Post-trade
CFTC wary of Fed's merger proposal
WASHINGTON, DC - The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has urged US Treasury to proceed with caution over its recommendation to merge the US futures regulator and its securities market counterpart, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Citi targets EM settlement
NEW YORK & BOGOTA - Citi's domestic settlement service is set to gain a foothold in emerging markets where CLS is currently not active.
Trading records fall during turbulent month
NEW YORK & LONDON - Records tumbled on foreign exchange trading platforms last month, with EBS and Currenex reporting record trading volumes for the month and FXall a record quarter.
India reacts to rise in FX derivatives losses
MUMBAI - Indian accounting regulators have brought forward the deadline for complaince with disclosure requirements related to foreign exchange derivatives, amid rising losses linked to complex hedges by small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Yen rise triggers PRDC hedging
TOKYO - The sharp appreciation of the yen in March has left dealers jostling to hedge exposures to power-reverse dual currency notes (PRDCs) and other similar structured products.
Wing Hang selects Misys Summit FT
HONG KONG - Wing Hang Bank has signed a deal with a global application software vendor Misys to instal treasury and capital markets software in its Hong Kong head office and subsidiary bank's operation in China.
SocGen reshuffles FICC
LONDON & PARIS - Société Générale restructured its fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) division last week (April 3).
Turnaround for Parker FX Index
STAMFORD, CT - The continued decline in the US dollar has halted three consecutive months of negative returns for the Parker FX Index, producing a return of 1.34% for February.
Oiling the FX wheels
The Royal Bank of Canada is offering capital protection with a new FX-linked product that is based on currencies from six countries, including two of the world's biggest oil producers
Forex is surviving the credit crunch
The Fed-backed sale of Bear Stearns to JP Morgan has sharpened focus on counterparty risk, with Lehman Brothers as the main target. Although the bank allayed concerns with better-than-expected results, the general crisis of confidence still remains.
Nedbank signs up WSS
JOHANNESBURG - Nedbank Capital has begun deploying a real-time trade processing system, Wallstreet FX, to support developments in its forex and money markets operations.
Citi reassesses forex options
LONDON - Citi has made three hires in foreign exchange options, under its new head of G-10 options trading, Nigel Khakoo, in London.
S&P launches real-time currency indexes
LONDON - Rating agency Standard & Poor's launched the industry's first real-time currency indexes, the S&P Chinese Renminbi index and Indian Rupee index, last week.
Baht convergence limited
BANGKOK - The convergence of onshore and offshore baht trading may be short-lived, as new capital controls come into force on Saturday (March 15), say some analysts.
January loss for Parker FX
STAMFORD, CT - The Parker FX index produced a 0.33% loss in January, as extreme volatility hit funds using trend-following strategies.
Merrill Lynch reshuffles EMEA FICC
LONDON & NEW YORK - Merrill Lynch named David Gu sole head of Europe, Middle East and Africa fixed-income currencies and commodities (EMEA FICC) in London last week, after the resignation of co-head Dimitrios Psyllidis.
Eurobase Siena launches liquidity aggregation tool
LONDON - Eurobase Banking Solutions will offer a liquidity aggregation module later this month, in response to customer demand.
Bank of Thailand lifts capital controls
BANGKOK - The Bank of Thailand is today (March 3) lifting controversial capital controls aimed at curbing inflows of hot money and a surging baht, 15 months after introducing the rules.
ABN targets retail investors
DUBAI - ABN Amro has launched the Bric Infrastructure, Water and FX capital-protected note, targeted at retail investors globally.
Logicscope and NCI release notification tool
LONDON - Post-trade technology vendors Logicscope and NCI have entered an agreement to integrate elements of both companies' software to release a trade notification solution to end-user clients of banks, brokers and trading platforms.
Doubts over CLS 'warehouse' system
LONDON & ZURICH - The competitive nature of back-office capacity could curtail adoption of a proposed solution by settlement system CLS to manage strains placed on these systems by surging ticket volumes, say industry experts.
Fenics Enterprise extends GFI's options data reach
LONDON - GFI Group plans to further embed itself in the trading process with a bespoke version of its Fenics FX options pricing, risk management and trading tool, Fenics Enterprise.