The Options Clearing Corporation

The Options Clearing Corporation, founded in 1973, is a clearing organization for options and equity derivatives. It operates as an industry utility charging clearing fees to its members. OCC operates under the jurisdiction of both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission. Under its SEC jurisdiction, OCC clears transactions for put and call options on common stocks and other equity issues, stock indexes, foreign currencies, interest rate composites and single-stock futures. As a Derivatives Clearing Organization under CFTC jurisdiction, it offers clearing and settlement services for transactions and options on futures. OCC is equally owned by five participant exchanges that trade options: American Stock Exchange, Chicago Board Options Exchange, International Securities Exchange, Pacific Exchange and the Philadelphia Stock Exchange.