The Membership criteria, which an applicant must meet at the outset and must continue to meet as a Member, are set out below. They are also detailed in the ICE Futures Europe Regulations and Members are expected to inform ICE Futures Europe of failure or anticipated failure to meet the membership criteria.
An Applicant for ICE Futures Europe Membership must:
- satisfy ICE Futures Europe that it is fit and proper;
- be able to demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the Exchange, that the applicant has sufficient systems and controls in place to ensure that all the Member’s Representatives who may act on its behalf or in its name in the conduct of business on the ICE Platform are fit and proper, suitable, adequately trained and properly supervised to perform such functions;
- maintain a properly established office (in a location which is acceptable to the Directors as they may determine in their absolute discretion) for the conduct of its business on the ICE Platform;
- satisfy the minimum financial standing requirements for the time being stipulated by the Directors in relation to the relevant category of membership, supporting its claim to do so by copies of its last three years of audited accounts (or in the case of an ICE Block Member, a copy of its last audited accounts) and by a copy of its latest audited accounts from time to time as they become available, or such other evidence as the Directors may require;
- be party to an Electronic User Agreement, which is in full force and effect, in the form prescribed by the Directors from time to time for use by the Member of the ICE Platform at the address(es) notified to the Exchange;
- be able to access the Trading Server via a front end application which meets the Exchange's conformance criteria;
- if it is to transact business (i) in respect of its own account, be a Clearing Counterparty; (ii) in respect of the account of a client which is not a Sponsored Principal, be a Clearing Member; (iii) in respect of the account of a client which is a Sponsored Principal, be a Sponsor or ensure appropriate arrangements are in place between it and the relevant Sponsor; or (iv) if it is not a Clearing Counterparty in the case of (i) or a Clearing Member in the case of (ii), be a party to or satisfy the Directors that it will become a party to a clearing agreement with a Clearing Member, in either case in respect of all types of Contract covered by its trading and/or clearing permissions or privilege under Rule B.6 from time to time, in each case as permitted by the Regulations;
- hold all necessary licences, authorisations and consents, or benefit from available exemptions, so as to allow it to carry on business as a Member on the ICE Platform, including the ICE Block Facility, in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations; and
- be able to demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the Exchange, that the applicant is permitted under applicable laws and regulations, these Regulations and any notices posted on the Market, to engage in transactions in relevant Contracts, in particular, in respect of restrictions or requirements imposed by the Exchange in respect of activities in specific jurisdictions.
Further criteria can be viewed
here.