CME Cuts Member Share Requirements Wednesday January 31, 2:41 pm ET Chicago Mercantile Exchange Lowers Number of Shares Required for Members to Acquire and Hold CHICAGO (AP) -- Future exchange Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. said Wednesday it would cut the number of Class A shares that clearing member companies must buy and hold. Effective on Thursday, new companies applying for clearing member status will be required to purchase 8,000 shares, down from 15,000 required previously. About 197,800 shares will be released each month. For existing Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings clearing companies on or before Feb. 1, the number of Class A shares will be decreased by 2,300 shares per month over a three-month period. The Exchange said it decreased its capital investment requirement for the third year in a row to reduce transaction costs for existing clearing members and attract new participants to its markets. CME shares fell $3.74 to $564.51 during afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.