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[Release No. 34-106308; File No. SR-ICC-2026-009]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; ICE Clear Credit LLC; Notice of Filing of Proposed

Rule Change Relating to the ICE Clear Credit Recovery Plan and ICE Clear Credit

Wind-Down Plan

September 9, 2026.

Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Securities

Exchange Act” or the “Act”), 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1), and Rule 19b-4 thereunder, 17 CFR

240.19b-4, notice is hereby given that on August 27, 2026, ICE Clear Credit LLC (“ICC”

or “ICE Clear Credit”) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or

“Commission”) the proposed rule change, as described in Items I, II and III below, which

Items have been prepared primarily by ICC. The Commission is publishing this notice to

solicit comments on the proposed rule change from interested persons.

Clearing Agency’s Statement of the Terms of Substance of the Proposed Rule

Change

The principal purpose of the proposed rule change is to revise the ICC Recovery

Plan (the “Recovery Plan”) and the ICC Wind-Down Plan (the “Wind-Down Plan”)

(collectively, the “Plans”). These revisions do not require any changes to the ICC CDS

Clearing Rules 1 (the “CDS Rules”) and to the ICC Treasury Clearing Rules 2 (“Treasury

Rules”) (collectively, the “Rules”). 3

A copy of the ICC CDS Clearing Rules can be found here:

https://www.ice.com/publicdocs/clear_credit/ICE_Clear_Credit_Rules.pdf.

A copy of the ICC Treasury Clearing Rules can be found here:

https://www.ice.com/publicdocs/clear_credit/ICE_Clear_Credit_Treasury_Clearing_Rules.pdf.

Capitalized terms used but not defined herein have the meanings specified in the Rules.

II.

Clearing Agency’s Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the

Proposed Rule Change

In its filing with the Commission, ICC included statements concerning the

purpose of and basis for the proposed rule change, security-based swap submission, or

advance notice and discussed any comments it received on the proposed rule change,

security-based swap submission, or advance notice. The text of these statements may be

examined at the places specified in Item IV below. ICC has prepared summaries, set forth

in sections (A), (B), and (C) below, of the most significant aspects of these statements.

(A)

Clearing Agency’s Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for,

the Proposed Rule Change

(a)

Purpose

ICC proposes revising the Recovery Plan and the Wind-Down Plan, which serve

as plans for the recovery and orderly wind-down of ICC necessitated by credit losses,

liquidity shortfalls, losses from general business risk, or any other losses, consistent with

Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or the “Commission”) Rule 17ad22(e)(3)(ii)4 and SEC Rule 17ad-26.5 ICC proposes to make such changes effective

following Commission approval of the proposed rule change. The proposed amendments

reflect changes that impacted ICC in the past year, including the planned expansion of

ICC’s clearing services to encompass U.S. Treasury (“UST” or “Treasury”) securities as

part of the new Treasury clearing service, 6 as well as additional updates and edits to the

See 17 CFR 240.17ad-22(e)(3)(ii).

See 17 CFR 240.17ad-26.

ICC filed an application on Form CA-1 (“Application”) under Section 17A of the Securities

Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Act”) (15 U.S.C. 78q–1) with the Commission to register as a

clearing agency to provide central counterparty services for transactions involving UST securities

on August 1, 2025. Notice of ICC’s Application was published in the Federal Register on August

21, 2025. See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 103727 (August 18, 2025), 90 FR 40879

(August 21, 2025) (File No. 600-45). The Commission issued an order granting ICC’s Application

Plans intended to promote clarity, streamline, and to ensure that the information provided

is current. The proposed rule change is described in detail as follows.

ICC Recovery Plan

Consistent with the regulations applicable to ICC, the Recovery Plan is designed

to establish ICC’s actions to maintain its viability as a going concern to address any

uncovered credit loss, liquidity shortfall, capital inadequacy, or business, operational or

other structural weakness that threatens ICC’s viability. The purpose of the Recovery

Plan is to describe the actions and steps that would be taken to: (i) restore ICC to a stable

and sustainable condition in the event that it came under severe stress; and (ii) maintain

effective arrangements for ensuring losses that threaten ICC’s viability as a going

concern are allocated. As noted above, the proposed amendments reflect and relate to

changes that impacted ICC, including the expansion of ICC’s clearing services to

encompass UST securities, as well as general updates and edits to the Plans intended to

promote clarity, streamline, and to ensure that the information provided is current.

ICC proposes to amend Section I. ICC proposes updating the terminology used to

reference its members throughout the Recovery Plan to distinguish between the existing

CDS clearing service and the new Treasury clearing service. ICC proposes to clarify that

ICC Clearing Participants (“Clearing Participants” or “CPs”) refer to members in the

CDS clearing service and ICC Treasury Participants (“Treasury Participants” or “TPs”)

refer to members in the Treasury clearing service. 7 ICC proposes related changes

for registration as a clearing agency to provide central counterparty services for transactions

involving Treasury securities on January 30, 2026. See Securities Exchange Act Release No.

104762 (January 30, 2026), 91 FR 5528 (February 6, 2026) (File No. 600-45).

Such terminology is consistent with the CDS Rules and Treasury Rules.

throughout the document to update terminology to distinguish between the existing CDS

clearing service and the new Treasury clearing service, including, among others,

references to the CDS Rules versus the Treasury Rules. Additionally, in Section I. and

throughout the document, the proposed changes specify that the information provided in

the amended Recovery Plan is current as of March 6, 2026, unless otherwise stated.

ICC proposes to amend Section II. ICC proposes to include background on

the launch of ICC as a CDS clearinghouse. 8 This additional context is intended to

distinguish ICC’s existing CDS clearing activities and approvals from its planned

Treasury clearing activities and recent approval to provide clearing services for Treasury

securities.9 ICC proposes language regarding this recent approval to offer central

counterparty clearing and settlement services to the Treasury market. ICC proposes a

footnote to acknowledge that the Treasury clearing service is not yet launched. The

footnote is intended to provide transparency and clarity, as the Recovery Plan

incorporates Treasury clearing service-specific information that is based on the

anticipated launch of the service. While the Treasury clearing service has not yet

launched, and ICC proposes the additional footnote noting so, ICC would include

available information pertaining to the Treasury clearing service throughout the Recovery

Plan, in accordance with ICC’s approved Treasury Rules and approved Treasury clearing

service policies and procedures.10 Moreover, currently, the Recovery Plan sets out ICC’s

Additional information is publicly available in ICC’s Disclosure Framework at

https://www.ice.com/publicdocs/clear_credit/ICEClearCredit_DisclosureFramework.pdf.

See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 104762 (January 30, 2026), 91 FR 5528 (February 6,

2026) (File No. 600-45) (Commission order granting ICC’s Application for registration as a

clearing agency to provide central counterparty services for transactions involving Treasury

securities).

Id.

sole critical operation as its CDS clearing services, which ICC proposes to expand more

generally to “clearing services” to consider the Treasury clearing service in Section II.

and throughout the Recovery Plan. ICC proposes to update terminology to distinguish

between the existing CDS clearing service and the new Treasury clearing service,

including references to the CDS clearing service General Guaranty Fund versus the

Treasury clearing service Treasury Guaranty Fund. 11 ICC proposes additional changes

to outline ICC’s role as a central counterparty for the Treasury clearing service in this

section and throughout the document.

ICC proposes changes to Section III. ICC proposes to remove references to

certain regulatory guidance that has been withdrawn. 12 While such guidance has been

withdrawn, ICC continues to consider the principles underlying that guidance in its

recovery planning and, accordingly, proposes to replace references to such guidance with

references to industry best practices.

ICC proposes changes to Section IV. ICC proposes a clean-up change in

describing CDS Rule 201(c) which sets out the types of entities that may qualify as

Clearing Participants. The current Recovery Plan language states that an entity “must be

one of the following” to qualify as a Clearing Participant. As amended, the language

would state that an entity “may be one of the following” to qualify as a Clearing

Participant in order to be consistent with the current language of CDS Rule 201(c). 13 ICC

See supra note 7.

See Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Press Release No. 9120-25 (September 11, 2025),

available at https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/9120-25 (noting “the guidance is

duplicative and not necessary”).

See CDS Rule 201(c), which states, in relevant part, that “the following categories of persons may

be approved by ICE Clear Credit as Participants”.

proposes to incorporate information regarding participation in the Treasury clearing

service in accordance with its Treasury Rules. For example, ICC would incorporate

reference to Treasury Rule 201(c), stating that to qualify as a Treasury Participant for the

Treasury clearing service, an entity may be one of the following: registered broker-dealer,

registered investment company, bank, insurance company, futures commission merchant,

registered clearing agency, or an entity which may not fall within the above categories, as

designated appropriate by the SEC. 14 Such changes are consistent with those approved in

SR-ICC-2026-002 and ICC proposes a footnote in the Recovery Plan to indicate that they

are more recent.

ICC proposes additional changes in Section IV., including regarding operational

capacity, financial responsibility and capital requirements, funding requirements, and

collateral management. Such changes generally incorporate reference to the Treasury

clearing service and distinguish between the Treasury clearing service and CDS clearing

service in accordance with the CDS and Treasury Rules. With respect to financial

responsibility and capital requirements, ICC proposes to outline that CDS and Treasury

clearing services operate separately in terms of financial resources. The CDS clearing

service maintains a separate General Guaranty Fund and calls for and holds margin

payments from Clearing Participants independently of margin payments called for in

connection with the Treasury clearing service. Regarding funding requirements, ICC

proposes to specify acceptable forms of collateral for Initial Margin and Treasury

Such changes are consistent with a recent ICC rule filing, SR-ICC-2026-002. ICC would include a

footnote in the Recovery Plan to indicate that these changes are more recent. See Securities

Exchange Act Release No. 105986 (July 24, 2026), 91 FR 47864 (July 29, 2026) (File No. SRICC-2026-002) (approving changes to clarify that futures commission merchants and registered

clearing agencies that meet the participation standards in Treasury Rule 201(b) may also be

approved as Treasury Participants).

Guaranty Fund contributions for the Treasury clearing service in accordance with

Treasury Rule 401 and Schedule 401 to the Treasury Rules. With respect to collateral

management, ICC proposes to specify that the Treasury clearing service determines its

liquidity needs separately from the CDS clearing service and maintains separate liquidity

resources. ICC also proposes to include the ICC eligible collateral for the Treasury

clearing service as of March 6, 2026 in accordance with Treasury Rule 401 and Schedule

401 to the Treasury Rules. ICC further proposes to update references throughout the

Recovery Plan to distinguish ICC CDS Rules and ICC Treasury Rules.

ICC proposes additional changes in Section IV. with respect to governance

structure. ICC proposes to update the Recovery Plan to reflect that ICC has a board-level

Board Risk Committee.15 With the addition of the Board Risk Committee, ICC proposes

to update the governance chart in this section to include the Board Risk Committee and to

include a new subsection describing the role and responsibilities of the Board Risk

Committee. ICC also proposes to incorporate certain Treasury clearing service-specific

committees and groups in this governance chart and include language describing their

roles and responsibilities. ICC proposes a footnote explaining that such Treasury clearing

service-specific working groups and committees have not yet been formed and may be

convened at the direction of ICC management in connection with the launch of the

Treasury clearing service. These groups and committees would include the Treasury Risk

ICC previously filed a proposed rule change to establish the Board Risk Committee. See Securities

Exchange Act Release No. 103161 (May 30, 2025), 90 FR 23970 (June 5, 2025) (File No. SR-ICC2025-006).

Committee,16 Treasury Operations Working Group, 17 and the Treasury Risk Working

Group.18,19 ICC also proposes to add language describing the Specified Actions (as

defined in ICC Treasury Rule 502) that require prior consultation with the Treasury Risk

Committee, including certain matters relating to the acceptance for clearing of Treasury

transactions, modifications to the ICC Treasury Rules relating to margin and the Treasury

Guaranty Fund, as well as certain recovery-related matters such as commencing reduced

gain distribution or implementing full clearing service termination. In connection with

these governance changes, ICC proposes related changes to update terminology

throughout the Recovery Plan to distinguish between the existing CDS clearing service

and the new Treasury clearing service, including references to the CDS Risk Committee

versus the Treasury Risk Committee. ICC further proposes a clarifying edit to provide

that a majority of each Risk Committee constitutes a quorum for doing business to ensure

consistency with the CDS and Treasury Rules. 20

The description of the Treasury Risk Committee included in the Recovery Plan is intended to align

with the corresponding provisions set forth in the Treasury Rules. See Chapter 5 of the Treasury

Rules for additional information regarding the role and responsibilities of the Treasury Risk

Committee.

The Treasury Operations Working Group would be composed of Treasury Participant operations

personnel, and the Treasury Operations Working Group would review and provide feedback

regarding various operational initiatives in connection with the Treasury clearing service. All

Treasury Participants would be invited to participate in the Treasury Operations Working Group.

In general, this structure is similar to that of the CDS Operations Working Group for the CDS

clearing service.

The Treasury Risk Working Group would be composed of Treasury Participant risk personnel and

would provide input to the ICC Risk Department and ICC management as well as the Treasury

Risk Committee to help ensure ICC’s risk management framework in connection with the

Treasury clearing service is robust and that it correctly and equitably charges each Treasury

Participant for the amount and type of risk they introduce to the clearing house. In general, this

structure is similar to that of the CDS Risk Working Group for the CDS clearing service.

For clarity, ICC proposes to apply a CDS or Treasury prefix to certain committees and working

groups to indicate the applicable clearing service.

See CDS and Treasury Rule 505.

ICC proposes additional changes in Section IV. to reflect changes impacting ICC

within the past year. Consistent with previously approved changes to the CDS Rules and

CDS default management procedures, ICC proposes to remove references to “direct

liquidation” as a hedging and liquidation mechanism in the context of managing a

defaulting CP’s portfolio.21 Additionally, ICC proposes to update titles and committee

memberships to reflect current committee composition.

ICC proposes amendments to Section V. With respect to the list of critical

services provided to ICC by affiliates, ICC proposes to update the relevant agreement

governing those services. 22 ICC proposes updates to include the core services for the

Treasury clearing service, consistent with the identification of such core services for the

CDS clearing service. These core services include acceptance of new trades, management

of positions, production of risk and banking reports, and movement of funds. ICC also

proposes to amend its staffing considerations regarding the roles necessary to support the

core services on a daily basis and in the event of recovery. ICC proposes to specify that,

in general, all staff in a functional area provide support for all cleared products and

markets at ICC and personnel are not split between the CDS and Treasury clearing

services.

ICC proposes amendments to Section VII. As required by CFTC and SEC

regulations,23 ICC would continue to identify scenarios that may potentially prevent ICC

See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 103601 (July 31, 2025), 90 FR 37612 (August 5, 2025)

(File No. SR-ICC-2025-010) (approving changes to ICC’s Clearing Participant Default

Management Procedures and CDS Rules).

See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 105918 (July 15, 2026), 91 FR 45306 (July 20, 2026)

(File No. SR-ICC-2026-004) (approving changes reflecting a new agreement executed by ICC).

CFTC Regulation 17 CFR 39.39(c)(1) and SEC Rules 17 CFR 240.17ad-22(e)(4), 17 CFR

240.17ad-22(e)(15)(i) and 17 CFR 240.17ad-26(a)(3).

from being able to meet its obligations, provide its critical operations and services as a

going concern. With respect to such stress scenarios, ICC proposes changes to

incorporate reference to the Treasury clearing service and distinguish between the

Treasury clearing service and CDS clearing service where appropriate. ICC proposes to

clarify that whether a member is in default in each clearing service will be determined

independently under the rules of each clearing service, except as follows. Specifically,

should a common member default in a single clearing service, such event will not

automatically lead to a default declaration of such common member in the other ICC

clearing service. However, the fact the common member has defaulted in a single

clearing service could lead to the determination that such common member is, in the

judgement of ICC, likely to fail to meet any of its obligations to the other clearing

service, which could be a basis for declaring such common member in default in the other

clearing service. ICC further proposes minor changes to ICC’s existing monitoring

mechanisms to include Treasury Participants. ICC proposes certain clarifying edits to

remove modifiers from and add a parenthetical to the list of monitored metrics, which

currently applies to the CDS clearing service. Such changes are intended to update and

streamline the description such that it applies to both clearing services. For the avoidance

of doubt, such changes do not amend ICC’s existing practices for the CDS clearing

service and maintain consistency with existing policies and procedures.

Furthermore, ICC proposes to amend Section VIII. which describes the recovery

tools available to ICC in the event of a stress scenario. With respect to such recovery

tools, ICC proposes changes to incorporate reference to the Treasury clearing service and

distinguish between the Treasury clearing service and CDS clearing service where

appropriate. ICC proposes to clarify that the use of these recovery tools is done separately

under the rules of each clearing service. ICC further proposes to clarify that as each of the

CDS and Treasury clearing services are designed to be independent with their own

separate rulebooks, memberships and default resources, ICC does not expect that a

recovery caused by a participant default in one clearing service will cross over to cause a

recovery scenario in the other service. This design is intended to minimize the financial

risks posed by the Treasury clearing service to the CDS clearing service and vice versa.

Consistent with the separate rulebooks for the two clearing services, ICC proposes to

further specify that the CDS General Guaranty Fund and CDS margin assets will not be

used to cover losses from a default in the Treasury clearing service, or vice versa.

Additionally, ICC proposes amendments to its description of the tools available to

address credit losses in a participant default scenario. For example, ICC proposes to

specify that, for the Treasury clearing service, these tools generally include: (i)

declaration of a TP default; (ii) communicating the default; and (iii) conducting default

management actions to eliminate, settle, reduce, or replace the risk of the defaulter’s open

Treasury positions. ICC also proposes to add a subsection describing its ability under

existing Treasury Rule 20-605(d)(v) to run one or more default auctions to address credit

losses in a participant default scenario in the Treasury clearing service. 24 With respect to

financial resources, ICC proposes to include its financial resources hierarchy for the

See Treasury Rule 20-605(d)(v) (“to enter into Trades or other transactions that replace or mitigate

the risk of all or part of the Open Treasury Positions of the Defaulting Treasury Participant,

liquidate securities held as collateral or received in settlement from or for the account of the

Defaulting Treasury Participant and replace or liquidate any Initial Cover Transactions… Such

Trades or transactions may be entered into pursuant to (i) one or more Default Auctions conducted

pursuant to the Default Auction Procedures”). Additional detail is forthcoming in the Treasury

Clearing Service Default Auction Procedures.

Treasury clearing service, in the order of consumption. ICC also proposes changes to

include a description of ICC’s Treasury Guaranty Fund, consistent with Treasury Rule

801. ICC proposes changes to specify which recovery tools are applicable to the CDS

clearing service and/or the Treasury clearing service in accordance with the CDS and

Treasury Rules. ICC also proposes clean-up changes to its overview of initial default

auctions for the CDS clearing service. Such changes include updating examples to align

with those included in the current version of the Default Auction Procedures - Initial

Default Auctions and replacing existing tables and text-based examples with graphical

illustrations to improve formatting and presentation. 25

ICC also proposes changes to the tools to address liquidity shortfalls in participant

default scenarios to incorporate reference to the Treasury clearing service and distinguish

between the Treasury clearing service and CDS clearing service where appropriate. ICC

proposes to incorporate reference to ICC’s Treasury Clearing Service Liquidity Risk

Management Framework (“LRMF”) and describe the LRMF’s objectives as well as

ICC’s liquidity waterfall, consistent with the language in the LRMF. 26 ICC proposes an

additional subsection regarding certain additional liquidity tools for the Treasury clearing

service, consistent with the Treasury Rules 27 and LRMF. ICC similarly proposes changes

to the tools for non-participant default scenarios to incorporate reference to the Treasury

clearing service and distinguish between the Treasury clearing service and CDS clearing

service where appropriate. Additionally, ICC proposes to explicitly clarify that it is likely

The Default Auction Procedures - Initial Default Auctions are publicly available at

https://www.ice.com/publicdocs/ICC_Default_Auction_Procedures.pdf.

See supra notes 6 and 14.

See Treasury Rule 812.

that a recovery scenario in one clearing service would not trigger a significant reduction

in ICC’s employee headcount because the other clearing service would continue

business-as-usual operations. ICC further provides a minor terminology update to

improve clarity in the insurance coverage table by removing a duplicate entry when

outlining the insurance coverage maintained by Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (“ICE

Inc.)”.

ICC proposes to amend Section IX. As the CDS and Treasury Risk Committees

provide for customer participation, ICC proposes to remove a related statement that is no

longer current. ICC proposes a terminology update to change a reference from “full tearup” to “full termination” to be consistent with the language in CDS and Treasury Rules

810, which use “termination” rather than “tear-up” when discussing the termination of

clearing. Additionally, ICC proposes revisions to the annual review process for the

Recovery Plan. Under the current language, the annual review and material amendments

to this plan are presented to the Risk Committee, 28 who then makes a recommendation to

the Board regarding their approval. As amended, the annual review and material

amendments to this plan would be presented to the Board Risk Committee, who would

then make a recommendation to the Board regarding their approval. This change is

generally intended to streamline the CDS and Treasury Risk Committees’ review

processes and remove the potential for duplicate reviews. The CDS and Treasury

Committees would continue to review material matters impacting this plan in accordance

This reference to “Risk Committee” in the plan refers to the CDS Risk Committee, as ICC has not

yet established a Treasury Risk Committee.

with the CDS and Treasury Rules and committee charters,29 but would no longer be

required to conduct a separate review solely in connection with the Recovery Plan. ICC

proposes to provide additional details regarding ICC’s testing of the Recovery Plan. ICC

proposes to include that ICC may determine to conduct this Recovery Plan testing

separately or together for the CDS and Treasury clearing services.

In addition to the foregoing proposed changes, ICC proposes general updates to

the Recovery Plan to ensure that the information in the Recovery Plan is current and

accurate. Namely, the proposed changes ensure that relevant information regarding ICC

for the purposes of recovery planning is current with respect to below regarding the CDS

clearing service and Treasury clearing service, where available:

•

Clearing Participants in Section IV.B.;

•

CDS Default Committee - Eligible Clearing Participants in Section IV.B.;

•

ICC revenue, volume, and expense data in Section IV.D.;

•

ICC personnel and facilities in Section VI.A.;

•

ICC CDS In-House Systems in Section VI.A.;

•

ICC UST In-House Systems in Section VI.A.;

•

identification of ICC’s counterparties in the Counterparty Chart in Section

VI.B.;

•

identification of ICC’s contractual agreements in Section VI.C.;

•

change in contact information for CFTC and SEC contacts in Section

VII.B.;

For example, by reviewing and recommending for Board approval changes to Rules or procedures

which are referenced in this plan.

•

ICE Inc. insurance coverage in Section VIII.B.;

•

ICE Inc. and ICC balance sheet information in Section VIII.B.;

•

ICC dividend payments made in 2025 in Section VIII.B.;

•

ICC 2025 transaction and clearing fee revenue in Section VIII.B.;

•

ICC 2025 outsourcing fees in Section VIII.B.;

•

ICC 2025 compensation data in Section VIII.B.;

•

ICC 2025 annual bonus payments in Section VIII.B.;

•

ICC lease payments to ICE Inc. in Section VIII.B.;

•

ICC projected estimated recovery and wind-down costs in Section X.;

•

calculation of ICC’s projected 12-month operating expenses in Section X.;

•

ICC and ICE Inc. financial information in Section XI.;

•

key ICC reports and descriptions for the Treasury clearing service in

Section XII;

•

ICC glossary of key terms in Appendix A in Section XIII;

•

banking institutions and example proportion of holdings in Appendix C in

Section XIII;

•

ICC stress scenario analysis in Appendix D in Section XIII;

•

ICC recovery tool analysis in Appendix E in Section XIII;

•

recovery tool analysis applied to each scenario in Appendix F in Section

XIII; and

•

index of exhibits in Section XIV.

Finally, ICC proposes non-substantive drafting changes and improvements to the

Recovery Plan, such as the correction of typographical errors, and the re-numbering of

sub-sections to reflect the addition and deletion of sub-sections as described above.

II.

ICC Wind-Down Plan

Consistent with the regulations applicable to ICC, the Wind-Down Plan is

designed to establish how ICC could be wound-down in an orderly manner. The WindDown Plan would be used in the event the recovery actions described in the ICC

Recovery Plan failed to preserve ICC’s viability as a going concern (and therefore

recovery is not possible) and resolution has not been triggered. Furthermore, the WindDown Plan may be used in the event ICC makes a business decision to exit all clearing

activities. As noted above, the proposed amendments reflect and relate to changes that

impacted ICC in the past year, including the expansion of ICC’s clearing services to

encompass UST securities, additional updates and edits to the Plans intended to promote

clarity, streamline, and to ensure that the information provided is current.

ICC proposes to amend Section I. The proposed changes specify that the

information provided in the amended Wind-Down Plan is current as of March 6, 2026,

unless otherwise stated. ICC also proposes a footnote to acknowledge that the Treasury

clearing service is not yet launched. The footnote is intended to provide transparency and

clarity, as the Wind-Down Plan incorporates Treasury Clearing Service-specific

information that is based on the anticipated launch of the service.

ICC proposes to amend Section II. As described above, ICC proposes updating

the terminology used to reference its members throughout the Wind-Down Plan to

distinguish between the existing CDS clearing service and the new Treasury clearing

service. ICC proposes to clarify that CPs refer to members in the CDS clearing service

and TPs refer to members in the Treasury clearing service. 30 ICC proposes related

changes throughout the document to update terminology to distinguish between the

existing CDS clearing service and the new Treasury clearing service, including,

references to the CDS clearing service General Guaranty Fund versus the Treasury

clearing service Treasury Guaranty Fund, the CDS Rules versus the Treasury Rules, and

the CDS Risk Committee versus the Treasury Risk Committee. 31

ICC proposes additional changes in Section II. to include background on the

launch of ICC as a CDS clearinghouse. 32 This additional context is intended to

distinguish ICC’s existing CDS clearing activities and approvals from its planned

Treasury clearing activities and recent approval to provide clearing services for Treasury

securities.33 While the Treasury clearing service has not yet launched, and ICC proposes

an additional footnote noting so, ICC would include available information pertaining to

the Treasury clearing service throughout the Wind-Down Plan, in accordance with ICC’s

approved Treasury Rules and approved Treasury clearing service policies and

procedures.34 Moreover, currently, the Wind-Down Plan sets out ICC’s sole critical

operation as its CDS clearing services, which ICC proposes to expand more generally to

“clearing services” to consider the Treasury clearing service in Section II. and throughout

the Wind-Down Plan. ICC proposes additional changes to outline ICC’s role as a central

Such terminology is consistent with the CDS Rules and Treasury Rules.

Id.

See supra note 8.

See supra note 9.

See supra notes 6 and 14.

counterparty for the Treasury clearing service in this section and throughout the

document.

ICC proposes changes to Section III. ICC proposes to remove references to

certain regulatory guidance that has been withdrawn. 35 While such guidance has been

withdrawn, ICC continues to consider the principles underlying that guidance in its winddown planning and, accordingly, proposes to replace references to such guidance with

references to industry best practices.

ICC proposes changes in Section IV. with respect to governance structure. ICC

proposes to update the Wind-Down Plan to reflect that ICC has a board-level Board Risk

Committee.36 With the addition of the Board Risk Committee, ICC proposes to update

the governance chart in this section to include the Board Risk Committee and to include a

new subsection describing the role and responsibilities of the Board Risk Committee.

ICC also proposes to incorporate certain Treasury clearing service-specific committees

and groups in the governance chart and include language describing their role,

responsibilities, and composition. ICC proposes a footnote explaining that such Treasury

clearing service-specific working groups and committees have not yet been formed and

may be convened at the direction of ICC management in connection with the launch of

the Treasury clearing service. These groups and committees would include the Treasury

See supra note 12.

See supra note 15.

Risk Committee,37 Treasury Operations Working Group,38 and the Treasury Risk

Working Group.39,40

ICC proposes amendments to Section V with respect to wind-down stress

scenarios. As required by CFTC and SEC regulations,41 ICC would continue to identify

scenarios that may potentially prevent ICC from being able to meet its obligations,

provide its critical operations and services as a going concern, which may lead to ICC’s

orderly wind-down. With respect to such stress scenarios, ICC proposes changes to

incorporate reference to the Treasury clearing service and distinguish between the

Treasury clearing service and CDS clearing service where appropriate.

ICC proposes to amend Section VI. which describes the wind-down

options that will be used in the event that the recovery actions described in the Recovery

Plan failed to preserve ICC’s viability as a going concern and resolution has not been

triggered. With respect to such wind-down options, ICC proposes changes to incorporate

reference to the Treasury clearing service and distinguish between the Treasury clearing

service and CDS clearing service where appropriate. Additionally, ICC proposes

amendments to its approach, timeline, resources, considerations and/or potential

impediments of each wind-down option to include the Treasury clearing service. ICC’s

wind-down options continue to consist of transfer, sale and termination, and amended

The description of the Treasury Risk Committee included in the Wind-Down Plan is intended to

align with the corresponding provisions set forth in the Treasury Rules. See supra note 16.

See supra note 17.

See supra note 18.

See supra note 19.

CFTC Regulation 17 CFR 39.39(c)(1) and SEC Rules 17 CFR 240.17ad-22(e)(4), 17 CFR

240.17ad-22(e)(15)(i) and 17 CFR 240.17ad-26(a)(3).

Section VI. contemplates ICC winding down the CDS and/or Treasury clearing services

using such options. With respect to the termination option, ICC proposes terminology

updates to change references from “tear-up” to “termination” to be consistent with the

language in CDS and Treasury Rules 810, which use “termination” rather than “tear-up”

when discussing the termination of clearing.

ICC proposes changes to its description of the transfer option to contemplate a

transfer of either the CDS clearing service or the Treasury clearing service, as well as a

transfer of both services. For example, ICC proposes to specify in Section VI. that ICC

may transfer ICC’s Treasury clearing service, including open positions to an alternative

clearing house. ICC further proposes to clarify that if both CDS and Treasury clearing

services will be transferred, ICC anticipates pursuing the relevant processes in parallel,

such that the anticipated timeline will not be delayed. In addition, ICC proposes to clarify

if only one clearing service will be transferred, ICC would continue to maintain risk,

treasury, compliance and operations teams on a business-as-usual basis for the remaining

clearing service. With respect to potential impediments or considerations, ICC proposes

to note that there may be a limited number of potential recipient clearing houses because

such clearing houses would be required to have all appropriate registrations.

ICC proposes changes to its description of the sale option to contemplate the sale

of either the CDS clearing service or the Treasury clearing service, as well as the sale of

both services. ICC proposes to define the sale option to include the sale of ICC’s

Treasury clearing activities to another entity. Similarly, ICC proposes to specify that in

the case of a sale of both CDS and Treasury clearing activities, ICC anticipates pursuing

the relevant processes in parallel, such that the anticipated timeline will not be delayed.

With respect to potential impediments or considerations, ICC proposes to clarify that if

only one clearing service will be sold, a service provider may prefer to provide

transitional services to the recipient clearing house for a specified time period.

ICC proposes changes to its description of the termination option to contemplate a

transfer of either the CDS clearing service or the Treasury clearing service, as well as a

transfer of both services. ICC proposes to define the termination open to include the

termination of open Treasury positions ideally through orderly close out, and if orderly

close out is not achieved, through the tear up of open positions. ICC proposes to specify

that if only one clearing service will be terminated, ICC will continue to maintain risk,

treasury, compliance and operations teams on a business-as-usual basis for the remaining

clearing service.

ICC proposes amendments to Section VII. With respect to the list of critical

services provided to ICC by affiliates, ICC proposes to update references to the relevant

agreement governing those services. 42 ICC further proposes to revise the service

descriptions in the “Critical Services Provided to ICC by Third Party Service Providers”

chart to incorporate reference to the Treasury clearing service and to describe the relevant

services more generally. Such changes are intended to align the language in the chart

with the corresponding chart in the Recovery Plan. ICC proposes updates to include the

core services for the Treasury clearing service, consistent with the identification of such

core services for the CDS clearing service. These core services include acceptance of new

trades, management of positions, production of risk and banking reports, and movement

of funds. ICC also proposes to amend its staffing considerations regarding the roles

See supra note 22.

necessary to support the core services on a daily basis and in the event of wind-down.

ICC proposes to specify that, in general, all staff in a functional area provide support for

all cleared products and markets at ICC and personnel are not split between the CDS and

Treasury clearing services. ICC proposes to clarify that ICC separately holds the

dedicated funds used to meet financial resources requirements for the CDS clearing

service from the Treasury clearing service.

ICC proposes to amend Section VIII., which analyzes ICC’s contractual

arrangements in the context of continuation of services during wind-down. ICC proposes

to incorporate reference to the Treasury clearing service and to distinguish between the

Treasury clearing service and the CDS clearing service where appropriate. This includes

identifying which arrangements are applicable to each clearing service. ICC also

proposes conforming updates to its description of the relevant contractual provisions and

to its analysis of the potential impact of such provisions on wind-down implementation.

Such updates include the effect of a counterparty’s termination of an agreement on a nonimpacted clearing service.

ICC proposes to update Section IX, X and XI. ICC proposes updates to Section

IX. with respect to its financial resources for wind-down planning. Namely, ICC

proposes to specify that it ensures that it is in compliance with all regulatory capital

requirements at the entity level in Section IX. ICC proposes to update Section X. with

respect to wind-down governance. ICC proposes updates to include the ICC Board Risk

Committee in the Wind-Down Plan’s governance. Under the current language, the annual

review and material amendments to this plan are presented to the Risk Committee, 43 who

See supra note 28.

then makes a recommendation to the Board regarding their approval. As amended, the

annual review and material amendments to this plan would be presented to the Board

Risk Committee, who would then make a recommendation to the Board regarding their

approval. As discussed above, this change is generally intended to streamline the CDS

and Treasury Risk Committees’ review processes and remove the potential for duplicate

reviews. The CDS and Treasury Committees would continue to review material matters

impacting this plan in accordance with the CDS and Treasury Rules and committee

charters,44 but would no longer be required to conduct a separate review solely in

connection with the Wind-Down Plan. ICC proposes to specify that the results of testing

of the Wind-Down Plan will be provided to the Treasury Risk Committee and Board Risk

Committee, in addition to the CDS Risk Committee and Board. ICC proposes to update

Section XI. with respect to certain clearing process charts in Section XI.B and C. ICC

proposes to specify that these charts reflect the CDS clearing service. The Treasury

clearing service has not yet launched. Accordingly, Treasury clearing process charts are

not included at this time, and this section will be updated in a future filing.

In addition to the foregoing proposed changes, ICC proposes general updates to

the Wind-Down Plan to ensure that the information in the Wind-Down Plan is current

and accurate. Namely, the proposed changes ensure that relevant information regarding

ICC for the purposes of wind-down planning is current with respect to below regarding

the CDS clearing service and Treasury clearing service, where available:

•

Clearing Participants in Section IV.A.;

See supra note 29.

•

change in contact information for the SEC and CFTC contacts in Section

VI.A.;

•

ICC clearing and processing fees in Section VII.;

•

ICC personnel and facilities in Section VII.C.;

•

ICC CDS In-House Systems in Section VII.C.;

•

ICC UST In-House Systems in Section VII.C.;

•

identification of ICC’s counterparties in the Counterparty Chart VII.D.;

•

contractual arrangements chart in Section VIII.;

•

financial resources to support wind-down in Section IX.;

•

glossary of key terms in Section XI.A;

•

banking institutions and example proportion of holdings charts in Section

XI.C.;

•

ICC stress scenario analysis chart in Section XI.D.; and

•

index of exhibits in Section XII.

Finally, ICC proposes non-substantive drafting changes and improvements to the

Wind-Down Plan, such as the correction of typographical errors and the re-numbering of

sub-sections to reflect the addition and deletion of sub-sections as described above.

(b)

Statutory Basis

ICC believes that the proposed rule changes are consistent with the requirements

of Section 17A of the Act45 and the regulations thereunder applicable to it, including the

applicable standards under Rule 17ad-22.46 In particular, Section 17A(b)(3)(F) of the

15 U.S.C. 78q-1.

17 CFR 240.17ad-22.

Act47 requires that the rule change be consistent with the prompt and accurate clearance

and settlement of securities transactions and derivative agreements, contracts and

transactions cleared by ICC, the safeguarding of securities and funds in the custody or

control of ICC or for which it is responsible, and the protection of investors and the

public interest.

ICC believes the proposed changes would enhance its ability to effectuate a

successful recovery as well as to execute an orderly wind-down by providing updates and

additional clarity with respect to ICC’s recovery and wind-down processes and

procedures. As discussed herein, the proposed revisions ensure that relevant information

regarding ICC for recovery and wind-down planning is current and up to date and

includes ICC’s Treasury clearing service. The Plans would thus promote ICC’s ability to

continue providing clearing services with as little disruption as possible, and should

continuation not be feasible in one or both clearing services, promote ICC’s ability to

discontinue one or both clearing services in an orderly manner with minimum negative

impact to the marketplace and stakeholders. Accordingly, in ICC’s view, the proposed

rule change is consistent with the prompt and accurate clearance and settlement of

securities transactions, derivatives agreements, contracts, and transactions, the

safeguarding of securities and funds in the custody or control of ICC or for which it is

responsible, and the protection of investors and the public interest, within the meaning of

Section 17A(b)(3)(F) of the Act.48

15 U.S.C. 78q-1(b)(3)(F).

Id.

The proposed rule changes would also satisfy the relevant requirements of Rule

17ad-22.49 Rule 17ad-22(e)(2)50 requires, in relevant part, each covered clearing agency

to establish, implement, maintain, and enforce written policies and procedures reasonably

designed to provide for governance arrangements that are (i) clear and transparent; (ii)

clearly prioritize the safety and efficiency of the covered clearing agency; (iii) support the

public interest requirements of Section 17A of the Act 51 applicable to clearing agencies,

and the objectives of owners and participants; (iv) establish that the board of managers

and senior management have appropriate experience and skills to discharge their duties

and responsibilities; (v) specify clear and direct lines of responsibility; and (vi) consider

the interests of participants’ customers securities issuers and holders, and other relevant

stakeholders of the covered clearing agency. The proposed changes include the addition

of the Board Risk Committee and Treasury clearing service-specific committees and

working groups thereby, clarifying ICC’s governance arrangements that are relevant to

recovery and wind-down, including the roles and responsibilities of the Board, applicable

committees, and management. Additionally, pursuant to the amended Plans, the annual

review and any material amendments would be presented to the Board Risk Committee,

which would make a recommendation to the Board regarding approval. As described

above, this change would streamline the CDS and Treasury Risk Committees’ review

processes and eliminate the potential for duplicative reviews, while continuing to

maintain governance arrangements that support ICC’s recovery and wind-down planning.

ICC’s governance arrangements continue to promote the safety and efficiency of ICC and

17 CFR 240.17ad-22.

17 CFR 240.17ad-22(e)(2).

15 U.S.C. 78q-1.

support the public interest requirements in Section 17A of the Act 52 applicable to clearing

agencies, and the objectives of owners and participants, by updating ICC’s governance

structure, such that ICC continues to clearly define relevant roles and responsibilities that

prioritize the safety and efficiency of ICC so that it continues to provide safe and sound

central counterparty services in the context of recovery or wind-down. As such, ICC

believes that the proposed rule change is consistent with the requirements of Rule 17ad22(e)(2).53

Rule 17ad-22(e)(3)(ii)54 requires ICC to establish, implement, maintain, and

enforce written policies and procedures reasonably designed to maintain a sound risk

management framework for comprehensively managing legal, credit, liquidity,

operational, general business, investment, custody, and other risks that arise in or are

borne by ICC, which includes plans for the recovery and orderly wind-down of ICC

necessitated by credit losses, liquidity shortfalls, losses from general business risk, or any

other losses. The Recovery Plan continues to establish ICC’s actions to maintain its

viability as a going concern to address any uncovered credit loss, liquidity shortfall,

capital inadequacy, or business, operational or other structural weakness that threatens

ICC’s viability. The Wind-Down Plan continues to establish how ICC could be wounddown in an orderly manner should its recovery efforts fail. As described above, the

proposed changes include updates and edits to promote clarity and to ensure that the

information in the Plans is current and includes the expansion of ICC’s clearing services

to encompass UST securities. In ICC’s view, such changes would ensure that the Plans

Id.

17 CFR 240.17ad-22(e)(2).

17 CFR 240.17ad-22(e)(3)(ii).

remain useful and effective in a recovery and wind-down scenario. The proposed rule

change would thus promote ICC’s ability to carry out a successful recovery or orderly

wind-down, consistent with the requirements of Rule 17ad-22(e)(3)(ii).55

Rule 17ad-22(e)(15)56 requires ICC to establish, implement, maintain, and enforce

written policies and procedures reasonably designed to identify, monitor, and manage

ICC’s general business risk and hold sufficient liquid net assets funded by equity to cover

potential general business losses so that ICC can continue operations and services as a

going concern if those losses materialize, including by (i) determining the amount of

liquid net assets funded by equity based upon its general business risk profile and the

length of time required to achieve a recovery or orderly wind-down, as appropriate, of its

critical operations and services if such action is taken; (ii) holding liquid net assets

funded by equity equal to the greater of either (x) six months of ICC’s current operating

expenses, or (y) the amount determined by the Board to be sufficient to ensure a recovery

or orderly wind-down of critical operations and services of ICC, as contemplated by the

plans established under Rule 17ad-22(e)(3)(ii)57; and (iii) maintaining a viable plan,

approved by the Board and updated at least annually, for raising additional equity should

its equity fall close to or below the amount required under Rule 17ad-22(e)(15)(ii).58

The Plans continue to analyze ICC’s particular circumstances and risks to ensure

that ICC maintains financial resources necessary to implement both Plans and that ICC

remains in compliance with all regulatory capital requirements. The Plans include

Id.

17 CFR 240.17ad-22(e)(15).

17 CFR 240.17ad-22(e)(3)(ii).

17 CFR 240.17ad-22(e)(15)(ii).

information on the financial resources maintained by ICC for recovery and to support

wind-down of one or both clearing services in compliance with relevant regulations and

include procedures to follow in case of any shortfall. As such, ICC believes that the

proposed rule change is consistent with the requirements of Rule 17ad-22(e)(15).59

The proposed rule change would also satisfy the requirements of Rule 17ad-26,

which broadly covers the requirements for the recovery and orderly wind-down plans of

covered clearing agencies. 60 Rule 17ad-26 requires ICC to (1) identify and describe its

core payment, clearing, and settlement services and address how ICC would continue to

provide such core services in the event of a recovery and during an orderly wind-down,

including by: (i) identifying the staffing roles necessary to support such core services;

and (ii) analyzing how such staffing roles necessary to support such core services would

continue in the event of a recovery and during an orderly wind-down; (2)(i) identify and

describe any service providers for core services, specifying which core services each

service provider supports; and (ii) address how ICC would ensure that service providers

for core services would continue to perform in the event of a recovery and during an

orderly wind-down, including consideration of its written agreements with such service

providers and whether the obligations under those written agreements are subject to

alteration or termination as a result of initiation of the recovery and orderly wind-down

plan; (3) identify and describe scenarios that may potentially prevent ICC from being

able to provide its core services as a going concern, including uncovered credit losses,

uncovered liquidity shortfalls, and general business losses; (4) identify and describe

17 CFR 240.17ad-22(e)(15).

17 CFR 240.17ad-26.

criteria that could trigger ICC's implementation of its recovery and orderly wind-down

plans and the process that the ICC uses to monitor and determine whether the criteria

have been met, including the governance arrangements applicable to such process; (5)

identify and describe the rules, policies, procedures, and any other tools or resources on

which ICC would rely in a recovery or orderly wind-down; (6) address how the rules,

policies, procedures, and any other tools or resources would ensure timely

implementation of the recovery and orderly wind-down plan; (7) require ICC to inform

the Commission as soon as practicable when ICC is considering implementing a recovery

or orderly wind-down; (8) include procedures for testing ICC's ability to implement the

recovery and orderly wind-down plans at least every 12 months, including by: (i)

requiring ICC's participants and, when practicable, other stakeholders to participate in the

testing of its plans; (ii) requiring that such testing be in addition to default management

testing; (iii) providing for reporting the results of such testing to ICC's board of directors

and senior management; and (iv) specifying the procedures for, as appropriate, amending

the plans to address the results of such testing; and (9) include procedures requiring

review and approval of the plans by ICC’s Board at least every 12 months or following

material changes to ICC's operations that would significantly affect the viability or

execution of the plans, with such review informed, as appropriate, by ICC's testing of the

plans.

The Plans continue to establish ICC’s actions in the event of recovery or orderly

wind-down, and as modified by these proposed changes, include coverage of all the

requirements of Rule 17ad-26.61 Specifically, the Plans (1) describe how ICC identifies

Id.

staffing roles necessary to support recovery and orderly wind-down; (2) describe its

service providers for core services, and include an analysis of its agreements with its

service providers for core services and the potential impact of the initiation of its

recovery and orderly wind-down plan on such contractual agreements; (3) describe

scenarios that potentially could prevent ICC from being able to provide its identified core

services; (4) describe criteria that would cause ICC to trigger implementation of the Plans

and ICC’s monitoring methods to determine if the criteria have been met; (5) identify

ICC Rules, policies, procedures and tools for implementation of the Plans; (6) describe

how the Rules, policies, procedures and tools ensure a timely recovery or wind-down

process; (7) require notification of the Commission by ICC when it is considering

implementing the Plans; (8) cover testing of the Plans every twelve (12) months; and (9)

include annual review of the Plans by the Board. ICC believes the Plans continue to

provide appropriate procedures and tools, and comprehensively describe ICC’s plans for

recovery and orderly wind-down consistent with the requirements of Rule 17ad-26.62

(B)

Clearing Agency’s Statement on Burden on Competition

ICC does not believe the proposed rule changes would have any impact, or

impose any burden, on competition. The proposed changes to the Plans will apply

uniformly across all market participants. The changes are being proposed to promote

clarity, streamline, and ensure that the information provided is current in the Plans. ICC

does not believe the amendments would affect the costs of clearing or the ability of

market participants to access clearing. Therefore, ICC does not believe the proposed rule

Id.

changes would impose any burden on competition that is inappropriate in furtherance of

the purposes of the Act.

(C)

Clearing Agency’s Statement on Comments on the Proposed Rule Change

Received from Members, Participants or Others

Written comments relating to the proposed rule change have not been solicited or

received. ICC will notify the Commission of any written comments received by ICC.

III.

Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for Commission

Action

Within 45 days of the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register or

within such longer period up to 90 days (i) as the Commission may designate if it finds

such longer period to be appropriate and publishes its reasons for so finding or (ii) as to

which the self-regulatory organization consents, the Commission will:

(A)

by order approve or disapprove such proposed rule change, or

(B)

institute proceedings to determine whether the proposed rule change

should be disapproved.

(IV)

Solicitation of Comments

Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and arguments

concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule change is consistent with

the Act. Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:

Electronic Comments:

•

Use the Commission’s Internet comment form

(https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml); or

•

Send an e-mail to rule-comments@sec.gov. Please include File Number SR-ICC2026-009 on the subject line.

Paper Comments:

Send paper comments in triplicate to Secretary, Securities and Exchange

Commission, 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549.

All submissions should refer to File Number SR-ICC-2026-009. This file number

should be included on the subject line if e-mail is used. To help the Commission process

and review your comments more efficiently, please use only one method. The

Commission will post all comments on the Commission’s Internet website

(https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml). Copies of such filings will be available for

inspection and copying at the principal office of ICE Clear Credit and on ICE Clear

Credit’s website at https://www.ice.com/clear-credit/regulation.

Do not include personal identifiable information in submissions; you should

submit only information that you wish to make available publicly. We may redact in part

or withhold entirely from publication submitted material that is obscene or subject to

All submissions should refer to File Number SR-ICC-2026-009 and should be

submitted on or before [INSERT DATE 21 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION

IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER].

For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, pursuant to

delegated authority.63

Sherry R. Haywood,

Assistant Secretary.

17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.