Marex Group, the market maker and infrastructure provider in the energy, commodities and financial sectors, has cleared the first U.S Treasury delivery on FMX Futures Exchange, which launched in 2024.

FMX Futures Exchange was launched in September last year by brokerage and financial technology firm BGC Group and a consortium of investment banks and trading firms to compete with CME Group. The new exchange opened with trading of SOFR futures, the largest notional futures contract in the world, according to FMX. In May this year FMX Futures Exchange debuted two-year and five-year U.S. Treasury futures.

Robert Allen, president of FMX Futures Exchange, said in a statement: “The first U.S. Treasury delivery on FMX is a significant moment for our exchange and for the market.”

Steve Hood, head of clearing, US at Marex, said in an email to Markets Media that the firm has been clearing on the new exchange since day one and cleared its first SOFR futures trade last September.

Hood added: “The launch of US Treasury futures contracts on FMX is significant for the industry, as it brings greater diversity and resilience in a consolidated market.”

BGC said in its second quarter 2025 results that average daily volume and open interest on FMX Futures Exchange rose to record levels during the quarter. SOFR average daily open interest increased sequentially by 73% in the second quarter and July’s open interest more than doubled from those levels.

JP Aubin, co-chief executive of BGC Group, said on the second quarter results call that FMX Futures Exchange had completed the connectivity process with the equity partners, which would allow them to engage with the platform in a meaningful way.

“As US Treasury and SOFR volume and open interest continue to scale, we do expect attention to shift to US Treasury futures,” added Aubin.

Hood continued that Marex is one of the largest clearers on the FMX Futures Exchange, and has seen a steady increase in clients directing volumes since launching its offering. Marex anticipates that these volumes will continue to grow as the launch of US Treasury futures brings greater liquidity to the platform.

The FMX Futures Exchange has a clearing partnership with LCH Limited, the clearing arm of London Stock Exchange Group, in order to provide significant portfolio-margining capabilities to users. LCH is a fully approved CFTC Derivatives Clearing Organization and one of the largest clearers of interest rate swaps in the world.

In July last year Marex became the first non-bank clearer of interest rate swaps on LCH. As a clearing member of both FMX and LCH, Marex can provide clients with capital savings through cross-margining between their US futures positions on FMX and their swap collateral at LCH.

The clearing partnership with LCH Limited is officially launching to Marex’s full client base in the coming weeks, according to Hood. He added that Marex has received substantial interest from clients interested in diversifying their futures portfolios, or who have an existing interest rate swap portfolio on LCH in anticipation of the coming cross-margining partnership.

Derivatives traders are taking a more active approach to collateral management and cross-margining offsetting positions in order to combat rising finding costs, according to Crisil Coalition Greenwich.

The consultancy said in a survey, Fixed-income cross-margin opportunities: A driver of change, that 94% of derivatives professionals believe there are margin savings that can be realized between their US dollars swaps and US dollar futures by cross-margining offsetting positions.

Stephen Bruel, senior analyst in market structure & technology at Crisil Coalition Greenwich, said in the report: “Bringing as many of the products that require margin into the cross-margining equation will both help market participants manage costs and potentially reduce their margin requirements overall.”

Innovation

Hood said initiatives like FMX Futures Exchange reinforce Marex’s position as a leading non-bank alternative to traditional investment banks.

“As one of the few non-bank futures commission merchants with an investment grade credit rating, we’re able to be a first mover in the market, responding to our client’s unique needs with innovative products and services,” he added.

Marex is also a member of LCH SA’s DigitalAssetClear and serves as a clearer for GFO-X, the first UK FCA-regulated trading venue for centrally cleared digital asset derivatives, through this relationship.

Interest in regulated digital assets is growing, and Marex’s institutional clients are looking for robust and reliable solutions to gain exposure to this emerging asset class, according to Hood. He said: “As a non-bank FCM with a global presence, Marex is uniquely positioned to address this need.”

He highlighted that Marex is also driving innovation in market infrastructure with J.P. Morgan and hedge fund Brevan Howard by using Kinexys’ digital wallets to send payments and settle client margins using blockchain technology. Kinexys Digital Payments is part of J.P. Morgan’s blockchain business unit.

This partnership enables Marex to send and settle due funds instantaneously, 24/7 using J.P. Morgan’s stablecoin JPM Coin, which reduces settlement risk, operational burdens, and cost.

“By offering this to Brevan Howard and its clients, Marex is continuing to provide a well-recognized and trusted suite of clearing services that are not only more dynamic, more resilient, and more efficient but also more client focused,” said Hood.

The incoming SEC mandate for US Treasury clearing will also have a positive impact on Marex’s business as more contracts will require central clearing, according to Hood.

“Much of the market is already being cleared, so this will essentially add volumes to our existing processes although details around standards still need to be ironed out amongst market participants,” Hood added.

In contrast, Hood expects repo clearing to be a larger challenge for the market as a whole, as it will be harder on firms’ balance sheets compared to cash treasury clearing.

In the first half of this year Marex reported that clearing revenue increased by 15% to $258m with growth across all revenue lines. Hood said market volatility and an influx of new clients drove an increase in contracts cleared, as did the firm’s acquisition of Aarna Capital Limited, a multi-asset brokerage firm based in Abu Dhabi, which completed in March this year.