BNP Paribas awarded third-party clearing waiver by SFC; predicts tectonic shift in clearing practices

BNP Paribas Securities Services has become the first dealer to secure a special waver from the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) in Hong Kong, allowing it to exceed limits on how much third-party clearing it can complete with one counterparty through Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx), which has contributed to it becoming what it claims is the largest general clearing participant for the HKEx.

BNP Paribas Securities Services officials claim that in the past month it has cleared around