You said something different earlier: You said that the exchanges handle the exercise and not the OCC. I said the OCC handles the exercise once it gets instructions from the broker. Then you said that you were referring to the CME and not the OCC. Then I said the CME does futures and we are talking equity options. I should have clarified "futures and futures options" (see how i admitted i was unclear there). but i like how you harped on this one vagueness to pivot from your wrong statements. Now you are saying it doesn't matter the product, it's the OCC who handles it. You were correct for futures and futures options traded on the CME. But for US equity and index options it's the OCC who handles the exercises. In digging your heels, you have said something completely wrong instead of just misunderstood. But I learned something in this discussion. This is why CME futures aren't fungible with other futures like the CME Nikkei vs the SGP Nikkei. (see again, how i admitted when i learned something instead of digging my heels in). Using your credentials doesn't change anything. I worked as an equity and index options market maker for a long time for a BB. That doesn't make my statements any more or less credible as I actually researched them before posting.
I don't think that is what you said. You suggested OCC issues the instructions to exercise. That is what we disagreed on. But perhaps it was wording that caused confusion. I used the CME as an example as OCC member, I could have picked CBOE or any of the clearing members such as banks for OTC options. It does not matter. I maintain that OCC receives the instructions and does not generate them itself, and I have never stated otherwise. This was my point all along. So, you choose whether we engaged in a misunderstanding or not. I know that OCC acts on instructions it receives from clearing members and does not generate said instructions itself and nothing you or someone else says will change my mind on this because I have worked with staff at sell side banks for decades that issue those instructions upon my or other trader colleagues request. You can continue to disagree or twist what I have said, I know what I have said and I have not changed my stance even once in this thread. I guess that is all there is that I can say to conclude this issue.