Chicago-based CME Group announced Wednesday it is shuttering its London, England-based exchange and clearing operations.
The derivatives market operator said it plans to close CME Europe and CME Clearing Europe by the end of 2017.
“While Europe continues to be a critically important and expanding market for CME Group, with average volumes of more than 2.6 million contracts per day from European clients during 2016, our customers have shown that they prefer to access our global products, deep liquidity and greater capital efficiencies through our U.S. infrastructure,” says William Knottenbelt, senior managing director, international, CME Group, in a statement.
In the months ahead, the CME says it will work closely with the industry and regulators as its winds down its London operations.
“Though we have made the business decision to close these London-based entities, we will continue to maintain a significant operation in London to execute our global growth strategy, including serving our European client base, developing innovative products and services, and helping customers effectively manage their risk across every major asset class,” adds Knottenbelt.