Eurex Clearing, the German clearing house, said on Friday it would launch its first credit default swap clearing service with contracts based on 17 companies and on Europe’s iTraxx index, becoming the first exchange group to say it would be ready to meet a European Commission deadline for building a CDS clearer in Europe.

In February, Brussels won a commitment from banks that use OTC credit default swaps that they would work with exchanges and clearing houses to have clearing in place in Europe by July 31. The aim was to clear a full range of CDSs, which offer a type of insurance against default on debt.