Foreign exchange
Prime brokerage threatening banks
LONDON – Banks are charging far too little for prime brokerage to be profitable, according to market players.
Dollar hits European banks
ZURICH – The dollar’s correction at the beginning of the year hit European banks, which posted a mixed bag of results in forex last week.
Currency strategies down
LONDON – Currency strategies faced a tough month in April, continuing the trend seen in recent months.
Size matters, finds Greenwich survey
GREENWICH, CT – The ability to execute large currency trades is one of the key components in winning new FX business from corporates and institutional clients, according to latest research from Greenwich Associates.
Profiting from a renminbi revaluation
Adam Cole, senior currency strategist at Royal Bank of Canada in London, looks for options strategies to play a China revaluation within a G-10 FX portfolio
COESfx adds real-time FX data
PLAINVIEW, NEW YORK – Electronic currency network (ECN) COESfx has launched a new service, providing real-time streaming forex data directly to currency traders’ desktops.
Misys launches aggregation service
LONDON – Misys Banking Systems (Misys) has launched the Misys Treasury Exposure Aggregation Service (MTEAS), adding more features to its foreign exchange offering.
Selling £/$ at favourable rates to the forward
UBS Currency Management Advisory Service suggests using a ratio callable forward to sell GBP/USD at more favourable rates than the prevailing market forward rates
French referendum ups volatility
PARIS – The French referendum on the European Union (EU) constitution, set for May 29, has already affected euro trading, and continuing uncertainty will lead to further volatility.
Capping downsides, tapping upsides
Jeffery Todd Lins (right), director of quantative analysis, and Peter Ager Hafez, senior research associate, at Saxo Bank, suggest a mechanism to cap the downside risk while allowing for upside potential in the absence of options on a currency fund
India becomes latest CLS addition
MUMBAI – Indian FX settlement service the Clearing Corporation of India (CCIL) has gone live on CLS.
GFI expands Fenics with bank volatilities
NEW YORK – Interdealer broker GFI is expanding the coverage of its Fenics pricing and risk tool to include volatility surfaces – the methods by which options are priced – from bank clients.
IFX launches forex fund
LONDON – IFX Capital Management, a division of IFX Markets, will launch the Zenith Currency Fund this week.
A cheaper way to take a bearish stance
Ian Stannard, senior currency strategist at BNP Paribas in London, suggests using an anticipated short-term recovery to significantly reduce the cost of entering a longer-term bearish strategy on USD/JPY
Mixed reaction to EBS Prime initiative
LONDON – Interbank trading platform EBS' foray into the investor community is being taken up with varying degrees of enthusiasm by member banks.
New investors spur 2004 forex growth
GREENWICH, CONNECTICUT – An increase in FX trade by almost a quarter last year was largely driven by a new class of professional FX investors.
CLS set to expand remit
LONDON – CLS could substantially increase its remit with the introduction of a matching and netting facility for non-eligible currencies and settlement of options, non-deliverable forwards, futures and credit derivatives.
Ruble and NOK benefit from high oil price
OSLO – The strong oil price has led to strength in currencies such as the Norwegian krone and the Russian ruble, as exporting nations benefit from strong revenue flows.
Options traders top pay bracket
LONDON – UK forex options dealers raked in the largest pay packets this year, with total packages averaging more than £500,000, according to a survey by City-based executive search firm, Napier Scott.
Departures hit Deutsche Bank
LONDON & FRANKFURT – Deutsche Bank has been hit by a series of departures across FX departments in recent weeks.
Korean banks report mixed FX results
SEOUL – Korean banks reported strong revenues from their FX business in 2004, with one bank seeing a rise of more than 40%.