Sept 24 (Reuters) - Brokerage BGC Group launched

its FMX Futures Exchange on Tuesday, the latest attempt by

billionaire Howard Lutnick to challenge the dominance of CME

Group and increase competition for market share in U.S.

Treasuries.

The new exchange now enables clients to trade Secured

Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) futures. U.S. Treasury futures

will be added in the first quarter of 2025, BGC said.

According to BGC, FMX will introduce "significant capital

savings" through its partnership with LCH Limited, an approved

derivative clearing organization and large clearer of interest

rate swaps.

LCH has $225 billion of interest rate swap collateral

securing those swaps, and LCH members expect to cross-margin

eligible U.S. interest rate futures traded on FMX against them,

it added.

Earlier this year, BGC revealed that 10 of the world's

leading investment banks and market-making firms including Bank

of America ( BAC ), Citadel Securities, Goldman Sachs ( GS ) and

JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ) made minority equity investments into

FMX, valuing it at $667 million.

BGC got regulatory approval in January to operate the

futures exchange.