.5              10
                                Norway..........              13              NA              NA              10
                                Portugal........              11              NA             9.5              10
                                Spain...........              11              15             9.5              10
                                Sweden..........              13              NA              NA              10
                                Switzerland.....              13              NA              NA              10
                                UK..............              11              15              NA              10
                                USA.............              11              15              NA              10
Supranationals................  European                      13              15            11.5              10
                                 Financial
                                 Stability
                                 Facility.
                                European                      13              15            11.5              10
                                 Stability
                                 Mechanism.
                                European                      13              15            11.5              10
                                 Investment Bank.
                                European Union..              13              15            11.5              10
                                Investment Bank               13              15            11.5              10
                                 for
                                 Reconstruction
                                 and Development.
Agencies......................  Rentenbank......              13              15            11.5              10
                                Kreditanstalt                 13              15            11.5              10
                                 f[uuml]r
                                 Wiederaufbau.
                                CADES...........              13              15              NA              10
Equities......................  All (as listed                13              NA              NA              NA
                                 in Haircut
                                 Schedule).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    LCH SA is proposing to increase the fees for securities collateral 
posted via FTT or tri-party for clearing members by 1bp and by 10bps 
for securities collateral posted via pledge. LCH SA is also proposing 
to remove the second footnote to the securities collateral fee table, 
as the Triparty fees are now currently effective for all services. LCH 
SA is not proposing any changes to the fees charged to CDSClear Clients 
or for other non-cash collateral types. As previously noted, LCH SA 
charges different fees depending on the type of securities, the way 
that such securities are deposited, as well as the type of activity 
these cover. As a reminder, LCH SA has the capacity to raise euro 
liquidity by:
    <bullet> pledging euro securities posted via FTT in the Banque de 
France 3G Pool; and
    <bullet> executing cross-currency repo trades to borrow euro cash, 
collateralized by U.S. Treasuries and GBP Gilts posted via FTT.
    However, securities posted by clearing members via pledge cannot be 
used for liquidity risk management purposes, and as such, are not 
considered liquid assets. LCH SA believes the increase in the fees for 
securities collateral and concurrent decrease in the spread for cash 
collateral will create an additional incentive for clearing members to 
post cash as initial margin. Consequently, this will strengthen LCH 
SA's Liquidity Coverage Ratio and further enhance LCH SA's liquidity 
risk profile.
2. Statutory Basis
    LCH SA believes that the Proposed Rule Change is consistent with 
the requirements of Section 17A of the Exchange Act \6\ and the 
regulations thereunder applicable to LCH SA. Section 17A(b)(3)(D) of 
the Act \7\ requires that the rules of a clearing agency provide for 
the equitable allocation of reasonable dues, fees and other charges 
among its participants.
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    \6\ 15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.
    \7\ 15 U.S.C. 78q-1(b)(3)(D).
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    LCH SA believes the amendments to the spread applied to cash 
collateral and fees applied to securities collateral for the CDSClear 
business are reasonable. To ensure it continues to maintain sufficient 
liquid resources to meet the minimum liquid resource requirement as set 
forth in Exchange Act Rule 17Ad-22(e)(7)(i),\8\ LCH SA is proposing to 
increase the fees for securities collateral posted as margin to 
strengthen its Liquidity Coverage Ratio and further enhance LCH SA's 
liquidity risk profile. Concurrent with the increase in fees for 
securities collateral, LCH SA is proposing to decrease the spread for 
cash collateral. LCH SA assessed the impact of the Proposed Rule Change 
by applying the proposed cash spreads and securities collateral fees 
against the current portfolio of margin collateral for CDSClear members 
and concluded these changes will not have a significant impact on 
expected revenues and are thus reasonable for CDSClear clearing 
members.
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    \8\ 17 CFR 240.17Ad-22(e)(7)(i).
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    In addition, LCH SA believes the Proposed Rule Change is equitable 
for all participants. All CDSClear Members will continue to have the 
choice to post either securities collateral or cash collateral to 
satisfy initial margin requirements. Clearing members wishing to post 
securities collateral via FTT will continue to face a lower fee than 
posting via a pledge arrangements. Likewise, clearing members may 
continue to post securities collateral via the tri-party option at a 
lower fee rate than FTT or via pledge. LCH SA believes the change in 
securities collateral fees are equitable for all clearing members and 
enables LCH SA to strengthen its liquidity risk profile.
    LCH SA also believes the amendments to the spreads applied to cash 
collateral and fees applied to securities collateral for the CDSClear 
business are consistent with the requirements set forth in Exchange Act 
Rule 17Ad-22(e)(7)(i).\9\ Exchange Act Rule 17Ad-22(e)(7)(i) requires 
clearing agencies to, inter alia, establish, implement, maintain and 
enforce written policies and procedures reasonably designed to . . . 
maintain sufficient liquid resources at the

[[Page 87659]]

minimum in all relevant currencies to effect same-day and, where 
appropriate, intraday and multiday settlement of payment obligations 
with a high degree of confidence under a wide range of foreseeable 
stress scenarios that includes, but is not limited to, the default of 
the participant family that would generate the largest aggregate 
payment obligation for the covered clearing agency in extreme but 
plausible market conditions.\10\ As previously noted, LCH SA 
anticipates the Proposed Rule Change will strengthen its Liquidity 
Coverage Ratio and further enhance its liquidity risk profile by 
incentivizing clearing members to increase the amount of cash to 
satisfy margin requirements. The additional cash will add to LCH SA's 
total liquid resources, which can be used for the settlement of daily 
payment obligations, including with respect to the default of the 
participant family generating the largest aggregate payment obligation 
for LCH SA.
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    \9\ Id.
    \10\ Id.
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    For these reasons, LCH SA believes the Proposed Rule Change is 
consistent with the requirements of Section 17A(b)(3)(D) of the Act 
\11\ in that the amendments to the cash spreads and securities fees are 
reasonable and equitable among its participants. In addition, LCH SA 
believes that the Proposed Rule Change is consistent with the 
requirements of Exchange Act Rule 17Ad-22(e)(7)(i) \12\ by enhancing 
LCH SA's liquidity risk profile.
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    \11\ 15 U.S.C. 78q-1(b)(3)(D).
    \12\ 17 CFR 240.17Ad-22(e)(7)(i).
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B. Clearing Agency's Statement on Burden on Competition

    Section 17A(b)(3)(I) of the Act \13\ requires that the rules of a 
clearing agency not impose any burden on competition not necessary or 
appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. LCH SA does not 
believe that the Proposed Rule Change would impose any burden on 
competition. The Proposed Rule Change will enhance LCH SA's ability to 
manage the liquidity risks and related costs associated with converting 
securities collateral to cash and will apply equally to all 
participants. LCH SA also believes the proposed increase in fees for 
securities collateral will not be burdensome for participants, as 
participants will continue to have the option of posting securities 
collateral as initial margin or instead post cash collateral subject to 
the decreased spread. Therefore, LCH SA does not believe that the 
Proposed Rule Change would impose any burden on competition not 
necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act.
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    \13\ 15 U.S.C. 78q-1(b)(3)(I).
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C. Clearing Agency's Statement on Comments on the Proposed Rule Change 
Received From Members, Participants or Others

    Written comments relating to the Proposed Rule Change have not been 
solicited or received. LCH SA will notify the Commission of any written 
comments received by LCH SA.

III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 
Commission Action

    The foregoing rule change has become effective pursuant to Section 
19(b)(3)(A) of the Act and paragraph (f) of Rule 19b-4 thereunder. At 
any time within 60 days of the filing of the proposed rule change, the 
Commission summarily may temporarily suspend such rule change if it 
appears to the Commission that such action is necessary or appropriate 
in the public interest, for the protection of investors, or otherwise 
in furtherance of the purposes of the Act.

IV. Solicitation of Comments

    Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and 
arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule 
change is consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by any of 
the following methods:

Electronic Comments

    <bullet> Use the Commission's internet comment form (https://www.sec.gov/rules-regulations/self-regulatory-organization-rulemaking); 
or
    <bullet> Send an email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e496918881c9878b8989818a9097a4978187ca838b92"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0270776e672f616d6f6f676c7671427167612c656d74">[email protected]</span></a>. Please include 
file number SR-LCH SA-2024-004 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

    <bullet> Send paper comments in triplicate to Secretary, Securities 
and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549-1090.

All submissions should refer to file number SR-LCH SA-2024-004. This 
file number should be included on the subject line if email is used. To 
help the Commission process and review your comments more efficiently, 
please use only one method. The Commission will post all comments on 
the Commission's internet website (https://www.sec.gov/rules-regulations/self-regulatory-organization-rulemaking). Copies of the 
submission, all subsequent amendments, all written statements with 
respect to the proposed rule change that are filed with the Commission, 
and all written communications relating to the proposed rule change 
between the Commission and any person, other than those that may be 
withheld from the public in accordance with the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 
552, will be available for website viewing and printing in the 
Commission's Public Reference Room, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 
20549, on official business days between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 
p.m. Copies of such filings will also be available for inspection and 
copying at the principal office of LCH SA and on LCH SA's website at 
http://www.lch.com/resources/rules-and-regulations/proposed-rule-changes-0. Do not include personal identifiable information in 
submissions; you should submit only information that you wish to make 
available publicly. We may redact in part or withhold entirely from 
publication submitted material that is obscene or subject to copyright 
protection.
    All submissions should refer to file number SR-LCH SA-2024-004 and 
should be submitted on or before November 25, 2024.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\14\
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    \14\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Sherry R. Haywood,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-25533 Filed 11-1-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P


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