Trading
NZ ups reserves as "insurance"
WELLINGTON -- The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) is proposing to enhance its capacity to intervene in FX markets. The central bank wants to increase the amount of foreign currency reserves it holds as "insurance" against a non-convertible Kiwi dollar…
Watchdog savages NAB
MELBOURNE -- National Australia Bank’s currency options desk will remain closed until it has satisfied requirements issued by its regulator in a damning report released last week.
Calyon names regional managers
PARIS -- Calyon, the group to be formed from the merger of Crédit Agricole Indosuez (CAI) and Crédit Lyonnais (CL) on April 30, has agreed the structure of its global spot FX business and appointed regional heads, a senior official said last week.
Aussie hits a high
The Aussie dollar looks set to be the one of the main beneficiaries from continued central bank currency intervention in Asia, argues Robert Rennie (right), chief currency analyst at Westpac in Sydney
Investment banks break records
NEW YORK -- This year looks set to be a record-breaker for banks' FX earnings, if the commercial banks follow the lead set by the US investment houses.
NAB OPTIONS SCANDAL - NAB crisis deepens with latest departure
MELBOURNE -- The staffing crisis at National Australia Bank (NAB) deepened last week as Peter Cunningham, joint global head of FX left the bank, in a move a NAB spokesperson described as a "mutual agreement".
Seven leave Dresdner in FX flight
LONDON -- Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein in London is facing an exodus of staff from foreign exchange, with at least seven leaving the bank in London and New York in the past month.
EBS sees fruit of 'sustained effort on sterling'
LONDON -- Spot broker EBS last week quantified the success of its initiative to build sterling volumes on its platform.
Are long-dated options correctly priced?
Options pricing is based on a flawed model of market efficiency. This is why market-makers and hedgers might see the same volatility as cheap or expensive, depending on their viewpoint, says Gilles Bransbourg, head of European FX sales at Bear Stearns in…
Volatility and leverage key for Euro importer
Trading volatility allows a European importer to improve its dollar buying rate and mitigate Asian strengthening says Silash Ruparell in European FX sales at Lehman Brothers in London
Banks add NDFs to e-trading tools
LONDON -- Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays Capital and Standard Chartered are planning to launch electronic trading of non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) this year, chasing market leaders in the field such as Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein and Deutsche Bank.
NAB report: managers axed
FX head and three executives leave NAB in wake of report on forex losses MELBOURNE -- National Australia Bank (NAB) sacked head of FX Gary Dillon on Friday (March 12) after he was criticised by PricewaterhouseCoopers’ independent report into the bank’s A…
Cancellable forward beats dollar pendulum
Cancellable forward contracts offer corporates a cheap way of protecting against volatile dollar receivables says Anders Kjaer Jensen, FX strategist at Nordea in Copenhagen
FX is platform for growth at Merrill
NEW YORK -- Merrill Lynch’s investment in foreign exchange will form a platform for growth for the US investment bank, said chairman and chief executive Stanley O’Neal last week.
Volatility plays havoc with cross-border M&A
LONDON -- Foreign exchange volatility might be offering traders unprecedented opportunities in the currency markets -- but sales dealers are paying for it with the loss of cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) business.
800 expected at ACI London event in May
LONDON -- Forex industry body ACI is expecting up to 800 FX officials to descend on London in May for its seventh European Congress, hosted by ACI UK.
Portfolio flows and the dollar’s outlook
The pace of the dollar’s decline appears to have returned to more sustainable levels, says Michael Woolfolk, senior currency strategist at The Bank of New York
Asian regulators ease restrictions
HONG KONG -- Banks in Northeast Asia are rushing to apply for licences to enable them to transact non-renminbi derivatives in China, following a relaxation of the rules from March 1.