US-based independent futures brokerage and clearing firm R.J. O'Brien & Associates (RJO), has announced that its London-based affiliate, R.J. O'Brien Limited, has successfully gone live on the London Metal Exchange (LME).
The announcement follows on the heels of a July 23 regulatory approval as a Category 2 clearing member on the LME. The LME has seven categories of membership for its constituents, with Category 2 comprising Broker clearing. Alternatively, other mandates are relegated to ring dealing and trade clearing, among others.
The approval of R.J. O'Brien Limited will see the group active as a sovereign clearing member starting today. According to RJO Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Gerald F. Corcoran, in a recent statement on the approval, "We are very pleased to expand our capabilities and offer our clients direct services on the LME. This represents our first general clearing membership on a foreign board of trade.”
“As we proceed on our product and regional growth initiatives in Europe and globally, we intend to strategically join a number of additional exchanges outside the U.S. as a general clearing member," he noted.
Indeed, "In less than four weeks following our approval, we were able to establish the infrastructure to bring our clients direct LME access through both electronic and voice Execution . We have successfully executed and cleared our first LME transactions and look forward to rapidly growing volumes through RJO in this marketplace," added David Mudie, CEO of R.J. O'Brien in Europe, in an accompanying statement.
RJO is based out of Chicago and is the oldest and largest independent futures brokerage and clearing firm in the United States. Late last month, the group appointed Tony Dalton as the newest Head of its Foreign Exchange division. In his new role as the Managing Director and Head of FX at R.J. O’Brien & Associates, Mr. Dalton is based out of the firm’s New York Office, where he has since helped manage the group’s US FX clientele.
