There were two big developments in clearing last week – and the key to understanding them is how they connect. First, the revelation of French plans for clearing in Paris and the formation of the Europlace scheme and, second, the announcement that nine large dealers had committed to clearing their EU-eligible credit derivatives trades in Europe through a European-based clearing house.

It is the names that were missing from the list of dealers that have not committed yet to using a European clearing house that hold the clue. Not a single French bank was on that list - despite the fact that Calyon, Société Générale and BNP Paribas are all large players in the credit default swaps market.