Goldman, Citadel Clash With Brokers Over Options Clearing

Bank of America Corp., Citadel Securities and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. have rallied in support of a controversial plan from the world’s largest options clearing house. Retail brokers warn the changes would add hundreds of millions of dollars in extra costs.

Executives from the three firms backed a proposal from the Options Clearing Corp., which would change how contributions to a pot of money that pays out in the event a clearing member goes bust are tallied up. They said the plan “reduces the likelihood of abrupt and destabilizing clearing fund reallocations during periods of market stress.”