LCH ForexClear advanced the market standard for FX clearing and settlement in 2024, delivering innovations in post-trade efficiency, risk management and global interoperability. The combined offering has reinforced confidence in cleared workflows and positioned them at the centre of a more transparent and resilient FX ecosystem.
LSEG FX provides one of the broadest sets of execution venues in the global market, spanning dealer-to-dealer and dealer-to-client platforms. Its suite includes FXall, Matching and Non-Deliverable Forward (NDF) Matching, all designed to support a wide spectrum of client types and currency pairs. These venues are increasingly linked to clearing at LCH ForexClear, which has developed into the leading central counterparty (CCP) for foreign-exchange derivatives.
LCH ForexClear builds on LCH’s long-standing expertise in swaps clearing to deliver robust risk management for NDFs, options and deliverable FX. The service now supports 25 NDFs, nine non-deliverable options (NDOs), and eight deliverable forwards and options, giving clients multilateral netting benefits and operational scale. Together, LSEG FX and LCH ForexClear form a workflow that integrates execution, clearing and settlement into a coherent ecosystem designed to reduce risk and improve efficiency.
The clearing of FX has gained momentum as firms look for ways to reduce counterparty risk and comply with evolving regulatory capital rules. LCH ForexClear reported record activity in 2024, clearing more than $37 trillion notional across its services, with FX options volumes up nearly 80% year-on-year. This trend continued into 2025, with May setting all-time highs for deliverable and non-deliverable products.
One of the most notable recent developments has been the redesign of CLSClearedFX (CFX), which integrates cleared deliverable FX products directly into CLSSettlement. This allows cleared and bilateral FX to be settled alongside one another, eliminating bifurcated liquidity and reducing the cost of funding. For members, this means greater efficiency in cash management and simplified workflows for settlement.
ForexClear delivers real margin, capital and operational efficiencies while reducing the risks inherent in bilateral trading
Andrew Batchelor, ForexClear
LCH ForexClear has also expanded its Smart Clearing service, developed with Quantile, which identifies and clears trades to optimise capital and margin requirements. Adoption has grown rapidly, with monthly runs now aligned to Quantile’s primary optimisation cycles. By May 2025, the largest run reached $73 billion notional, demonstrating the scale of client engagement.
In March 2025, 24 Exchange became an approved trade source, offering non-US users a direct workflow into LCH ForexClear for NDF clearing. This has further enhanced access, particularly for emerging-market (EM) currencies, where central clearing has historically been limited.
Looking forward, LCH is working with Hong Kong’s CMU OmniClear to introduce deliverable CNH clearing and settlement. This initiative, subject to regulatory approval, would allow multilateral netting for CNH products and extend clearing efficiencies to one of the fastest-growing segments of the global FX market.
For clients, the benefits of the LSEG FX/LCH ForexClear model includes lower settlement risk, improved capital efficiency and streamlined workflows. Straight-through processing is available across execution and clearing, reducing operational errors and costs. Multilateral netting lowers margin requirements, while integration with CLS ensures finality of payment.
By linking leading execution platforms with a central counterparty model, LCH ForexClear and LSEG FX have created a framework that reduces risk, cuts costs and delivers efficiency to institutions worldwide.
As Andrew Batchelor, head of ForexClear, notes: “ForexClear delivers real margin, capital and operational efficiencies while reducing the risks inherent in bilateral trading. The continued growth in volumes reflects the trust our members and clients place in us as well as the scale of benefits that clearing FX provides.
“Strategic deliveries like our recent integration into CLSSettlement provide an ideal platform to continue our growth, and service the needs of an evolving FX market.”
In a year when regulatory change and market volatility drove demand for safer infrastructures, the platform has shown that clearing and settlement can evolve from a back-office necessity to a source of competitive advantage.
