News
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.
Wanted: structurers who can sell
LONDON – FX structurers who can sell FX products to clients are increasing in demand, yet the dearth of available talent in this space will remain into next year, say market participants.
Deutsche Bank FX desk signs up to Iokio data navigation service
LONDON – Deutsche Bank's FX sales desk has signed up to a new data navigation service from Iokio.
CLS builds up fund presence
NEW YORK – The fund management community are warming up to CLS, with a growing number of funds settling payment instructions over the system.
Gaitame chooses Internap
TOKYO – Gaitame, an FX broker in Japan, has picked internet services firm Internap Network Services to speed up connectivity for its clients.
Renminbi NDFs launch in Hong Kong
HONG KONG – Retail renminbi non-deliverable forwards contracts went live last week after the Treasury Markets Forum (TMF) of Hong Kong got the nod from the original seven member banks.
Hedge funds lose their shine
A trader at a German bank in London said the “mental bubble” traders had when considering the merits of joining a hedge fund has burst.
IAS 39 sparks hedging concerns
LONDON – Accounting rule IAS 39 is causing distortions between economic reality and financial reporting, with rules regarding the use of derivatives likely to impede companies.
SG calls time in Montreal
MONTREAL AND TORONTO – Société Générale’s investment banking arm SG CIB has closed its Montreal FX dealing room, the bank confirmed.
FX next big thing for algorithmic trading
LONDON – FX is set to be the most actively traded asset class using algorithms, according to an audience at an event on the subject held last week.