Industry advances towards US Treasury clearing deadline

By Milan Rojan

Market participants have made significant progress towards meeting the US Treasury cash clearing mandate, with most firms either fully prepared or completing final implementation activities ahead of the 31 December 2026 compliance deadline.

A recent industry survey of full-service Netting Members of the Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (FICC) Government Securities Division (GSD) has indicated that a substantial proportion of Treasury cash trading has already transitioned to central clearing, with much of the required infrastructure now in place.

According to the findings, more than $1.2 trillion in average daily Treasury cash activity is already being centrally cleared through FICC. Respondents estimated that a further $300 billion to $400 billion in average daily Treasury cash transactions remain outside the clearing framework, suggesting that the majority of the expected migration has already been completed ahead of the mandate.

The survey has also found that 79% of respondents have already established the necessary FICC account structures required for compliance. Nearly all firms requiring an FICC account have either completed onboarding or entered the onboarding pipeline, highlighting broad industry readiness for the year-end deadline.

Around one-third of dealer respondents said they expect to offer Treasury cash clearing services to clients, broadly in line with the proportion of firms that currently provide client clearing for Treasury repo and cash transactions.

Across both Treasury cash and repo markets, FICC is currently clearing more than $12 trillion in average daily transactions. Clearing volumes have increased by 165% since the US Securities and Exchange Commission first proposed mandatory Treasury clearing in 2022, reflecting growing adoption of central clearing across the market.

The industry’s Sponsored Service has also expanded significantly, supporting more than 2,850 Sponsored Members across 66 jurisdictions and processing over $2.5 trillion in average daily transaction volume. Activity within the service has increased by 771% since the proposed mandate was introduced.

Industry representatives said the findings demonstrate that firms have continued to invest in onboarding, operational readiness and clearing infrastructure ahead of the regulatory deadline. Recent enhancements to clearing services, including expanded access models, greater processing capacity, cross-margining capabilities and new tri-party repo solutions, have also supported the transition.

Looking ahead, further initiatives are expected to strengthen the Treasury clearing ecosystem, including proposed enhancements to the guaranty fund framework and a portfolio margining service, both of which remain subject to regulatory approval.