News
Oil price hits Asian currencies
HONG KONG – Surging oil prices have put pressure on Asian currencies, but the impact has been magnified by other factors influencing the region, according to analysts.
SimCorp focuses on FX in IT/2 upgrade
COPENHAGEN – Treasury management vendor SimCorp released the latest version of its treasury management software IT/2 last week, which has enhanced FX position management and has "a heavy focus on FX", an official told FX Week .
Calyon consolidates in Asia
TOKYO – Calyon has consolidated its Asian FX options business in Hong Kong following the merger between Credit Agricole Indosuez (CAI) and Credit Lyonnais that formed the new bank in May.
BIS paper warns of outsourcing risks
BASEL – Outsourcing in the financial services industry is leading to increased compliance and regulatory risk, according to a consultation paper published by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) last week.
LB nabs Goldman sales chief
LONDON – Mike Burton, head of FX institutional sales at Goldman Sachs in London, has left the bank after a 10-year career there.
Terror alerts spur DR plans
NEW YORK – Terrorist warnings last week from the Bush administration have jolted securities firms into action and underscored the necessity for creating and testing disaster recovery (DR) and business continuity (BC) plans.
Recruitment lures bank dealers
LONDON – Growing numbers of FX dealers are leaving banks to join recruitment firms, as demand for specialist FX consultants grows.
Russian peg change to drive rouble trading
MOSCOW – A touted move from a dollar peg to a dollar-euro basket will be the key driver for trading in the rouble in coming months.
Toyota reports ¥70bn FX impact
TOKYO – Japanese car manufacturer Toyota Motor Corporation last week announced a ¥70 billion ($645 million) hit from exchange rate changes affecting its first quarter operating income.
Sideways trading hits funds in June
STAMFORD, CT – Sideways trading stopped most funds on the Parker FX Index profiting from currency trading in June, the Index revealed last week.
SuperD releases SD-FX upgrade
LONDON – Options pricing systems vendor SuperDerivatives launched an upgrade of its SD-FX system last week.
HSBC’s profits up by a third
LONDON – HSBC’s FX profits so far this year are up by more than a third compared with last year, with a massive $902 million earned from FX dealing in the first half.
HK$ intervention set to continue
HONG KONG – The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) looks set to continue its intervention to support the Hong Kong dollar over coming weeks, analysts say.
Bloomberg and Cognotec partner on streaming rates
LONDON – Bloomberg is bringing streaming FX rates to users of its Bloomberg Professional terminals, courtesy of a joint venture with FX vendor Cognotec, the two firms will announce today (August 2).
IG Markets to add FX futures
LONDON – Spread-betting firm IG Markets will add streaming FX spot prices and futures execution to its online trading platform in Q4 to attract more institutional business, a senior official told FX Week .
Overcharging costs eclipse AIB’s H1 dealing profits
DUBLIN – Allied Irish Banks (AIB) last week announced first half dealing profits of e41 million ($50 million) – less than the amount the bank has set aside to cover costs linked to overcharging for FX deals.
ABN Amro launches IR Mini-Swaps for the risk averse
LONDON – ABN Amro has launched an interest rate hedging tool for clients who do not want to use derivatives to gain exposure to this market.
Bank of Communications gets derivatives go-ahead
HONG KONG – The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) has authorised Bank of Communications (BoC) to launch a financial derivatives business, including FX forwards, interest rate and currency swaps and options, and bond futures.
ABN Amro adds 10 traders
AMSTERDAM – ABN Amro has added 10 FX traders in Amsterdam, London and Chicago, in response to "escalating cash and derivatives FX trading volumes", according to the bank.
Swapstream raises quote sizes
LONDON – The four banks making markets on Swapstream – ABN Amro, Commerzbank, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein and HVB Group – have raised quote sizes on the electronic interest rate swaps trading platform from around e100 million to e200 million apiece.