Standard&Poor's Ratings Services' ratings on National Securities Clearing Corp. (NSCC) reflect the firm's effective monopoly as the sole clearinghouse serving the principal securities markets in the U.S. Our ratings are also based on NSCC's robust risk-management controls and procedures and the existence of the safeguards that protect the clearing organization from member default. In our view, given NSCC's importance to the U.S. securities market, members already bound by mutuality of risk and the larger investment community have a strong incentive to support NSCC if this becomes necessary. NSCC is responsible for clearing, settling, and guaranteeing virtually all broker-to-broker trades in the U.S., including equity, corporate and municipal bonds, American Depository Receipts (ADRs), and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). As a
