(Reuters) -CME Group plans to apply to clear U.S. Treasuries, a spokesperson said, a $26 trillion dollar market.
The Financial Times reported earlier on Tuesday that CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) would apply this year to clear U.S. Treasuries, becoming the first exchange company to publicly announce its plans to enter the world's biggest bond market.
Its competitor Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE)'s president of fixed income and data services, Chris Edmonds, told Reuters his company is also interested in offering Treasury clearing services, saying Intercontinental Exchange "will find a way to serve the market".
CME operates CME Clearing, which offers clearing and settlement services for exchange-traded contracts and over-the-counter derivatives transactions.
The exchange operator also offers global benchmark products across major asset classes, including futures and options.