News
Iceland trade heated up by rate rise
REYKJAVIK – Trading on the Icelandic krona (ISK) soared last week following a higher than anticipated rate hike by the Central Bank of Iceland (CBI), effective from June 7.
EM options taking the lead
LONDON – Emerging market currencies is the biggest market for options traders, according to a survey by sister publication Risk magazine, with these units representing more than a third of the total traded.
CLS touts for more fund business
SAN FRANCISCO – CLS Bank is to focus on driving up business from the investor community this year, as it seeks to expand globally.
Euro fall to continue, say analysts
LONDON, COPENHAGEN AND NEW YORK – The euro is set to stay weak against the dollar, according to FX strategists.
DrKW adds in local and EM markets
NEW YORK – Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW) has boosted its FX team with two hires from Lehman Brothers in the FX local and emerging markets desks.
BarCap continues global build-up
NEW YORK AND LONDON – Barclays Capital (BarCap) has made two hires in New York and London as it continues to build its global presence.
Currency warrants taking off in Asia
Hong Kong – Banks are looking to meet the increasing demand for forex-related products by launching currency warrants in major Asian markets.
Logicscope/Velocity service due
LONDON – Logicscope Realisations, the London-based financial software development company, and Adelaide-based financial services firm Velocity Systems International, have formed an alliance, initially focusing on FX.
Twin launch from Cognotec
DUBLIN – Cognotec, the Dublin-based technology vendor, has launched two services for client banks – RealStream and FX Orders Connect.
Five charged over $3m currency fraud
WASHINGTON, DC – The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed another action against individuals taking part in fraudulent foreign exchange trading.
BTM becomes EBS Prime bank
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi has become the first Asian institution to become an EBS Prime Bank. BTM will now be able to offer liquidity for spot FX dealing through the direct access platform on the EBS spot dealing system.
InfoReach adds HotspotFXi to TMS
NEW YORK – InfoReach, the financial securities trading technology firm, has teamed up with Hotspot FXi, the online foreign exchange platform, to allow its clients access to its prices.
Advice is key for banks
STOCKHOLM – Falling margins means execution of FX transactions is not profitable any more, so banks must offer a wide range of services to ensure they keep making money.
Romania takes Delta Dealing System
Bucharest – Dublin-based software vendor Delta Community has successfully entered the Romanian market.
Board-level changes at Lehman Brothers
NEW YORK – Lehman Brothers, the US investment bank, has seen changes at board level following the promotion of Michael Gelband.
‘No’ votes lead to record flows
LONDON – The ‘no’ votes on the EU constitutionreferendums last week led to unexpectedvolatility in the currency markets, and the highestvolumes ever seen on some platforms.
UFJ BTM merger: cuts likely
TOKYO – The merger of the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi (BTM) and UFJ is likely to lead to large cuts to the UFJ forex team, according to market sources.
Deutsche loses staff across desks
LONDON – Deutsche Bank in London has haemorrhaged five foreign exchange staff from structuring, sales and trading in recent weeks. Jeremy Smart, director of FX structuring, who reported to Rhomiaos Ram, global head of complex risk, has been linked with a…
RBS builds e-commerce presence
NEW YORK & HONG KONG – Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is looking to expand its e-commerce presence around the globe with hires of sales staff in different continents.
EBS opens in Korea
SEOUL – EBS , provider of electronic trading and market data solutions, has opened in Korea as an offshore broker for non-South Korean won pairs.