IntercontinentalExchange, the electronic futures exchange group, said on Tuesday that nearly all new credit default swap contracts would be cleared centrally by the end of November, fulfilling a key demand from regulators for reducing risk in the over-the-counter derivatives market.

ICE has taken a strong lead among exchanges in the race to clear credit default swaps, the OTC contracts widely blamed for aggravating the financial crisis, prompting Congress to demand that most be cleared centrally in order to guarantee the creditworthiness of both sides.