News
Citigroup launches flow-weighted currency indexes
LONDON & NEW YORK – Citigroup has launched 10 indexes that measure currencies' value using customer flow data.
Korea to relax currency restrictions
SEOUL – South Korea is to relax regulations on forex trading next year, but authorities have vowed to keep a close eye on how the market develops, according to officials.
Refco exodus begins
LONDON - US brokerage firm Refco has seen the first known departures in the wake of the scandal that rocked financial markets last month.
Tullett Prebon enters China
SHANGHAI - Interdealer broker Tullett Prebon is boosting its presence in the Chinese market by establishing a joint venture broking business with Shanghai International Trust and Investment Corporation.
Lloyds makes senior hire
LONDON - Lloyds TSB has boosted its London financial markets division (FMD) with a senior appointment.
HSBC breaks into top three
LONDON - UBS has held on to the top spot to be named FX Week Bank of the year for the third year in a row. But the biggest upset sees HSBC break into the top three at Citigroup's expense.
WestLB loses its forex head
DUSSELDORF - WestLB lost its foreign exchange chief last week as a further sign of the challenges facing the bank's FX business.
StanChart launches risk index
LONDON - Standard Chartered last week introduced a risk appetite index based on IMF methodology.
CLS data shows rising usage
Settlement system CLS has started publishing in detail weekly volume and value figures on a monthly basis. For the month of October, the system settled an average of 215,016 instructions a day with a value of $2.2 trillion.
BoJ/MAS sign second swap agreement
TOKYO & SINGAPORE - An agreement between Singapore and Japan to trade swaps signed earlier this month is the latest sign of closer co-operation between Asian economies.
FX auction launched by EBS
LONDON - Olympic legend Sebastian Coe launched an FX trader's auction to raise funds for sports projects globally, while opening the London Stock Exchange last Thursday (November 17).
Student beats FX traders at game
ZURICH - A 23-year-old Swiss student has become the new winner of the fantasy online trading game, FX Player. Martina Baer won a £10,000 trading account from sponsors Finspreads after beating competition from 2,500 players in more than 60 countries,…
SEB offers hedge fund platform
STOCKHOLM - Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken Merchant Banking (SEB) has launched FX Map, a managed account platform allowing investors to access a range of pre-screened FX hedge funds through a single point of entry.
HKMA's Yip moves on
HONG KONG - The Hong Kong Monetary Authority saw a changing of the guard on its reserves management team as Amy Yip, executive director, handed over the reigns to Francis Chu.
HSBC breaks into top three
LONDON - UBS has held on to the top spot to be named FX Week Bank of the year for the third year in a row. But the biggest upset sees HSBC break into the top three at Citigroup's expense.
Commerzbank builds sales desk
FRANKFURT – Commerzbank is looking to boost its distribution in Europe with the hire of a new head of sales in Frankfurt.
ING boosts FX research with senior strategy hire
LONDON – ING Bank's financial markets division has enhanced its FX research offering with a senior hire.
Brokers pulled into NAB scandal
MELBOURNE – National Australia Bank NAB) is demanding more than A$539 million ($394 million) in compensation from interdealer broker Icap and another unnamed broker for losses the bank incurred following last year's rogue-trading scandal.
National Australia Bank FX back in the black after trading scandal
MELBOURNE – National Australia Bank's FX business is showing signs of recovery nearly two years after the A$360 million forex options trading scandal was unearthed.
Future for Refco's FX clients still unclear
NEW YORK & LONDON – Hedge fund firm Man Group won an auction for the futures business of the stricken Refco last Thursday (November 10), but the fate of institutional FX clients hangs in the balance.
Icap goes with Kalahari
SYDNEY – Interdealer broker Icap has gone live with UK-based vendor Kalahari's Australian dollar interest-rate derivatives pricing tool.