Trading
New structure for RBS
LONDON – The Royal Bank of Scotland is set to reorganise its corporate banking & financial markets division (CBFM), with a new structure to be in place from next year.
Dollar to keep rising, says Rabobank
Rabobank has maintained its position at the summit of the year-to-date one-month index largely thanks to its bullish view on the dollar.
A change in balance
The market has bought the interest rate argument – and the dollar – in 2005. With the end of HIA related repatriation, the balance will change in the new year, writes Chris Furness, senior market strategist at 4Cast in London
Forex revenues set 'to slow in 2006'
LONDON – Growth in forex revenues is set to fall off next year, according to research from Morgan Stanley released last week.
Man to build on Refco's ashes
NEW YORK – UK financial services firm Man Financial is to reincarnate part of the old Refco business with the launch of Man FX Clear by the middle of this month.
Swiss e-swaps from ABN Amro
LONDON AND ZURICH – Dutch bank ABN Amro last week launched electronic trading in Swiss franc-denominated interest rate swaps (IRS), moving it across from the previous voice-only service.
India looks to tourism
LONDON – India is looking to make tourism the number one source of foreign exchange in the next three years, by doubling its forex earnings, according to tourism minister, Renuka Chowdhury.
Citigroup launches flow-weighted currency indexes
LONDON & NEW YORK – Citigroup has launched 10 indexes that measure currencies' value using customer flow data.
Korea to relax currency restrictions
SEOUL – South Korea is to relax regulations on forex trading next year, but authorities have vowed to keep a close eye on how the market develops, according to officials.
Improved outlook for krona
The outlook for the Swedish krona has improved, but the impact will be felt in the crosses, where a topping pattern is developing, says Meg Browne, senior currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman in New York
Invest in a carry basket EMTN
Christine Lefort, global head of FX Structuring at Calyon in Paris, suggests a way to extract returns from FX-linked investments in a time of low rate differentials
HSBC breaks into top three
LONDON - UBS has held on to the top spot to be named FX Week Bank of the year for the third year in a row. But the biggest upset sees HSBC break into the top three at Citigroup's expense.
BarCap sticks to core view
Barclays Capital's (BarCap) presence in the top five of the one- and three-month rankings in recent weeks is due to the UK bank sticking to its core view on the dollar.
WestLB loses its forex head
DUSSELDORF - WestLB lost its foreign exchange chief last week as a further sign of the challenges facing the bank's FX business.
HSBC breaks into top three
LONDON - UBS has held on to the top spot to be named FX Week Bank of the year for the third year in a row. But the biggest upset sees HSBC break into the top three at Citigroup's expense.
Brokers pulled into NAB scandal
MELBOURNE – National Australia Bank NAB) is demanding more than A$539 million ($394 million) in compensation from interdealer broker Icap and another unnamed broker for losses the bank incurred following last year's rogue-trading scandal.
National Australia Bank FX back in the black after trading scandal
MELBOURNE – National Australia Bank's FX business is showing signs of recovery nearly two years after the A$360 million forex options trading scandal was unearthed.
Is the post-Plaza Accord era over?
Toru Umemoto, FX strategist at Barclays Capital in Tokyo looks at views for and against ditching the accord
Future for Refco's FX clients still unclear
NEW YORK & LONDON – Hedge fund firm Man Group won an auction for the futures business of the stricken Refco last Thursday (November 10), but the fate of institutional FX clients hangs in the balance.
A towering rate of return
Sara Sullivan, head of currency solutions at ANZ Investment Bank in London, presents a way of enhancing returns on deposits by taking a view on exchange rates
Calyon still bullish on greenback
Calyon's consistent lead in the one-month and three-month year-to-date rankings is due to a bullish dollar view held since late 2004.
Deutsche Bank FX desk signs up to Iokio data navigation service
LONDON – Deutsche Bank's FX sales desk has signed up to a new data navigation service from Iokio.
CLS builds up fund presence
NEW YORK – The fund management community are warming up to CLS, with a growing number of funds settling payment instructions over the system.
Hedge funds lose their shine
A trader at a German bank in London said the “mental bubble” traders had when considering the merits of joining a hedge fund has burst.