News
Banks make headway on IAS 39 macro hedging
LONDON -- The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has proposed a new solution to macro hedging for European banks that will adopt the new IAS 39 accounting standards in January 2005.
FleetBoston selects HSBC for CLS
BOSTON -- HSBC last week started processing continuous linked settlement (CLS) trades for FleetBoston Financial, following the Boston-based bank’s selection of HSBC as its CLS settlement member.
US investment banks’ revenues soar on back of investor demand
NEW YORK -- Strong investor demand is driving US investment banks’ fixed-income and forex revenues sky-high, according to first-half results released last week.
Brazilian real rally set to come to an end
SAO PAULO -- The Brazilian real strengthened after the US Federal Reserve’s decision to cut interest rates on Wednesday (June 25), but was back on the defensive over Brazil’s debt and is likely to remain on the back foot.
Philip Green leaves Reuters
LONDON -- Philip Green, chief operating officer of Reuters, has left the firm, and his position has been eliminated.
HSBC upgrades turrets in HK
HONG KONG -- HSBC has gone live with a £1 million upgrade of its Syntegra turrets for about 250 foreign exchange, money markets and derivative traders at the bank’s main Hong Kong site.
Fenics FX helps GFI in Asia
SINGAPORE -- Options pricing tool Fenics FX continues to support the expansion of its parent company, interdealer broker GFI in Asia, according to a senior official at the firm.
Standard Chartered makes senior forex appointments
LONDON -- Standard Chartered Bank in London appointed a new head of global markets, UK and Europe, last week (June 16), a senior bank official told FX Week .
Rabo loses global FX head
LONDON -- Dutch Bank Rabobank is currently without a global head of foreign exchange following the departure of Gary Kaye from the London office last Monday (June 16), a spokesperson for the bank in Utrecht told FX Week .
Politics mars eastern European FX process
BUDAPEST -- Political interference in Hungary’s monetary policy decisions could ultimately damage regional currencies and derail the accession process to the eurozone, analysts told FX Week .
Wells Fargo adds to online FX
SAN FRANCISCO -- US Bank Wells Fargo (WF) has introduced a new version of its online FX service for its correspondent banks.
No change likely for ringgit/dollar peg
KUALA LUMPAR -- The Malaysian ringgit’s (MYR) peg to the US dollar is likely to remain in place, analysts in Asia told FX Week , despite mounting speculation last week that it may be relaxed ahead of Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad’s retirement…
SG launches first UK currency warrants
LONDON -- SG, the investment banking arm of Société Générale, has issued the first currency warrants in the UK. This follows the release of warrants linked to oil, gold and house price moves by Goldman Sachs, SG’s biggest rival in this area.
CMC to launch in N America
NEW YORK -- Online FX trading firm CMC Group is making a bid for North American retail forex clients with a new office in New York.
BBA launches new Libor fixings
LONDON -- The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) added two new currencies to its Libor (London Interbank Overnight Rate) fixings last week.
ECB beckons Trichet as Credit Lyonnais trial ends
PARIS -- Jean-Claude Trichet -- front-runner for the top post in European central banking -- was acquitted of false accounting last week.
Fairex opens Japan data centre
SINGAPORE -- Singapore-based e-trading technology company Fairex International Financial Systems has opened a data centre in Japan, and plans further expansion into the Japanese market, a senior official told FX Week .
Banks take tighter control of liquidity management post CLS
LONDON -- The Continuous Linked Settlement Service (CLS) is affecting liquidity management processes, with many settlement members taking tighter control of their payment procedures, senior bank officials told FX Week .
Investors boost forex fund returns
NEW YORK -- Market trends and a surge in interest from investors is creating a bumper year for investment managers specialising in FX.
Top three make biggest gains
LONDON -- FX traders are used to hearing about the growing dominance of the top five or 10 banks in foreign exchange. But according to FX Week ’s exclusive yearly round-up of banks’ forex revenues, the process of consolidation is accelerating much more…
JP Morgan Chase expands global hedge fund sales
NEW YORK -- JP Morgan Chase has added three new FX sales staff in New York and Tokyo as part of an ongoing expansion in institutional forex.
Top three make biggest gains
LONDON -- FX traders are used to hearing about the growing dominance of the top five or 10 banks in foreign exchange. But according to FX Week ’s exclusive yearly round-up of banks’ forex revenues, the process of consolidation is accelerating much more…