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ICE Clear Europe Limited

Registered in England No.06219884

Registered office: Milton Gate, 60 Chiswell Street, London EC1Y 4SA

October 4, 2022

Mr. Christopher J. Kirkpatrick

Office of the Secretariat

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Three Lafayette Centre

1155 21st Street, NW

Washington, DC 20581

Re: ICE Clear Europe Self-Certification Pursuant to Commission Rule 40.6 –

Clearing Membership Procedures

Dear Mr. Kirkpatrick:

ICE Clear Europe Limited (“ICE Clear Europe” or the “Clearing House”), a registered 

derivatives clearing organization under the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended (the 

“Act”), hereby submits to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the 

“Commission”), pursuant to Commission Rule 40.6 for self-certification, amendments 

to its Clearing Membership Procedures (the “Clearing Membership Procedures” or 

“Procedures”)1 discussed herein. The amendments will become effective on the first 

business day following the tenth business day after submission, or such later date as 

ICE Clear Europe may determine. 

Concise Explanation and Analysis

ICE Clear Europe is amending its Clearing Membership Procedures to make certain 

clarifications and enhancements to remove certain provisions that are duplicative of the 

Clearing House’s Counterparty Credit Risk Policy and Counterparty Credit Risk 

1 Capitalized terms used but not defined herein have the meanings specified in the ICE Clear Europe 

Clearing Rules and the Clearing Membership Procedures.
2

ICE Clear Europe Limited

Registered in England No.06219884

Registered office: Milton Gate, 60 Chiswell Street, London EC1Y 4SA

Procedures,2to more clearly document certain practices and to make certain nonsubstantive changes to improve clarity and readability. 

The section describing the purpose of the Procedures has been updated to add a defined 

term referencing the Clearing House’s Clearing Rules. Conforming changes have been

made to each reference to the “Clearing Rules” appearing in the remainder of the 

Procedures.

The section describing the application process has been updated to include the names 

of certain departments responsible for reviewing Clearing Membership applications as 

follows: such applications (i) will be reviewed by the Credit and Clearing Risk 

department (this change does not represent a change in departments, rather, it is an 

inclusion of the relevant department names rather than simply the “Risk” department) 

and (ii) are subject to the approval of the Executive Risk Committee (rather than simply 

the “Committee”), which will also be known as “the Committee” or “ERC” in shorthand 

in the Procedures. Conforming changes have been made in the remainder of the 

Procedures. 

A paragraph which provided that the Clearing Risk Department will conduct a credit 

review which may include a credit check and assessments based on the Clearing 

House’s Counterparty Ratings System has been removed as the credit review is covered 

by the Counterparty Credit Risk Policy and Procedures. 

For clarificatory purposes, the amendments provide that the list of Approved 

Jurisdiction for applicants (those jurisdictions for which additional legal and regulatory 

analysis is not required) will be maintained by the legal department, rather than in the 

Clearing Membership Parameters. This change reflects current practice as the list of 

Approved Jurisdictions is currently maintained by the legal department. Further, in 

order to consolidate information and because the legal department is placed to provide 

guidance on Approved Jurisdictions, the Clearing Membership Procedures reflect that 

such list is maintained by the legal department only. 

The subsection discussing termination of Clearing Membership by ICE Clear Europe 

has been updated to remove a sentence which provided that the Board is required to 

approve the issuance of a Termination Notice against a Clearing Member. There is no 

such requirement under the Rules, and accordingly the amendments bring the 

Procedures into line with the Rules and the scope of authority currently delegated by 

the Board and does not represent a change in existing practice or procedures as they 

relate to Termination Notices. Action by the Clearing House to terminate a member 

under Rule 209 will be subject to the existing general governance provisions of the 

Rules, including Rule 114. Rule 114(a) allows the Clearing House to delegate authority 

to its Board, Chairman, President or any other Director or employee. Although ICE 

Clear Europe expects that a decision to issue a Termination Notice against a Clearing 

Member will likely be made by the Board, the Clearing House’s existing Delegation of 

Authority to its President implemented pursuant to Rule 114(a) could potentially apply 

to issuance of a Termination Notice in certain emergency scenarios including situations 

where time is of the essence for the interests of the Clearing House and its Clearing 

2 The Counterparty Credit Risk Policy and Procedures are described in Exchange Act Release No. 34-

93880, SR ICEEU-2021-15 (Dec. 30, 2021).
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ICE Clear Europe Limited

Registered in England No.06219884

Registered office: Milton Gate, 60 Chiswell Street, London EC1Y 4SA

Members. In such cases and pursuant to the specifications included in the Delegation 

of Authority, the President may be authorized to issue a Termination Notice. 

Accordingly, the updates conform the Clearing Membership Procedures to reflect the 

Clearing House’s existing authority under the Rules and Delegation of Authority to 

issue Termination Notice in respect of Clearing Members. 

The subsection discussing the minimum capital requirements that the Clearing House 

requires of Clearing Members has been updated to remove a reference to data sources 

used to determine a Clearing Member’s Capital. Such matters are addressed in the 

Counterparty Credit Risk Policy and Procedures and do not need to be addressed in the 

Clearing Membership Procedures. Additionally, the amendments clarify that certain 

additional risk-based requirements that may be imposed under the CDS Procedures will

apply only to CDS Clearing Members in accordance with the terms of the CDS 

Procedures. This update does not represent a change to the Clearing Membership 

Procedures and is intended to reflect that the Clearing Membership Procedures align 

with the CDS Procedures.

The subsection discussing contributions to the Guaranty Fund for CDS and F&O has 

been updated to clarify that the Clearing Membership applications will be required to 

make Guaranty Fund contributions as specified by the F&O Guaranty Fund Policy and 

Section 5 of the CDS Risk Policy. The change is intended to update references to the 

correct F&O and CDS policies and does not represent a change in substantive 

requirements.

A subsection discussing the Clearing House’s margin-to-capital ratio requirement has 

been removed as unnecessary because such requirement is addressed in greater detail 

in the Clearing House’s Counterparty Credit Risk Policy and Procedures. 

In the section discussing on-going monitoring of the Clearing Members by the Clearing 

House, a sentence which cross-referenced the Counterparty Credit Risk Policy has been

removed as unnecessary. 

The amendments provide that the Clearing House’s periodic counterparty review 

includes know-your-customer and anti-money laundering assessments. This 

amendment is intended to reflect current practice.

A subsection referencing the Clearing House’s Quarterly Counterparty Rating System 

Report has been removed as the topic is discussed in greater detail in the Counterparty 

Credit Risk Policy and Procedures. 

A subsection discussing the information the Clearing House requires that Clearing 

Members provide through the Annual Member Return (AMR) has been updated to 

expressly include updated Clearing Member information. AMR is an annual process 

by which ICE Clear Europe requests Clearing Members to provide and confirm certain 

information related to their clearing membership; AMR is a means for the Clearing 

House to ensure that it has up-to-date information about Clearing Members. The change 

is intended to inform Clearing Members that information requested as part of AMR will 

include updated Clearing Member information, which may include, for example, a 

change of a Clearing Member’s registered or operational address, its legal entity name, 

etc.
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ICE Clear Europe Limited

Registered in England No.06219884

Registered office: Milton Gate, 60 Chiswell Street, London EC1Y 4SA

Other non-substantive typographical and similar drafting clarifications and updates 

have been made throughout the Procedures to improve readability and correct 

grammatical errors. 

Compliance with the Act and CFTC Regulations

The amendments to the Delivery Procedures are potentially relevant to the following 

core principles: (C) Participant and Product Eligibility and (O) Governance, and the 

applicable regulations of the Commission thereunder. 

• Participant and Product Eligibility. As set forth above, the amendments to the 

Clearing Membership Procedures are intended to clarify and enhance the 

Clearing House’s procedures as they relate to Clearing Member application 

and monitoring processes. The amendments do not substantively change the 

requirements for membership or the related Rules, but rather update the 

Procedures to reflect the Clearing House’s current practices, avoid duplication 

of other Clearing House policies (specifically the Counterparty Credit Risk 

Policy and Procedures) and make other updates to improve clarity and 

readability. The amendments will facilitate the Clearing House's ability to 

implement and monitor its admission and continuing participation 

requirements. As a result, ICE Clear Europe believes the amendments are 

consistent with the requirements of Core Principle C and Commission Rule 

39.12(a).

• Governance. The amendments clarify the governance arrangements around the 

termination of clearing membership status under Rule 209, to remove a 

requirement that terminations be approved by the Board. Such a requirement 

is not provided in the Rules, and accordingly the amendments make the 

Procedures consistent with the governance provisions of the Rules, including 

Rule 114. ICE Clear Europe believes that the amendments are therefore 

consistent with the requirements of Core Principle O and CFTC Rule 39.24.

As set forth herein, the amendments consist of the amendments to the Clearing 

Membership Procedures, a copy of which is attached hereto. ICE Clear Europe has 

requested confidential treatment with respect to the amendments, which have been 

submitted concurrently with this self-certification submission. 

ICE Clear Europe hereby certifies that the amendments comply with the Act and the 

Commission’s regulations thereunder. 

ICE Clear Europe received no substantive opposing views in relation to the 

amendments. 

ICE Clear Europe has posted a notice of pending certification and a copy of this 

submission on its website concurrent with the filing of this submission. 

If you or your staff should have any questions or comments or require further 

information regarding this submission, please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned 

at George.milton@theice.com or +44 20 7429 4564. 
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ICE Clear Europe Limited

Registered in England No.06219884

Registered office: Milton Gate, 60 Chiswell Street, London EC1Y 4SA

Very truly yours,

George Milton

Head of Regulation & Compliance