ICBC Standard Bank Gets OK to Operate as U.S.-Registered Swap Dealer

ICBC Standard Bank PLC has become the first Chinese bank to operate as a U.S.-registered swap dealer, its latest international expansion effort.

The bank said Friday that it had received approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to be a "provisionally registered swap dealer," a role that would allow the bank to offer over-the-counter derivatives to U.S. clients.

A swap dealer acts as a market maker in the swap market, often by entering into swap agreements with counterparts. The market has come under heightened scrutiny after the financial crisis.

ICBC Standard, which is 60% owned by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd., will be the latest to join the 106 financial institutions that were designated by the CFTC as swap dealers as of May 10.

In a statement, Marc van der Spuy, chief executive of ICBC Standard, said "this swap dealer designation is crucial" for its growth in the U.S.

The bank was founded in February 2015 after ICBC, the world's largest bank by assets, acquired a stake in Standard Bank's London-based Global Markets business.

Earlier this month, ICBC Standard agreed to buy one of Europe's largest vaults from Barclays PLC, in a move to push into the business of precious-metal clearing and trading.

Write to Carolyn Cui at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 27, 2016 17:35 ET (21:35 GMT)

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