News
No ringgit peg change
KUALA LUMPUR -- New FX regulations introduced in Malaysia on April 1 may herald further economic liberalisation, but that does not mean the ringgit’s peg to the US dollar will be relaxed soon, analysts in Asia told FX Week .
ScotPower’s £400m dollar hedging boon
Glasgow -- International energy firm ScottishPower has made £400 million ($728 million) from hedging its US dollar revenues, it said last week.
BarCap loses three in institutional sales
LONDON -- Barclays Capital lost three institutional FX sales dealers in London last week, a source close to the bank confirmed.
Rand to join CLS in Q4
NEW YORK -- South African rand trades will be eligible for settlement on the continuous-linked settlement service (CLS) for foreign exchange by the end of the year.
ACI issues reminder on funds
PARIS -- Industry body ACI last week issued a reminder of its recommendations on overpaid funds.
UK salaries outpace Wall St
LONDON -- UK forex dealers fared better than their US counterparts this year, seeing a rise of about 20% in their bonus payouts on the back of volatility and continued dollar weakness, according to research made public by City recruitment firm Napier…
CS steps into fifth place for forex revenues
ZURICH -- Credit Suisse Group published its FX trading results last week, taking the bank to fifth position in FX Week ’s yearly revenues ranking, based on banks’ announced results so far this year.
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…
Citi NY goes live on CLS
NEW YORK -- Citigroup’s New York branch has finally gone live on the continuous-linked settlement (CLS) service for foreign exchange.
Currenex opts for Fix
NEW YORK -- Currenex will go live with a Fix gateway for access to its executable streaming prices service by mid-April, after the completion of beta testing with a partner bank and three user clients.
BoA elects post-merger board
CHARLOTTE -- Bank of America last week announced the members of the new board to be created by its April 1 merger with FleetBoston.
Deutsche NY adds in sales
NEW YORK -- Deutsche Bank has made four appointments to its FX sales team in New York over the last two months. Chris Beane joins today (March 29) to manage FX sales to real-money clients. He leaves State Street where he held a similar role.
Banks unclear on new research rules
LONDON -- The UK’s FX Joint Standing Committee is to host a meeting with UK regulator the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to clarify the forex implications of FSA rules on research that were released last week.
Goldman "fires on all cylinders"
NEW YORK -- Goldman Sachs last week added to the crop of booming currency revenues so far announced by US investment banks for the first quarter.
Chinese liberalisation driving increased demand for sales staff
HONG KONG -- Foreign exchange sales staff with expertise in China are set to be in particular demand in 2004, according to recruitment specialists in the Asia-Pacific.
Travelex to buy Fortis FX unit
TORONTO -- FX services group Travelex has reached an agreement to buy Fortis’ Dutch corporate and retail FX subsidiary GWK Bank for e17.5 million, the firm announced last week.
South Africa to register FX brokers
PRETORIA -- Foreign exchange brokers in South Africa will have to register with the Financial Services Board (FSB) by July 31 to continue their business under new rules announced by finance minister Trevor Manuel last week.
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…
NZ ups reserves as "insurance"
WELLINGTON -- The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) is proposing to enhance its capacity to intervene in FX markets. The central bank wants to increase the amount of foreign currency reserves it holds as "insurance" against a non-convertible Kiwi dollar…
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.