News
Near-term ringgit peg change unlikely
KUALA LUMPUR -- Despite recent reported comments from Malaysia’s second finance minister, Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop, Malaysia is unlikely to change the ringgit’s current peg to the US dollar -- at least until the country’s general election is over.
DeAM breaks out forex group
LONDON -- Deutsche Asset Management (DeAM), a leading UK fund manager, has restructured its business around seven business-specific units to offer more customised boutique offerings to clients for every asset class, a spokesperson said last week. The…
FX smashes $600m hole in Anglo accounts
LONDON -- The cost of failing to hedge FX risk was brought into sharp focus last week, when mining firm Anglo American said its 2003 earnings were down nearly $600 million as a result of currency movements.
RBC unveils new FX structure
TORONTO -- Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has confirmed a new senior management structure in foreign exchange following the departure of global FX head David Gibbins.
Reuters to launch FX swaps
LONDON -- Reuters is to expand its foreign exchange product range by launching FX swaps on its Reuters Dealing 3000 matching platform next month, a senior official said last week.
Dalman stays at Commerz as results fall
FRANKFURT -- Commerzbank has denied German newspaper reports that Mehmet Dalman, head of investment banking, would leave the bank following the announcement of its 2003 financial results last week.
IASB set to launch Euro advisory group
LONDON -- IASB, the International Standards Board, has invited senior officials to form a European consultative group to advise on issues related to the application of accounting standards.
CSFB plans expansion to back office in Singapore
SINGAPORE -- Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) is planning to expand its back-office staff in Singapore, as part of a drive to use the centre to support the bank’s operations both regionally and globally.
CLS processes first custodian trade
LONDON -- CLS Bank International, the repository bank for the continuous-linked settlement (CLS) service for FX, settled its first custodian trade on February 13.
Icap keeps Moneyline platform
LONDON -- New York-based market data vendor Moneyline Telerate has extended a deal to supply its TRS (Trading Room System) data distribution platform to Icap when the London-based inter-dealer broker moves to a new trading floor in May, shrugging off…
Benchmarking against competitive exchange rates
The dollar decline has led to competitive divergences between those currencies that tag the dollar and those that have suffered. This is likely to bring increased FX volatility, says Peter Luxton, economic adviser at Informa Global Markets in London
Politics overshadows economics for zloty
WARSAW -- The resignation of the Polish prime minister from the leadership of the ruling Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) Party will lead to continued volatility in the zloty, which is already close to record lows, analysts said last week.
NAB report to reveal ‘control breakdowns’
MELBOURNE -- Pricewaterhouse- Coopers’ (PWC) report on the forex options trading scandal that has shaken National Australia Bank (NAB) in recent weeks is expected to expose a number of risk control problems at the bank, Graham Kraehe, NAB’s new chairman,…
RBS leading UK FX race
LONDON -- Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) reported a 24% increase in foreign exchange revenues for 2003, the largest year-on-year rise among UK banks reporting their results last week.
Saxo targets institutional clients with CLS service
COPENHAGEN -- Saxo Bank plans to add more institutional clients after launching its third-party link-up to the continuous-linked settlement service via UBS earlier this month, Saxo’s co-chief executive officer Lars Christensen told FX Week .
BarCap to expand Asian emerging markets
SINGAPORE -- Barclays Capital has transferred Avijit Agarwal, formerly head of treasury in Mumbai, to Singapore to manage the wider Asian emerging markets treasury business.
FXCM hits back at CFTC charge
NEW YORK -- Online trading firm Forex Capital Markets (FXCM) hit back at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) last week, after the regulator charged it with liability for an allegedly fraudulent trading firm.
Italy seeks rule change on central bank boss’s tenure
ROME -- The Italian government is seeking to change the appointment terms of the governor of the Bank of Italy, in a move that could force the departure of Antonio Fazio.
GNI to launch FX module
LONDON -- UK broker GNI, a division of alternative investment provider Man Group, is set to go live with a new ‘click-and-deal’ spot FX trading module on its online platform GNI Touch, following final testing with clients this week, a senior official at…
Icap hires ex-WestLB chief to expand futures
LONDON -- Inter-dealer broker Icap has hired former WestLB markets head Humphrey Percy to launch a global futures business, a senior official told FX Week .
Market to test central banks post-G7
LONDON -- The G7 communiqué released after the Boca Raton meeting on February 7 will lead to the market testing the resolve of central banks to limit FX moves, analysts agreed last week.