Ice Credit Availability Hits Six-Hour Op Failure Low

An operational failure on May 5 marked Ice Clear Credit’s longest outage as 2015,pushing its availability below targets.

ICE Clear Credit missed its operational availability target for the first time in eight years due to a six-hour, 22-minute outage on May 5.

The incident pushed the clearing house’s core systems’ availability down to 99.88% in the second quarter.This performance fell short of the target, marking a meaningful operational lapse.

Did you know?– Central Counterparties (CCPs) like Ice Clear Credit stand between buyers and sellers in financial transactions, reducing risk by guaranteeing trades. Their reliability is crucial for market stability.

The outage began at 1:53 PM EST on May 5 and was fully resolved by 8:15 PM EST, according to a report released by Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), Ice Clear Credit’s parent company. The cause was a software issue during a scheduled update to the clearing house’s systems.The disruption impacted the clearing of credit derivatives.

The duration of the disruption also surpassed the two-hour recovery time objective mandated for central counterparties (CCPs). Such failures are critical for CCPs, which are vital for maintaining financial market stability.

Pro tip:– Operational resilience refers to a firm’s ability to withstand and recover from disruptions. Regular testing and robust backup systems are key components of a strong resilience framework.

This operational hiccup represents the longest outage for Ice Clear Credit since such events began being publicly disclosed in 2015. Prior outages were significantly shorter,typically lasting minutes rather than hours. ICE has stated it is indeed implementing measures to prevent a recurrence, including enhanced testing protocols and system redundancy.

The failure highlights the importance of robust operational resilience for critical financial infrastructure. Ensuring systems are consistently available is paramount to maintaining market confidence and mitigating systemic risk.

Reader question:– How might prolonged outages at CCPs affect everyday investors? Share your thoughts on the importance of resilient financial infrastructure.

ICE has not reported any financial losses directly resulting from the outage, but the incident has prompted increased scrutiny from regulators. The company is cooperating fully with investigations to determine the root cause and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.