NASDAQ OMX AND NORDIC GROUPS ROLL OUT CCP PLAN

Posted January 26, 2009

STOCKHOLM – The Nasdaq OMX Group, Inc., the Securities Dealers Associations in Denmark and Sweden, and the Federation of Finnish Financial Services have announced a timeline for introducing central counterparty (CCP) on the Nasdaq OMX exchanges in Copenhagen, Helsinki and Stockholm. The goal is to have voluntary CCP from February 2009 and full CCP from October 9, 2009, subject to approval of regulatory authorities.

“First of all, the implementation of CCP fulfills a more insistent need of reducing counterparty risks,” says Steen Blaafalk, Chair of the Nordic Securities Association and of the Danish Securities Dealers Association. “Secondly, a CCP ensures that the Nordic market is keeping up with international standards.”

In October 2008, Nasdaq OMX announced its intention to introduce CCP in the Nordic region in 2009. Since then, Nasdaq OMX and the Securities Dealers Associations in Denmark and Sweden, and the Federation of Finnish Financial Services, have outlined detailed plans on the CCP implementation.

“We have designed the CCP solution in the Nordic region together with our customers, and we are pleased to jointly announce the concept and timeline for CCP,” says said Hans-Ole Jochumsen, Executive Vice President Nasdaq OMX. “This introduction will bring multiple benefits to our customers and to the Nordic financial markets by significantly reducing counterparty risk. Most European markets today are centrally cleared and implementation of CCP in the region is fundamental to future competitiveness of the Nordic markets.”

Under the CCP solution, the European Multilateral Clearing Facility (EMCF) will operate as CCP on the Nordic equity markets. Nasdaq OMX will seek an additional CCP and appoint any requesting CCP that fulfills the minimum requirements for becoming a CCP on the Nordic markets without delay.

Netting with other marketplaces will be possible under the solution. Instruments cleared by CCP October 2009 onwards will be decided in cooperation with the exchange members. The appointed CCPs must be account holders with the central banks and must be direct members of the central securities depositories (CSDs).