Icap to boost its global futures business

London-based inter-dealer broker Icap is planning to build a market-leading interest rate futures operation within the next two years.

Icap said it plans to build its franchise both in bond futures and interest rate swap futures.

The broker has hired Humphrey Percy to lead the effort. He joins from SGM Foreign Exchange, a company he founded.

An Icap spokesman said the company had reviewed the possibility of an acquisition but had not found any targets it found suitable. He was unable to give a timetable for future developments, but said expansion in North America, where Icap has virtually no futures activity, was a priority.

“Percy’s considerable experience will speed up the expansion of our existing small futures business into a global operation,” said Icap chief executive Michael Spencer.

Percy confirmed the enterprise would be built around the BrokerTec platform, which already handles transactions valued at $250 billion daily. Other plans include a global futures clearing service and an expansion of the broker’s exchange-traded interest rate options business.