NYSE Euronext 'reviewing' CDS clearing in Europe

* CDS service has not cleared one trade in six months

* Regulators pushing for central clearing of derivatives

* Liffe spokesman does not elaborate further

NEW YORK, July 2 (Reuters) - The derivatives arm of exchange operator NYSE Euronext (NYX.PA)(NYX.N) confirmed on Thursday it put its credit default swap clearinghouse on "review" after it failed to clear any trades in Europe.

London-based Liffe made the move despite a major push by the European Union to have off-exchange derivatives products, such as CDS, cleared by a central counterparty.

Liffe's clearing service for iTraxx index-based CDS, which were to run through its Bclear facility, has not processed any trades since it launched in December. "We are reviewing our CDS service," NYSE Liffe spokesman James Dunseath said in an email, without elaborating.

The news was reported on Wednesday by Bloomberg.

European and U.S. regulators want over-the-counter derivatives cleared centrally in order to avoid a repeat of the bank runs that contributed to the failures of Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, helping spark the global financial crisis.

CDS, contracts that insure against a borrower defaulting on its debt, have attracted much of the blame. While the Obama administration wants all "standardized" OTC derivatives centrally cleared, a draft EU document unveiled this week proposes clearing the bulk of off-exchange derivatives.

Although NYSE Euronext, which runs the New York Stock Exchange, listed Bclear as a top growth objective in recent presentations, CEO Duncan Niederauer hinted repeatedly last month that CDS clearing may not pan out.

NYSE Euronext, the world's biggest exchange operator measured by the size of its listings, was to use London-based clearinghouse LCH.Clearnet to guarantee the CDS trades.

Derivatives exchange groups IntercontinentalExchange Inc (ICE.N), which began clearing U.S.-based CDS in March, and CME Group Inc (CME.O), which has yet to begin, are seen as frontrunners in the potentially-lucrative race to clear CDS. (Reporting by Jonathan Spicer; editing by Leslie Gevirtz)