NEW YORK, March 26, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ) today commented on Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's testimony before the House Financial Services Committee. NASDAQ OMX fully supports Secretary Geithner's proposed regulatory reforms that call for, among other things, to increase the use of central counterparty clearing (CCP) for OTC derivatives.
NASDAQ OMX is the majority owner of the International Derivatives Group, Inc. (IDCG) which is an approved CFTC regulated clearinghouse for OTC interest rate swap futures contracts and other fixed income derivatives contracts.
Bob Greifeld, NASDAQ OMX CEO, commented, "Secretary Geithner has highlighted an issue critical to the future stability of our financial system. Central counterparty clearing for these products is an important systemic risk mitigation tool, bringing both risk mitigation and financial efficiencies."
"Counterparty clearing also provides customers with segmented and protected treatment for positions and collateral, which could have played a key role during the worst days of this financial crisis. We look forward to working with Secretary Geithner and legislators to bring about these fundamental regulatory changes," added Mr. Greifeld.
About NASDAQ OMX Group
The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. is the world's largest exchange company. It delivers trading, exchange technology and public company services across six continents, with over 3,800 listed companies. NASDAQ OMX offers multiple capital raising solutions to companies around the globe, including its U.S. listings market, NASDAQ OMX Nordic, NASDAQ OMX Baltic, NASDAQ OMX First North, and the U.S. 144A sector. The company offers trading across multiple asset classes including equities, derivatives, debt, commodities, structured products and ETFs. NASDAQ OMX technology supports the operations of over 70 exchanges, clearing organizations and central securities depositories in more than 50 countries.
NASDAQ OMX Nordic and NASDAQ OMX Baltic are not legal entities but describe the common offering from NASDAQ OMX exchanges in Helsinki, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Iceland, Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius. For more information about NASDAQ OMX, visit http://www.nasdaqomx.com.
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