Regulation
UBS launches Greenhouse Index
LONDON - UBS is set to launch UBS Greenhouse Index (UBS-GHI), a tradable investment benchmark tracking a combination of weather futures and greenhouse gas emissions credits, on January 23.
NFA shuts down four FX dealers
CHICAGO - Four foreign exchange brokers were forced to close operations last month after failing to meet the National Futures Association's (NFA) $5 million minimum net capital requirements.
FXall posts record volumes for 2007
LONDON - Multibank portal FXall reported record annual trading volumes of over $13.4 trillion - single count - in 2007, a 37% rise over 2006 figures.
SWFs look beyond the US dollar
NEW YORK & HONG KONG - The greenback is likely to be the main loser as sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) diversify into yen and other non-euro currencies, say analysts.
Lehman gains from CBA split
SYDNEY - The Commonwealth Bank of Australia's (CBA) decision to split its global markets and treasury business is playing into the hands of local competitors Lehman Brothers and the National Australia Bank.
FxTrade fined $9.9 million for fraud
WASHINGTON, DC - The US District Court for Tennessee found Gordon Jack Vandeveld, a broker at Tennessee firm FxTrade Financial, guilty of futures fraud on December 12.
BoA scales back LaSalle FX
CHICAGO - Bank of America (BoA) has culled the corporate foreign exchange and rates desk of LaSalle Bank in Chicago, resulting in more than 22 redundancies.
Fincad launches in the UK
DUBLIN - Financial analytics software and service provider Fincad has expanded its international operations by establishing an EMEA headquarters in Dublin.
India to trade rupee futures
MUMBAI - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is preparing to introduce rupee futures to create more hedging tools in light of rising capital inflows.
Mifid spurs e-trading growth
LONDON - Best execution requirements under Mifid could boost growth in electronic foreign exchange volume, according to a keynote address at last week's FX Week Europe event.
FX algos no longer just for big players
LONDON - Gaining an edge in foreign exchange execution through trading algorithms is no longer the domain of just the largest forex dealers, according to a panel at the FX Week Europe congress last week.
More forex departures at Bank of America
YORK - Further changes at Bank of America's foreign exchange business have emerged as the US dealer realigns FX with its rates business.
Electronic FX volumes expected to reach 80% by 2010
NEW YORK - Electronic foreign exchange trading will account for 80% of the overall FX market by 2010, according to research released last week.
Japan's 120 forex brokers under investigation
TOKYO - Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) is investigating the country's 120 licensed retail forex brokers, after local online broker FX Sapporo filed for bankruptcy last month.
BoA swings the axe
NEW YORK – Bank of America has taken a hatchet to its three-month-old global rates, currencies and commodities (GRCC) business, with senior level departures and desk closures last week.
BoA swings the axe
NEW YORK – Bank of America has taken a hatchet to its three-month-old global rates, currencies and commodities (GRCC) business, with senior level departures and desk closures last week.
BoA cuts 3,000 jobs
CHARLOTTE, NC – Bank of America’s capital markets and advisory services franchise, which includes the bank’s foreign exchange activities, is facing job cuts just two weeks after the bank revealed a drop in corporate and investment banking earnings.
Banks slow to prepare for Mifid
PARIS – Investment banks have spent 20–25% less than initial estimates on preparations for the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (Mifid), according to research from Paris-based IT service provider Atos Origin.
Icap breaks into post-trade forex
LONDON & NEW YORK - Icap's agreed acquisition of post-trade technology vendor Traiana signals a push by the industry to tackle post-trade processing strains brought on by surging ticket volumes.
Swift grows front office
Halfway through its five-year strategy, industry co-operative Swift has made improving front-office services a priority
US futures regulator regains $1.8 billion
WASHINGTON, DC - US futures regulatory body, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), has retrieved $1.8 billion from convictions in the five years ending September 30.
Forex settlement risk: banks look beyond CLS
Rick Schumacher, director of products at Wall Street Systems in New York, evaluates the foreign exchange market's alternatives to CLS
Eley gathers MMI clients
NEW YORK - John Eley, former president and chief executive at electronic communications network Hotspot FX, has signed seven banks for his new data analytics company, Managed Models Inc (MMI) in New York.