Global watchdog to review resilience of securities clearing houses

LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) - The world's main clearing houses will be scrutinised by global markets regulators to ensure they can withstand extreme market shocks unaided by taxpayer money.

The International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) announced on Wednesday it was undertaking a review of stress testing by clearing houses, also known as central counterparties (CCPs).

Clearing houses stand between two sides of a trade to make sure the transaction is completed even if one side goes bust.

"The systemic importance of CCPs is growing substantially," IOSCO said in a statement. (Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Mark Potter)