Articles by Robert Mackenzie Smith
StanChart’s bearish call on majors wins out
Standard Chartered took a bearish three-month outlook on three major currencies in March, landing the bank at the top of this week’s rankings
Grexit bets intensify on election fears
Forex strategists remain divided on the political fallout from landmark Greek elections, and the likely effect on the euro
FX sales head departs Credit Suisse
Ben Shooter has left his role as head of sales for global currencies and emerging markets after less than six months in the role
Gain Capital’s product head eyes growth for institutional platform
Muhammad Rasoul, who joined Gain Capital from GFT Markets last month, will be responsible for three of the firm’s key products and sees particular potential for growth in its institutional platform, Gain GTX
Eurodollar on its way to parity, says FXCM
An accurate three-month forecast on the euro's plummet to 1.25 against the dollar lands FXCM at the top of this week's forecast rankings
Banks continue to ramp up in offshore RMB
Top-tier banks are continuing to invest in their offshore renminbi trading capabilities, despite the recent dip in Chinese growth and the challenge of persuading clients to use the new currency and boost liquidity
Lloyds spot-on with Swissie weakness bet
Lloyds lands itself at the top of the one-month forecast rankings after its accurate prediction of Swiss franc weakening during May
Euro exit testing intensifies
Banks and FX market infrastructures are stepping up their efforts to prepare for a possible redenomination of eurozone currencies if Greece is forced to leave the currency union, but some investors would like to see new contracts to protect them from…
Traiana appoints sales head from Thomson Reuters
Michael Verkuijl joins Traiana's executive team as global head of sales, based in London
FXecosystem hires US salesman
FX sales veteran Robert Dantone will join FXecosystem from FlexTrade on June 1
Moving up from down under
Following his recent appointment as global head of FX at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Kieran Salter talks to Robert Mackenzie Smith about his mission to ensure the bank’s FX capabilities are globally recognised, and the major technology overhaul the…
CBA nears completion of three-year tech overhaul
Commonwealth Bank of Australia recently completed ‘Transforming FX’, a key phase of its technology plan focused on improving the bank’s e-FX capabilities and connectivity with multibank platforms
DTCC expands repository footprint into Asia
The DTCC this week unveiled a data centre in Asia to support global reporting but the October launch of its FX repository may slip as a result of CFTC delays, the firm has warned
Global inconsistency remains a challenge for would-be Sefs
An ongoing lack of clarity and the potential for extraterritoriality in swap execution facility rules is creating a bumpy ride towards registration, according to three putative Sefs
Ex-UBS sales head to join Barclays
James Neale, former head of UK real-money FX sales at UBS, is moving to Barclays
UBS beefs up FX sales team in Europe
The Swiss bank has made three appointments to its FX sales teams in London and Zurich
Nomura’s former hedge fund sales co-head to join UBS
UBS has hired Louis Curran, formerly of Nomura, as co-head of institutional FX sales in Singapore
SEB rises in rankings as Swiss franc falls
SEB accurately forecast that Swiss franc would weaken against the dollar in its mid-April forecasts, putting the Swedish bank at the top of the one-month rankings
EU regulators prepare for frenetic countdown to Emir deadline
Senior officials expressed concern yesterday about the volume of work on derivatives reform that must be completed in a very short timeframe
SurfacExchange expands with senior hires
SurfacExchange has recruited three senior business heads as the options platform looks to expand its global client base
Darbari quits senior options role at StanChart
Both Singapore-based Rahul Darbari and New York-based colleague Ragu Santhalingam have left their FX options roles at Standard Chartered
Natixis hires FX sales veteran
Darren Barker has joined Natixis from UniCredit to work in FX sales in London
Tradition-Icap hires business development head for Asia
Tim Johnson has joined Tradition-Icap from SurfacExchange, and will report to Terry Benson
Forex markets absorb political chaos in Europe
Participants reacted relatively calmly to political developments in Europe last week, and the absence of credible alternative currencies prevented a major sell-off