Banks will be required to hold capital against their exposures to central clearing counterparties, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has said, in a move that underlines the growing importance of clearing houses to the global financial markets.

Central clearing counterparties sit in between two sides of a trade and guarantee payment in the event either party to the trade defaults. Under the Basel II framework, CCPs are regarded as "no-risk" entities, meaning banks are not required to hold capital against their exposure to clearing houses.