no 20/10 Inter Commodity Spread Credit - member test/training system open 12-16 April

Lysaker, 9 April 2010

NASDAQ OMX Commodities has set 19 April 2010 as the planned date to introduce Inter Commodity Spread Credit (ICSC) to NASDAQ OMX Oslo's clearing procedures. 

ICSC will be introduced to meet the growing need for margining efficiencies of market participants engaged in clearing activities. The purpose of ICSC is to enable collateral benefits to our members by giving credit to off-set positions in products with sustained price correlation when calculating margins.

All members are invited to use the test system for test and training purposes. The test system is available from 12 April to 16 April. The test system contains no trades or position on opening. Trades executed will be visible in the clearing report application (CRA) the next day. 

Click users using: VPN: 195.100.105.181:55024 or fixed line: 192.176.3.137:55024 

Common internet: Secur PI:  https://securpi_test1.nasdaqomxcommodities.com/launchpad.htm https://securpi_test1.nasdaqomxcommodities.com/launchpad.htm  

Clearing Report Applications:  https://217.73.4.44/reports https://217.73.4.44/reports  

Logon procedure is similar to the current production environment. Security Certificate message on CRA logon shall be ignored, please click on continue  to access the system. 

For more information about changes in the Clearing Rules, please see /en/asa/Quotes-and-market-information/Exchange-information/2010/no-1710-Clearing-rules-changes-and-changes-to-the-margining-procedure-due-to-Inter-Commodity-Spread-Credit-2010-/ exchange and clearing information /en/asa/Quotes-and-market-information/Exchange-information/2010/no-1710-Clearing-rules-changes-and-changes-to-the-margining-procedure-due-to-Inter-Commodity-Spread-Credit-2010-/ no 17/10 “Clearing   /en/asa/Quotes-and-market-information/Exchange-information/2010/no-1710-Clearing-rules-changes-and-changes-to-the-margining-procedure-due-to-Inter-Commodity-Spread-Credit-2010-/ rules changes and changes to the margining procedure due to Inter Commodity Spread Credit 2010” . The changes to the Clearing Rules will take effect from 19 April 2010 which is the planned launch date of ICSC.

ICSC will apply to the NASDAQ OMX Commodities' and Nord Pool's products as specified in the methodology document. Where applied, the ICSC will offer margin benefits both for products from the same Product Series (e.g. Nordic power v. German power) and for products from separate Product Series (e.g. Nordic power v. EUA allowances). ICSC will be implemented within the existing and SPANâ   [1] margin model, optimizing the daily margin call for clearing members.

A list of credits and credits parameters will be announced 15 April. 

Please see http://www.nordpool.com/static/nordpool/archive/upload/Clearing/RiskManagement/intercommodityspreadcredit.pdf" specification of the methodology  (pdf) 

For further information, please contact NASDAQ OMX Commodities: 

Revised risk model questions:
 Kjetil Bundli, risk analyst, clearing risk management, phone +47 6710 8441/+47 9900 3690

Technical questions:
 Ronny Hagen, technical account manager, phone +47 6752 8058/+47 4542 4893

Press contact:
 Thomas Skålnes, corporate communications, phone +47 9340 7300

[1] “SPAN is a registered trademark of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc., used herein under license. Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. assumes no liability in connection with the use of SPAN by any person or entity.” 

About NASDAQ OMX Commodities
NASDAQ OMX Commodities is the brand name for offerings related to commodities within NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc and is not a legal entity.  NASDAQ OMX Commodities provides access to the world's largest power derivatives exchange and one of Europe's largest carbon markets, through Nord Pool ASA. NASDAQ OMX Commodities also provide clearing services through NASDAQ OMX Stockholm AB and its Norwegian branch NASDAQ OMX Oslo, acting as an authorised clearinghouse. N2EX is the brand name for NASDAQ OMX Commodities' and Nord Pool Spot AS' offering in the UK power market and NASDAQ OMX Stockholm AB is the authorized clearinghouse. NASDAQ OMX Commodities has more than 385 participants from 22 countries covering a wide range of energy producers, consumers and financial institutions.  For more information about NASDAQ OMX Commodities, visit http://www.nordpool.com www.nordpool.com  and http://www.nasdaqomx.com/commodities www.nasdaqomx.com/commodities .

About NASDAQ OMX
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 exchange-traded funds. 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 www.nasdaqomx.com .