Interdealer brokers get boost from FX

The London-based broker said forex revenues reached $46.8 million in the second quarter, up from $30.3 million in the same period last year. BGC attributed the rise to the easing of credit issues for clients of the emerging markets desks.

Shaun Lynn, president of BGC Partners, said revenues related to fully electronic trading grew by 40% compared with the same quarter a year ago, to $31.6 million, or 9.4% of total revenues. The growth from e-broking was broad-based across rates, credit and FX, and was generated by multiple desks in Europe, the Americas and Asia, said Lynne.

The week prior, Thomson Reuters reported a 5% drop in sales and trading revenues to $869 billion in Q2, versus the same period last year. Higher FX volumes led to a 6% increase in overall transaction revenues for sales and trading. However, fewer desktops from weak previous year sales resulted in a 1% drop in revenues from the treasury division, including FX.

The broker’s enterprise revenues increased 6% to $326 million in the three months ending June 30, compared to the prior year period. Enterprise information increased 9%, driven by strong performance in real-time and historic datafeeds, the broker said. Risk management increased 6% boosted by outright software sales. Platform – formerly referred to as information management systems – increased 6%, driven by higher recurring revenues. Revenues from Omgeo, the broker’s trade-processing business, were comparable to the same period the previous year.

Meanwhile, Tullett Prebon reported a 1% rise in revenues, to £125 million, in the first half of the year from the treasury business. The broker attributed much of the growth to a pick-up in activity in Asia, which fell sharply in 2009, reflecting the return of risk appetite and capital deployed by clients in the region. Volumes in forward FX, especially in non-deliverable forwards for non-convertible currencies and in FX options in regional currencies, recovered strongly, the broker said.

Similar to Thomson Reuters, the broker saw a pronounced rise in revenues from information sales and risk management, which were up 37% to £16.7 million in the first half of this year versus last year. 

A breakdown of second-quarter results was unavailable.