London Clearing House

The organisation founded in 1888 to clear sugar and coffee trades in London, originally known as the London Produce Clearing House. Once LCH has registered a trade, it becomes the buyer to every LCH Member who sells and seller to every LCH Member who buys, thereby guaranteeing that the financial obligations of trades are met.

The LCH clears trades conducted on the International Petroleum Exchange (IPE), the London International Financial Futures Exchange (LIFFE) incorporating the London Commodity Exchange (LCE), the London Stock Exchange and the London Metal Exchange (LME). It is owned by the major UK clearing banks (Barclays, LloydsTSB, HSBC, NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Chartered) and is a Recognised Clearing House under the regulatory supervision of the Financial Services Authority (FSA).