Post-trade
State Street acquisition of Currenex sends shock waves
BOSTON – US bank State Street's decision to acquire FX trading platform Currenex for $564 million has sent shock waves through the industry.
PVB goes live with Misys cross-asset system
MANILA – Philippine Veterans Bank (PVB) has gone live with cross-asset processing system Misys Opics Plus for its FX business.
Rivals are set to gain from merger of French brokers
LONDON – The announcement of a proposed merger between Société Générale's Fimat and Calyon Financial has already prompted some staff to start looking for alternative employment, say market sources.
FXMarketSpace to spur consolidation
WESTBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – FXMarketSpace will facilitate consolidation in e-FX, according to Robert Iati, partner at research and advisory company TABB Group.
EBS pushes out netting service
LONDON – EBS has begun rolling out its new netting service to prime broking banks, after completing a pilot with ABN Amro.
BNP Paribas overhauls e-business
PARIS & NEW YORK – BNP Paribas has overhauled its electronic foreign exchange business as it looks to establish itself as a leading player in the arena.
ABN Amro cuts back London forex staff
LONDON – ABN Amro has made cuts to its London FX team, resulting in the departure of John Marley, European head of sales.
India pledges to pursue a less restrictive FX strategy
MUMBAI & HONG KONG – Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh issued a statement last week, confirming the country's commitment to gradually move towards a less restrictive forex regime.
UBS beefs up its PTS Services post-trade system
NEW YORK – UBS enhanced its post-trade services last month, introducing a number of added capabilities to its post-trade processing portal, PTS Services Portal.
A flying start to 2007
GLOBAL – The year is off to a flying start as currency markets opened with a healthy level of volatility last week, said traders.
December 2006 - EBS moves into netting following Traiana deal
LONDON – EBS is to establish a netting service to enable prime customers to net trades with their banks, as the spot broker looks to adapt to the changing landscape.
July 2006 - NAB saga heads towards closure
MELBOURNE – The final chapter of the National Australia Bank (NAB) trading scandal unearthed in 2004 drew close to its conclusion in July, with the last two forex options traders jailed.
EBS moves into netting
LONDON – EBS is to establish a netting service to enable prime customers to net trades with their banks, as the spot broker looks to adapt to the changing landscape.
HSBC trades non-deliverable swaption
HONG KONG – HSBC last week traded the first ever option on a renminbi non-deliverable interest rate swap.
CLS moves into OTC derivatives
NEW YORK – Settlement system CLS has begun working with the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) to provide central settlement of payments for over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives.
Quick, look busy! Here comes Mifid
Chip Lowry , senior managing director of State Street Global Link in Europe, looks at what Mifid will mean for the foreign exchange industry
Reuters cuts EM options brokerage fees in half
LONDON – Reuters' decision to revamp its FX options matching system has increased competition for e-broking of options, with the prospect of slashed brokerage fees.
LiquidityHub hires chief executive, pooling banks' resources
Robert MacLeod has been made chief executive of London-based LiquidityHub, a venture that aims to electronically pool the fixed-income liquidity of 11 investment banks.
Proportionate regulation is the key
The move by the US and UK regulators to work in closer co-operation can only be a good thing for the market as a whole.
US and UK regulators sign MoU to improve market surveillance
LONDON & WASHINGTON DC – The UK Financial Services Authority (FSA) and the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen market communication oversight last week.
Citi forms FICC group
NEW YORK – Citigroup has merged its global fixed income and emerging markets businesses to establish a new global fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) group.