LCH.Clearnet, the Anglo-French clearing house, announced on February 15 that Ian Axe would take over as its chief executive in April.

Last summer, Roger Liddell announced he was stepping down as head of LCH after four years. Axe is global head of operations and chief operating officer for EMEA at Barclays Capital.

“Ian has a broad background. He has built successful businesses, as well as run them,” said Jacques Aigrain, LCH.Clearnet’s chairman, when asked what Axe’s background in operations would offer the group. “He brings a hands-on experience in the clearing field from the users’ and clients’ perspective. It is this breadth, combined with his in-depth understanding of the financial sector, which will be of great service to the group in the coming years.”

Axe began his 17 year career in finance with UBS Warburg. He switched to financial services consulting with Booz Allen Hamilton, before joining Barclays in 2002. He became chief operating officer of South African investment bank Absa Capital in 2006, after Barclays bought a majority stake in its parent.

Axe worked on key projects at Barclays, including the formation of Barclays Wealth, the integration of Lehman Brothers and the $13.5bn sale of Barclays Global Investors to BlackRock in summer 2009.

Axe’s appointment comes at a critical time for LCH.Clearnet. Last summer, NYSE Liffe Euronext announced that it was dropping its long term contract and taking clearing in house. Weeks later, the London Stock Exchange said it was also reviewing its agreement with LCH, and its chief executive Xavier Rolet left the clearer’s board.

Opportunities ahead

Aigrain insisted such concerns were not new ones for Axe or the group. “The landscape in which we operate has been changing for some time,” he said. “The growth of the OTC markets over the last decade and the implications of legislative and regulatory reform will greatly influence our business.

“It is too early to say how the proposed exchange consolidation will pan out – however, concentration among the incumbents often leads to opportunities for other service providers. LCH.Clearnet will continue to build from its leadership position as an horizontal, multi-product classes clearer.”

Aigrain added that the firm was “very keen to progress with interoperability in cash equities, as we see it as a critical way to offer the equity market real choice in clearing.”

Any movement in that direction from European regulators could offer a valuable revenue stream for the group as it absorbs the loss of big exchange contracts – though many are sceptical on progress. “In Europe there is a push for interoperability, but the complexities of margining across numerous clearing organisations means we are unlikely to see any real progress in practice,” Hartmut Klein, former head of Eurex’s London office, now a derivatives consultant with Goodacre, said recently.