Regulation
Spotlight on: Nick Beecroft, Saxo Bank
Saxo’s newly appointed UK chairman and FX industry veteran Nick Beecroft talks to Robert Mackenzie Smith about his priorities in seeking to grow the Danish bank’s presence in the UK, as well as the challenges facing the FX market
Mifid amendments threaten HFT platform access
A set of parliamentary amendments to the Mifid review threaten to ban ‘sponsored access’ – a popular route for high-frequency traders to access platforms without going through a prime broker
Spotlight on: Rick Martin, Virgin Media
Corporate treasurers have become increasingly vocal in lobbying for exemption from certain elements of over-the-counter derivatives reform. Kathy Alys speaks to Rick Martin, director of investor relations and treasury at Virgin Media, about how his job…
Del Missier renews pressure on BoE over Libor scandal
Former chief operating officer of Barclays Bank says he was told instruction to submit lower Libor rates came from Bank of England; directly contradicts Bob Diamond’s testimony
FX clearing clock ‘ticking’ following CFTC-SEC swap ruling
Speakers at FX Week USA expect this week's agreement on swap definitions by the CFTC and SEC will drive a rush to comply with FX clearing mandates
Lack of governance to blame for Libor scandal, says IMF official
A failure of bank governance is behind the recent Libor rate-fixing scandal – and these kinds of failings could pose systemic risks, says José Viñals
New CPSS/Basel guidance on FX risk management to be published soon
A new consultation paper on risk management practices in the FX market will be released in the third quarter – and may be published as early as this month
Regulators leave door open for FX exemption from margin rules
A senior group of regulators has recognised the possible case for an exemption from margin rules for non-cleared FX swaps and forwards - but possibly not those of longer maturities
WGMR margin rules borrow heavily from US proposals
Working group publishes proposed margin rules for uncleared trades – bringing global rules in line with an earlier US proposal
The 14-month determination
Now that the Treasury is expected to confirm its proposed exemption of FX swaps and forwards, will its original all-or-nothing mandate need to change?
US Treasury poised to finalise FX exemption
A decision to proceed with the exemption of FX swaps and forwards from clearing and exchange trading is understood to have been made, pending final CFTC product definitions expected this week
Reporting challenges remain as repositories move towards launch
Market participants continue to grapple with the challenges of reporting FX trades to a repository as regulatory deadlines begin to loom. Kathy Alys and Melanie White report
Markets recoil as major central banks ease policies
Chinese, European and UK central banks take monetary policy action; moves leave no doubt about gloomy global economic picture as eurozone stock markets fail to rally
FX Invest July-August edition now live
Managing currency risk in markets dominated by central bank monetary policy
Esma exemption provides corporate relief
Corporates relieved at Esma clearing exemption, but express concern about uncertainty over uncleared derivatives
Libor manipulation lawsuits could cost banks ‘tens of billions’
Barclays' $450m settlement gives lawyers smoking gun evidence of attempts to tamper with benchmark rates
Banks hope for CCP capital concessions at Basel meeting
Banks and CCPs are pressing for changes to method of calculating default fund capital
Global FX division moves forward on options clearing
The data-collection stage of a major project to enable clearing of forex options is close to completion, according to the GFMA's Mandy Lam
Spotlight on: Mandy Lam, global FX division
The managing director for North America of the Global Financial Markets Association’s global FX division talks to Melanie White about the key regulatory challenges facing the FX market and FX options clearing and settlement project, which she is heading…
Volcker rule could hurt liquidity in FX spot market, participants warn
Foreign exchange swaps and forwards should be exempted from the Dodd-Frank ban on prop trading, or else liquidity in the spot market could suffer
Mifid amendments lift barrier to brokers owning OTFs
Tweaks to Mifid text would allow owners of OTFs to engage in matched principal trading
FX advisory tops the agenda for SocGen's new management team
Société Générale Corporate and Investment Banking has completely reshuffled the management of its FX business this year as part of a broader restructuring of its fixed-income and currencies division. Gian-Luca Fetta, newly appointed head of FX, talks to…
Spotlight on: James Watson, FXall
FXall’s newly appointed head of Europe, the Middle East and Africa talks to FX Week about his recent move from an equity sales role at Morgan Stanley into the FX market, and his aspirations for the platform’s European business
Spotlight on: Ron Levi, GFI Group
The interdealer broker’s chief operating officer talks to Joel Clark about the growth of GFI Group during its 25-year history, its strengths in foreign exchange, and why he expects to be among the first wave of brokers to register as a Sef under the US…