NEW YORK, NY & CHICAGO, IL – November 24, 2009 – Quadriserv, Inc., today announced the expansion of the universe of securities eligible for clearance through The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) stock loan programs, including AQS®. AQS is an electronic securities lending platform operated by Automated Equity Finance Markets, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Quadriserv. AQS, through its relationship with the OCC, operates a centralized marketplace for securities lending transactions in the U.S., and plans to expand into the European market through its relationship with Eurex Clearing.
Specifically, pursuant to a recently issued Order, the SEC has expanded the eligibility of these programs to include “covered securities” as defined by the Securities Act of 1933, which includes securities listed on the NYSE, AMEX, or NASDAQ Global Market. Previously, eligible securities were limited to loans of stocks that were either underlying securities for options, futures, or ETFs based on a stock index.
Bruce C. Turner, Chief Operating Officer of Quadriserv said, “Expanding the pool of eligible securities in the AQS marketplace represents another important step toward improved market liquidity and enhanced utility for participant firms. Increased trading efficiency, improved market access and reduced risk have been hallmark qualities of the AQS market, and we are encouraged that the increasing number of AQS member firms will benefit from the addition of nearly two thousand additional tradable securities to the marketplace.”
“We are pleased as the new rule broadens OCC’s ability to serve both AQS and the over-the-counter securities lending market,” said Joseph Pellegrini, Vice President, OCC Business Operations Group. “This measure will increase market efficiency while reducing clearing system risk.”