FACTBOX-Credit derivatives clearing house moves closer

May 2 (Reuters) - A group of dealers in the credit derivatives market is working to create a central clearing house to take direct exposure to counterparty risk, with a target launch date in the third quarter. ([ID:nL01162548] for related story).

Below is information known about the plan and relevant market information.

OPERATOR

The Clearing Corporation, a Chicago-based futures clearing operation which started business in 1925 as a spin-off of the Chicago Board of Trade.

In December 2007, The Clearing Corp. said it had completed a restructuring, giving it a new ownership structure, and said it would add a central clearing facility for over-the-counter derivatives to its traditional services.

OWNERS

The new owners of The Clearing Corp. include Bank of America (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Bear Stearns BSC.N, Citigroup (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research), Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research), Goldman Sachs (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research), JP Morgan (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Lehman Brothers LEH.N, Merrill Lynch (MER.N: Quote, Profile, Research), MF Global, Morgan Stanley (MS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and UBS (UBSN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research) plus inter-dealer brokers ICAP, GFI and Creditex Group, European derivatives exchange Eurex and pricing service Markit Group.