Infrastructure
Banks draw EU25 battle plans
LONDON – Euro convergence may yet be years away for the 10 new member states joining the European Union (EU) this weekend, but far-sighted banks and brokers are already drawing up their FX battle plans for the new Europe.
Central counterparty clearing on the way
LONDON – LCH.Clearnet is planning to launch the first central counterparty clearing service for foreign exchange, in a move that could challenge the role of continuous-linked settlement (CLS).
Russia shifts focus from dollar to euro
MOSCOW -- The move by Russia’s Central Bank (CBR) to manage the rouble against both the euro and dollar is a step towards the free floating of the currency, but will lead to increased volatility against the US dollar, analysts said last week.
Greenwich reports e-FX divide
NEW YORK -- A sharp divide exists between active e-FX clients and those that do not trade FX online, according to new research out this week.
Polish brokers struggle with new regulations
WARSAW -- Foreign exchange brokers in Poland are set to be in breach of forex law as a result of changes required before Poland accedes to the European Union next month. From May 1, all firms offering any foreign exchange trading services, across spot,…
ACI issues reminder on funds
PARIS -- Industry body ACI last week issued a reminder of its recommendations on overpaid funds.
SunGard buys out Derivatech
STOCKHOLM -- Front Capital Systems, the Swedish subsidiary of SunGard, has bought FX options software vendor Derivatech, the firm will announce today (April 5). The purchase, for an undisclosed sum, was completed in the last two weeks to build the Front…
HSBC reaps rewards in US
NEW YORK -- HSBC has seen a threefold increase in FX client volume in North America over the past year, following its recruitment drive in the region. And gains made in the first quarter of 2004 suggest it is continuing to build that volume "at a very…
Watchdog savages NAB
MELBOURNE -- National Australia Bank’s currency options desk will remain closed until it has satisfied requirements issued by its regulator in a damning report released last week.
Calyon names regional managers
PARIS -- Calyon, the group to be formed from the merger of Crédit Agricole Indosuez (CAI) and Crédit Lyonnais (CL) on April 30, has agreed the structure of its global spot FX business and appointed regional heads, a senior official said last week.
NAB OPTIONS SCANDAL - NAB crisis deepens with latest departure
MELBOURNE -- The staffing crisis at National Australia Bank (NAB) deepened last week as Peter Cunningham, joint global head of FX left the bank, in a move a NAB spokesperson described as a "mutual agreement".
Cancellable forward beats dollar pendulum
Cancellable forward contracts offer corporates a cheap way of protecting against volatile dollar receivables says Anders Kjaer Jensen, FX strategist at Nordea in Copenhagen
800 expected at ACI London event in May
LONDON -- Forex industry body ACI is expecting up to 800 FX officials to descend on London in May for its seventh European Congress, hosted by ACI UK.
SSiSearch adds 10 more for system testing
LONDON -- SSiSearch, a vendor of authenticated FX settlements reference data, said last week that 10 new clients are set to start testing the system, bringing the total number of banks now in trial with its global directory to 275.
Gartmore leads new hedge fund launches
LONDON -- Gartmore Investment Management has added to the recent explosion in currency funds with the launch of a new hedge fund. The fund, available to institutional investors around the world, builds on the firm’s 16-year track record in currency…
UK pension funds hesitant on easy returns
LONDON -- UK pension funds are increasingly considering currency as an independent asset class, but the process of educating and gaining approval from trustees is slowing adoption, officials said last week.
CLS processes first custodian trade
LONDON -- CLS Bank International, the repository bank for the continuous-linked settlement (CLS) service for FX, settled its first custodian trade on February 13.
Benchmarking against competitive exchange rates
The dollar decline has led to competitive divergences between those currencies that tag the dollar and those that have suffered. This is likely to bring increased FX volatility, says Peter Luxton, economic adviser at Informa Global Markets in London
NAB report to reveal ‘control breakdowns’
MELBOURNE -- Pricewaterhouse- Coopers’ (PWC) report on the forex options trading scandal that has shaken National Australia Bank (NAB) in recent weeks is expected to expose a number of risk control problems at the bank, Graham Kraehe, NAB’s new chairman,…
Ex-MMS team sets up new analysis firm
NEW YORK -- Three managers from the former MMS International, the currency analysis firm bought by publishing group Informa, have set up a new real-time technical analysis service for spot FX.
Deutsche closing gap on Citi?
FRANKFURT -- Deutsche Bank could be about to close the forex-earnings gap with rival Citigroup, if FX figures match the 33% dollar-terms improvement in its debt group, announced last week.
Accrual strategy counters euro/dollar vol
The next phase of dollar weakness is unlikely to be as monotonous as the previous one. Dollar sellers should therefore use an accrual strategy to exploit market volatility, says Bart Wong, senior FX structurer at Barclays Capital in London
New accounting rules put focus on training
LONDON -- New accounting regulations and recent instances of suspected fraud in the forex markets should make training financial markets staff a top priority, said officials at online training firm Intuition in London.
Informa completes analysis integration
LONDON -- Informa Global Markets (IGM), the new analysis firm formed through the merger of MMS International and MCM, has completed the integration of its analysis teams.