The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, the US clearing giant, has undertaken a strategic review of its European clearing house EuroCCP and is exploring a potential merger of the business, according to three people familiar with the matter.

The DTCC, which is headquartered in New York and is owned by the major US dealers, has held discussions to merge EuroCCP with EMCF, a rival clearing house majority-owned by Dutch bank ABN Amro, according to one individual with knowledge of the discussions.