Brussels, Frankfurt; 30 September 2013

The European Association of Clearing Houses (EACH) appoints Rafael Plata as its first Secretary General

The European Association of CCP Clearing Houses (EACH), the industry group that represents the interests of Clearing Houses in Europe, has appointed Rafael Plata as Secretary General. The appointment was made during the EACH General Assembly that took place on September, 25th in Geneva.

Plata is a public affairs professional with over ten years experience in the financial services sector. He will be based in Brussels and act as EACH’s representative in dealing with public authorities and further stakeholders. He joins from the Federation of European Securities Exchanges (FESE) where he currently coordinates its policy matters.

EACH Chairman Marcus Zickwolff said: “On behalf of our association I welcome Rafael. We are looking forward to working with him as all EACH members were fully supportive of Rafael’s appointment as the first EACH Secretary General. Based on Rafael’s deep knowledge of clearing and policy issues, we are confident that EACH, representing 22 CCPs, will have a stronger voice in regulatory discussions and consultations.”

Rafael Plata added: “I am honoured to be chosen by EACH to be their voice in Brussels. CCPs have been recognized by policy makers as crucial infrastructures that ensure efficient and safe financial markets. I am looking forward to working with EACH members and policy makers to further improve communication in the interests of financial markets.”

Plata will join EACH on January, 1st 2014.

Notes to the editors:

About EACH - European Association of CCP Clearing Houses

European central counterparty clearing houses (henceforth CCPs) formed EACH in 1992.

EACH's participants are senior executives specialising in clearing and risk management from CCPs, both EU and non-EU. Increasingly, clearing activities are not restricted exclusively to exchange-traded business. EACH has an interest in ensuring that the evolving discussions on clearing and settlement in Europe and globally, are fully informed by the expertise and opinions of those responsible for providing central counterparty clearing services. The EACH membership encompasses currently 22 members.

About Rafael Plata

Rafael Plata is a public affairs professional with over ten years experience in the financial services sector. He is currently Head of Derivatives and Post-trading at the Federation of European Securities Exchanges (FESE), the organisation that represents the interests of Exchanges in Europe. He is responsible for coordinating the FESE policy work and has been   involved in a wide variety of policy projects including MiFID, EMIR, FTT and Short Selling. Prior to FESE, Rafael worked for the European Parliament in Brussels as an MEP assistant and for multinational consulting firm Towers Watson as a pension fund investment consultant in Madrid and in Brussels. A Spanish national, Rafael studied Business and Economics at ETEA, University of Córdoba (Spain) and at The University of Birmingham (UK) and holds a master degree in European Economics from the Free University of Brussels (Belgium). Rafael has been chosen as one of the «Financial News 40 Under 40Rising Stars of Trading and Technology» in 2012 and 2013.

For further information, visit http://www.eachorg.com or contact

EACH Chairman
Marcus Zickwolff
E-mail: EACH.Secretary@eurexchange.com