CME and IHS Markit to Form JV
Posted by Colin Lambert. Last updated: February 8, 2021
CME Group and IHS Markit are combining their post-trade services into a new joint venture, this means that CME’s Traiana, TriOptima and Reset businesses will work alongside MarkitServ.
The deal highlights what is likely to be an interesting year as more firms focus upon capital optimisation and generally just making their business more efficient. This deal could also signal, as some have told The Full FX, the utilisation of these processes. For several years people have wondered about the level of competition in the post-trade processing space given how it is, generally speaking, an area difficult to really differentiate, perhaps this is a major step towards concentrating that business?
Some are also pointing out that this represents a good outcome for CME. There have been suggestions, since the Merc bought NEX Group, that it was struggling for an identity for the post-trade businesses beyond letting them just run their course. This deal would appear to crystalise their purpose and also, to a degree, get them off CME’s immediate agenda.
The Merc has shown itself not averse to a joint venture to help it step deeper into the OTC world, but perhaps this time it has more chance of success for not being focused on the trading business? Time will tell.