IT Costs Take a Bite

Mergers are costly all around. In a half-yearly budget report, the London-based LCH.Clearnet Group revealed that there has been a 21 percent increase in merger-related and IT expenditure that offset other gains at the European clearinghouse. Since the London Clearing House (LCH) and Clearnet merged last December, spending has grown by 37 percent to e47.9 million ($58.8 million) on IT alone. The Group still operates through two wings: LCH.Clearnet Limited in Britain and LCH.Clearnet SA in France