New efforts by the U.S. government to shift more over-the-counter trade into clearinghouses are a positive for exchanges, but the private sector was already moving in that direction, according to the top executive of Chicago-based CME Group Inc. (CME).

Nevertheless, regulators' plan to force clearing for some over-the-counter products would be a boon to CME, which is making a play to clear more off-exchange transactions as it endures a persistent slump in its listed derivatives business.

CME Group CEO Craig Donohue, speaking at CME's annual shareholder meeting Wednesday, was careful not to endorse mandated clearing for over-the-counter derivatives, a realm dominated by major Wall Street banks.

But OTC clearing does represent possibly the biggest opportunity for future growth at CME, as the Chicago-based exchange operator this year looks to add dozens of new products to its Clearport platform.

In the coming months, CME looks to expand Clearport's clearing capabilities beyond the energy arena to agriculture swaps and commodity index products, as the exchange also moves forward with initiatives to clear interest rate swaps and credit derivatives.

"Clearing is a great opportunity for us," Donohue said in an interview with reporters following the meeting.

"The trends are moving in the right direction in the private sector, and the government has been supportive of moving more business that way," he said.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Treasury, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission jointly announced a wide-ranging plan that would force market participants to clear trades in standardized over-the-counter products, in a bid to mitigate systemic risk in the market.

CME, which is looking to build bridges with dealer banks as it expands its over-the-counter business, favors "capital incentives" for firms to clear more over-the-counter trades, rather than mandated clearing of the instruments, according to Donohue.

Either way, the government announcement was well-timed for CME's annual shareholder meeting. The news boosted the Chicago-based exchange operator's stock more than 6% Wednesday to close at $274.10, near a six-month high.

But CME shares remain well below their year-ago level of $457.65, dragged down by a slump in volume as banks and hedge funds have reduced trading activity, particularly in CME's core interest rate futures complex.

"Institutions are still stockpiling cash and waiting for the dust to settle in the financial markets," Donohue told shareholders.

CME brass faced some grumbling from investors over the share price Wednesday, and Executive Chairman Terry Duffy said he could sympathize.

"We're coming off an extraordinary year," Duffy said, referring to the financial crisis in an interview after the meeting. "We feel people's pain."

But as the financial sector steels itself for heightened regulation, Duffy said that CME's position is strengthened as both a risk-management venue and an advocate for investors.

Specifically, Duffy said that CME would "exert our best efforts" to maintain the so-called 60/40 tax treatment for derivatives traders, a provision that allows market makers to pay a combination of the capital gains tax rate and the ordinary tax rate on income from trading.

An Obama administration budget proposal, released Monday, would eliminate the preferential tax structure, effectively raising the rate to 35% from the current 23% blended rate.

Duffy said that eliminating the 60/40 tax treatment, which he called "fair and reasonable," would hurt liquidity in futures and options markets.

-By Jacob Bunge, Dow Jones Newswires; (312) 750 4117; jacob.bunge@dowjones.com