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OCC: The Options Clearing Corporation Board of Directors Welcomes Three New Members

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^{Published in Business and Finance on Thursday, October 8th 2009 at 8:47 GMT by Market Wire}  

CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwire - October 8, 2009) - The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) announced today the elections of Andrew D. Kolinsky, President of Citadel Execution Services; Philip A. Pendergraft, Chief Executive Officer at Penson Worldwide, Inc. and Tom Stern, CEO of optionsXpress International, to the OCC Board of Directors.

Mr. Kolinsky is President of Citadel Execution Services which is part of the Citadel Derivatives Group, one of the largest liquidity providers in Equities & Options in the United States. Previously he served as Managing Director and Head of Broker Dealers Sales and Marketing with Knight Capital Group where he was in charge of maintaining and growing the broker dealer business while also serving as a member of Executive Management, helping to lead in the overall direction of the company.

Mr. Pendergraft serves as Chief Executive Officer at Penson Worldwide, Inc., one of the largest clearing brokers in the world. With more than 25 years in the securities industry, he has extensive experience, especially in regards to his work at affiliated Penson entities. In 1995, Mr. Pendergraft co-founded Penson Financial Services, Inc and throughout his career has been involved in the start-up of three clearing operations.

Mr. Stern, CEO of optionsXpress International, is responsible for the development of international business with registered companies in Europe, Singapore, Australia and Canada. Additionally, he serves as the Chief Administrative Officer for optionsXpress Holdings (NASDAQ: [ OXPS ]) and CFO of optionsXpress and brokersXpress. He also acts as FINRA's primary Executive Representative and FINOP for optionsXpress.

"We are pleased to be able to add these three distinguished new members to OCC's Board of Directors. Their industry experience and perspective will further enhance our Board," said Wayne Luthringshausen, OCC Chairman and CEO.

About OCC

OCC is the world's largest derivatives clearing organization by contract volume and open interest. Founded in 1973, OCC operates under the jurisdiction of both the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as a Derivatives Clearing Organization, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a Registered Clearing Agency. OCC now provides central counterparty (CCP) clearing and settlement services to 13 exchanges and platforms for options, financial and commodity futures, security futures and securities lending transactions.

As the CCP clearinghouse for the markets it serves, OCC assumes the counterparty risk of members involved in a trade -- becoming the buyer to every seller and the seller to every buyer. OCC manages its risk of member default by collecting margin (collateral). Clearing member margin requirements are calculated using OCC's proprietary System for Theoretical Analysis and Numerical Simulations (STANS) that uses large-scale Monte Carlo simulations to forecast price moves and correlations to make those margin determinations. In 1993, OCC became the first clearinghouse to receive a 'AAA' credit rating from Standard & Poor's Corporation, and has continued to receive that high rating every year as a result of its risk management standards.

OCC operates as a utility clearinghouse, owned by several of its participant exchanges but with a Board of Directors majority drawn from its clearing members, allowing it to provide highly efficient but low-cost solutions to the markets it serves. More information about OCC is available through its Web site at [ www.optionsclearing.com ].