The antitrust division of the U.S. Department of Justice has signed off on a portion of the IntercontinentalExchange Inc.'s (ICE) business plan for clearing credit-default swaps, which now leaves only the Federal Reserve and the Securities and Exchange Commission as the final two regulators who must green-light the plan.

Specifically, the Justice Department was looking at the pending acquisition of the Clearing Corp., an independent clearinghouse owned by large derivatives dealers. Under federal law, acquisitions of a certain size must receive approval from federal antitrust regulators.

A posting dated March 2 on the Federal Trade Commission's Web site indicates antitrust regulators granted "early termination" of ICE's waiting period since it filed with the DOJ several months ago. That essentially means "they don't have any objections to the merger of the Clearing Corporation and IntercontinentalExchange," said ICE spokesman Sarah Stashak.

The proposal to clear credit-default swaps now must get final approvals from the SEC and the Federal Reserve before it can begin offering clearing services. The SEC indicated in an interview last week it anticipates approving the plan "in short order."

-By Sarah N. Lynch, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6634; sarah.lynch@dowjones.com