IntercontinentalExchange, the electronic futures exchange based in Atlanta, raised the stakes on Thursday in its effort to expand its foothold in the $54,000bn credit-default swap market by announcing a deal to take over The Clearing Corporation (TCC), the bank-operated clearing house.

The move is the latest salvo in an emerging struggle between ICE and the CME Group, the world’s largest futures exchange, to develop central counterparty clearing infrastructure for the CDS market.