IntercontinentalExchange, the US futures exchange, on Wednesday moved to strengthen its foothold in the $26,000bn credit derivatives market by introducing clearing for European credit default swap contracts, after being given approval by UK regulators.

ICE’s European CDS clearing venture is backed by 10 of the world’s biggest dealers in the contracts. The exchange group is looking to capitalise on the success of ICE Trust, its US CDS clearing house, which has cleared $1,600bn in contracts since its launch in March.