Celebrating 25 years of LCH EquityClear
LCH EquityClear, an LSEG business and LCH’s pan-European clearing service for equities and equity equivalents, marked its 25th anniversary at the London Stock Exchange market close on 26th February 2026. Launched in 2001, EquityClear has supported the evolution of equity markets by developing innovative solutions that enhance risk management, mitigate systemic risk, and deliver significant operational and settlement efficiencies.
Over the years, the service has continued to grow and open up access to a wide choice of trading venues across Europe. This included EquityClear’s instrumental role in the creation of CCP interoperability in 2009, which later expanded in 2011. As a result, significant advantages were brought to the European equities environment, enhancing efficiency, lowering costs, and introducing a broader selection of clearers for traders.
Our award-winning clearing platform has meant we can navigate numerous challenges and market turbulences, including various macroeconomic and geopolitical issues, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. We have managed several high-profile defaults without ever relying on the financial resources of non-defaulting members. All of this was only made possible through strong collaboration and partnership with the market, our clearing members and their clients.
By investing in the ongoing enhancement of our service, EquityClear has been able to continuously provide a 99% compression rate, significantly improve operational efficiency and deliver substantial cost savings for our members and their clients – contributing to a more stable market and facilitating the growth of pan-European markets and international exchange-traded product (ETP) markets.
We look forward to continuing our journey with equity market participants for the next 25 years and beyond.
“25 years ago, EquityClear began with a clear purpose: to bring robust central clearing to the London Stock Exchange’s SETS order book. Since then, we have grown with the markets we serve, expanding connectivity, strengthening resilience, and innovating during periods of regulatory change and global volatility.
Today, EquityClear connects to 17 trading venues and 20 central securities depositories, standing as a trusted partner to clearing members and the wider market.
Thank you to all our members, partners, and colleagues for making this journey possible. We look forward to the next chapter, built on partnership, resilience, and innovation.”
Find out more about EquityClear and its services.
