The Chinese riposte to the maxim that it is the early bird that catches the worm, is that coming early is not as good as coming just at the right moment. Each viewpoint has its place, but it seems neither is applicable to the world of credit derivatives clearing.

Liffe launched its credit default swap clearing capability early, and with impeccable timing. The first such service to launch when it came online at the end of last year, it went live just as regulators around the world were pressing for credit derivatives to be cleared and as banks were seeking to free themselves from their exposure to risk from each other and from their customers. Despite this, Liffe has still not cleared a single CDS trade.