The share of over-the-counter derivatives cleared through central counterparties (CCPs) by top US banks slumped to multi-year lows in the last quarter of 2024, likely a side-effect of dealers’ attempts at window-dressing to reduce capital surcharges.

Across the country’s eight systemic lenders, cleared notionals dropped by $24.3 trillion, outpacing a $13.7 trillion reduction in bilaterally settled trades, and driving the aggregate clearing rate down 2.5 percentage points to 48.3% – the lowest