Dodd-Frank Act
Icap revenues down 5% in four months
‘Challenging market conditions’ outweigh robust EM FX trading volumes
Gain GTX gathers momentum as it awaits Sef licence
Gain Capital's institutional platform reached average daily volume of $20.4 billion in November, a year on from the appointment of Joseph Wald to run the platform
Extent of Sef-driven fragmentation revealed in Isda survey
Almost 80% of respondents indicate that Footnote 88, which required all platforms to register as Sefs by October 2, has resulted in fragmentation of liquidity in FX options and NDFs
Perspectives on 2014: James Kemp, global FX division
As the regulatory pendulum shifts from the US to Europe next year, there will be new challenges ahead, particularly as new trade reporting requirements come into force in February, says James Kemp, managing director of the GFMA’s global FX division
Rising cost of credit drives corporates back to voice trading
Corporate treasurers have been facing up to the increased costs of hedging as their bank counterparties deal with regulation, but some say rising credit charges are driving them to revert from electronic platforms to voice trading. Joel Clark and Miriam…
Bloomberg continues to deliver in FX market data
Best market data provider for FX goes to Bloomberg, as the vendor continues to invest in its foreign exchange trading and information services
Sefs face major delays in operating outside the US
Despite an overseas person exemption that allows recognition of CFTC-approved swap execution facilities in the UK, Sefs could face significant delays before they can legally operate in other non-US jurisdictions
BBH's new sales head taps into the European buy side
Having recently relocated from Hong Kong back to London, Brown Brothers Harriman's Chris Gothard is now responsible for FX sales and relationship management in Europe. He talks to Robert Mackenzie Smith
Expiry of Sef confirmation relief causes unrest among dealers
Swap execution facilities have only until October 30 before they have to issue legal confirmations for trades, but dealers remain uneasy about their ability to do so
Footnote 88 prompts BlackRock to abandon NDF platforms
Asset manager returns to phone trading for non-deliverable forwards after controversial footnote in Sef rules makes trading on Sefs an unattractive option for users
Future of agency FX depends on size, says Chapdelaine chief
Douglas Borthwick, FX manager at Tullett Prebon's Chapdelaine agency desk, believes recent regulatory challenges show that size will be the key factor for agency intermediaries
CFTC shutdown leaves Sefs lacking clarity
Sefs and their clients question scope of no-action letters, but US government shutdown means no-one is able to provide guidance
Confusion reigns at dawn of Sef era, say participants
There is still uncertainty over the exact scope of no-action relief issued by the CFTC, and traders warn the same challenges will remain when the relief expires on October 30
CFTC relief welcomed but concerns remain as Sef rules begin
A string of no-action relief letters issued ahead of today's deadline have been welcomed, but some participants believe they still don't go far enough
Meet the Sefs
The weeks leading up to the October 2 deadline for registration as a swap execution facility (Sef) under the US Dodd-Frank Act have seen a wave of new platforms receive approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Robert Mackenzie Smith…
Deconstructing the Sef ‘car crash'
With days to go until approved swap execution facilities are set to open for business, the CFTC would do well to heed some of the warnings it is hearing from the industry
Volcker rule curtailing FX liquidity, say buy-side participants.
Investors say foreign exchange market-makers are already trimming risk appetite ahead of the Volcker rule ban on proprietary trading in the US. But, while liquidity in emerging market and frontier currencies has suffered, other market participants…
FXCM buys majority stake in Faros Trading
FXCM continues its aggressive expansion as it acquires a 50.1% stake in FX agency firm Faros Trading, four years after it was established by Ray Kamrath
FX options clearing a 'big challenge', warns NY Fed official
Speaking at the FX Invest West Coast conference, the New York Fed's Jeanmarie Davis addressed the challenges associated with clearing and settlement of FX options
Trade reporting is driving FX options out of the US, say dealers
FX options traders looking to avoid Dodd-Frank legislation have been deliberately changing their trading habits to avoid reporting regulation
FX Week Forum: Dodd-Frank and electronic platforms
In the second in a series of video features addressing key themes in the global FX industry, Joel Clark talks to Kathy Alys and Rob Mackenzie Smith about recent stories covering the Dodd-Frank Act's external business conduct standards and pricing on…
Client on-boarding a challenge for Sefs
Icap is the latest firm to apply for Sef status, but the challenge for new platforms will be to on-board clients by the October 2 compliance deadline
FX Week Forum: The challenges of clearing options
In the first in a series of video features addressing key themes in the global FX industry, editorial director Nick Sawyer talks to FX Week editor Joel Clark about the complex issues that have delayed central clearing of FX options
Agency desks hopeful new protocol will solve Dodd-Frank issues
A preliminary protocol to enable four-way FX prime brokerage involving agency desks has been agreed ‘in principle’ and could allow agencies to scale up their activities, having been largely reduced to spot since May