Shearman & Sterling is advising US-based The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) on the setting up of a new subsidiary, DTCC Derivatives Repository Ltd, which will run a new global equity derivatives repository based in Europe. The repository will enable DTCC to maintain global data on derivative trades and make such data available to the market and to regulators globally.

In light of the financial crisis, data repositories have been recognised as an important means for regulators to identify potential sources of concentration risk and market instability by providing data on market participants’ outstanding notional amounts and positions through a single, secure, easy-to-access portal. All the major dealers worldwide are participating in this initiative.

"We are pleased to be bringing the transparency and risk mitigation benefits of a central repository for the OTC equity derivatives market,” said Bill Stenning, CEO, Equity Derivatives Reporting Repository Ltd. “DTCC has been working in the OTC derivatives market for nearly a decade and we have demonstrated our ability to bring automation and trade reporting services, working with the OTC derivatives community and regulators, to establish the global repository and post-trade processing infrastructure for the CDS market.”

Shearman & Sterling’s team of lawyers were based in the firm's London and New York offices, being led by Financial Institutions Advisory & Financial Regulatory partners Barney Reynolds and Geoff Goldman with associates Thomas Donegan, James Brilliant and Janet Choi and trainee Blake Spencer.