IntercontinentalExchange Inc.'s (ICE) platform for clearing credit default swaps saw volume double in the service's second week of operation, the exchange reported Monday.

ICE US Trust cleared $14 billion in credit default swap trades for the week ended Friday, up from about $7 billion the previous week, according to the Atlanta-based exchange.

Open interest was $4 billion, up from $3 billion in its first week of operation.

The platform, structured as a U.S. Trust bank and regulated by the New York Federal Reserve, went live March 9 after getting clearance from the Securities and Exchange Commission, the final piece of a protracted approval process.

ICE US Trust now clears trades in two CDX credit default swap indexes, and the exchange anticipates adding additional indexes each week.

The Wall Street banks backing ICE US Trust are still in the process of back-loading existing credit derivatives trades into the clearinghouse, according to ICE officials, and they don't expect to start clearing new transactions until the end of March.

"All clearing members of ICE Trust have been actively participating from week one, and activity levels have been as planned in consultation with participants and regulators," said ICE spokeswoman Kelly Loeffler.

The trades cleared by ICE represent the first of what exchange groups and financial regulators hope will be a new way forward for credit default swaps, which serve as insurance against defaults on corporate or sovereign debt.

Central counterparty clearing is seen as a way to increase transparency and reduce systemic risk in the estimated $27 trillion market.

NYSE Euronext (NYX), through its Liffe derivatives arm, has also launched credit derivatives clearing in the U.K., though that platform has seen no activity as participants work through connectivity issues and consider competing platforms.

Chicago-based CME Group Inc. (CME), with the hedge fund firm Citadel Investment Group, has developed a solution for clearing and trading credit derivatives that has received U.S. regulatory approval but has yet to launch.

Credit derivatives traders have signaled their willingness to clear swap trades. A recent survey by risk-management technology firm Sophis found that participants intend to direct at least 50% of their CDS trades onto central clearing platforms.

ICE shares were recently at $75.91, up 6%.

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