Trading
Credit Agricole up, West LB down
PARIS & DUSSELDORF – Credit Agricole and West LB posted differing results last week, the former experiencing buoyant gains while the latter suffered a decline.
Singapore banks lose FX revenues
SINGAPORE – DBS Bank, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) and United Overseas Bank (UOB) reported sharp declines in foreign exchange revenues in the second quarter of this year, down from the same period last year.
ODL embarks on global expansion
LONDON – ODL Securities, a London-headquartered foreign exchange, equities, derivatives and commodities trading firm, is expanding its FX business with the support of a private placement worth £14 million ($28 million).
Electronic brokers reach new highs
LONDON – Electronic brokers EBS and Reuters smashed records for trading volumes amid highly volatile global markets.
Rating agencies assess CP markets
EUROPE – Fitch Ratings and Moody's sought to capture the effect of the commercial paper (CP) market's lack of liquidity on the wider banking outlook in two conference calls last week.
UBS gives Richards expanded role
STAMFORD, CT – Paul Richards is replacing Rob Garwood as global head of forex asset management distribution at UBS, as Garwood leaves the bank in London.
Carry view takes Lehman to the top
Expectation of an FX carry unwind helped Lehman Brothers to the top of this week's one-month currency forecast rankings, said Jim McCormick, head of FX research at the bank in London.
Goldman swipes Vella from JP Morgan
LONDON – Andrea Vella, co-head of derivatives sales and marketing for southern, central and eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa at JP Morgan in London, has quit the bank for Goldman Sachs, according to informed sources.
Forex escapes revenue decline at UBS
ZURICH – UBS has experienced revenue gains in FX and money markets over the second quarter, despite experiencing a 31% year-on-year decline in fixed income, rates and currencies (FIRC).
Increased volatility highlights resilience
Recent weeks of volatility have made currency markets an extremely exciting place to be trading.
Deutsche Bank boosts Asian forex structuring
SINGAPORE – Deutsche Bank has named Ray Franzi head of global finance and FX structuring for the Asia Pacific, in Singapore.
Saxo opens in China
BEIJING – Saxo Bank opened a representative office in Beijing earlier this month, to increase proximity to clients, partners and liquidity providers in the country.
Capitalising with caps
Loïc Henry, head of Paris FX structuring at French Bank Calyon, suggests the introduction of caps when participating in spread options
Russian derivatives trading dominated by FX
Foreign exchange derivatives made up 92.9%, or $48.6 billion, of total monthly derivatives volume at Russian banks in 2006, according to a survey by the National Foreign Exchange Association of Russia.
Record trading day for Hotspot FXi
LONDON & NEW YORK – A spike in currency market volatility last Thursday (August 16) resulted in a record trading day over electronic communications network Hotspot FXi, led by client-to-client trading activity.
Risk aversion favours the dollar
The greenback is, paradoxically, likely to benefit from the recent spate of risk aversion brought on by the subprime crisis, writes Mansoor Mohi-uddin, chief currency strategist at UBS Investment Bank in London
FXMarketSpace volumes halve in July
LONDON & CHICAGO – Average daily volumes on FXMarketspace (FXMS) fell to $539 million last month – almost half the record $933 million set in June.
Dual FX sales loss in Asia- Pacific region for StanChart
SINGAPORE & HONG KONG – Standard Chartered has lost two members of its FX sales team in Singapore, market sources say.
Barren greenback boosts Merrill
A bearish view on the US dollar led Merrill Lynch to top the one-month currency forecast tables, according to Emma Lawson, G10 FX strategist at the bank in London.
Reporting line change for JP Morgan in London
LONDON – The transitioning of Brian Tomeo's role as head of FX sales for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) has led to a reporting line shift in senior FX sales at JP Morgan, market sources say.
StanChart reports income rise
LONDON – Standard Chartered generated a 15% rise in income from FX client business in the first half of this year, the bank said in its interim results released last week.
Dealing with capacity constraints
Surging ticket volumes from algorithmic traders are leading to calls for change from dealers facing capacity constraints at their back offices.
FOMC slouches towards neutrality
According to Robert DiClemente , chief US economist at Citi in New York, the lingering policy bias should not dissuade markets from anticipating an eventual reversal
Reuters reports record volumes
LONDON – As volumes on FXMarketSpace decline, electronic broker Reuters reported a record trading day in July.