The Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (FICC) is a regulatory clearing agency that deals with the confirmation, settlement, and delivery of fixed-income assets in the U.S. The agency was established in 2003 as a subsidiary of the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC). FICC's mission is to provide an efficient and secure infrastructure for the clearance and settlement of fixed-income products traded in the U.S. marketplace.One important role played by FICC is to act as a central counterparty (CCP) for trades in Treasury securities, government agency debt, mortgage-backed securities (MBS), corporate bonds, municipal bonds, and other fixed income products. A CCP clears and settles trades between buyers and sellers by acting as an intermediary between them. This helps reduce risk for market participants by ensuring that each trade is properly confirmed and settled according to agreed upon terms.FICC also provides post-trade services such as data reporting, reference data management, price verification/correlation services, collateral management services, and more. By doing so, it helps improve liquidity across all segments of the U.S. fixed income marketplaces.
