New CFO as Clearnet looks to link-up

Oliver Corbett, most recently the finance director of insurer Novae Group, replaces interim CFO Jeffrey Hughes, who is leaving the group, LCH said.

Mr Corbett, who was at Dresdner Kleinwort Benson before joining Novae in 2003, will join the clearing house in December, LCH said.

The appointment of Mr Corbett – the fourth management change at the firm in three months – comes at a crucial time for LCH.Clearnet as the firm looks to sell a majority stake of its shares to exchange group LSE.

In April, the firms agreed a deal under which the LSE would buy up to 60 percent of LCH.Clearnet in a deal valuing the clearing house at 813 million euros. The transaction still needs approval from European competition authorities.

LCH and LSE have said they plan to complete the trade in the fourth quarter of this year. Last month, LCH appointed Martin Ryan, formerly of RBS and Morgan Stanley, as global head of operations.

In May, the clearing house hired Dennis McLaughlin as chief risk officer from insurance firm AON and Magnus Spencer as group general counsel.

Clearing houses, which sit between trading partners, holding cash to be used to refund firms left out of pocket by a counterparty default, won support from regulators for their performance after the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008.