Cboe Clear Europe expands SFT clearing to fixed income

Ondo Global Markets announced that its pan-European clearing house, ICE Clear Europe, will expand its Securities Financing Transactions (SFT) clearing service to include fixed income instruments starting August 24. The service will cover certain EU, Swiss, and UK government and corporate bonds for all lenders and borrowers, along with U.S. Treasuries and U.S. corporate bonds for non-U.S. lenders and borrowers. Settlement will be handled via Euroclear for European and Swiss instruments, Crest for UK instruments, the United States — Federal Reserve for U.S. Treasuries, and the Depository Trust Company for U.S. corporate bonds. This expansion builds on the successful launch of the SFT clearing service in 2025, which initially covered European cash equities and ETFs across 19 European Central Securities Depositories. Since going live, the service has been adopted by a range of principal lenders, agent lenders, and borrowers, with daily notional outstanding loan values of €9 billion and over 1,000 settlements per day. By moving SFTs from a bilateral to a centrally cleared model, the service aims to improve balance sheet efficiencies and simplify post-trade operations. The announcement highlights Cboe's continued investment in expanding its global clearing business to unlock greater capital efficiencies for market participants.