David Hardy, the chief executive of the newly merged LCH.Clearnet, is planning fresh alliances with other European clearing houses and central counterparties, specifically in Italy and Scandinavia.

Hardy said he will continue to pursue new agreements with clearing houses on the Continent. After more than two years of negotiations, he said he was delighted with the €1bn ($1.2bn) deal following last week's extraordinary meeting, which gave the green light to create Europe's biggest central counterparty.