Feature
Mifid explained – an introduction
Chris Pickles, chair of the Mifid Joint Working Group in London, discusses the implications of the directive on foreign exchange
BarCap FX chief rumoured to be Asia bound
LONDON & SINGAPORE – Ivan Ritossa, London-based global head of FX at Barclays Capital, is rumoured to be relocating to Singapore.
May 2006 - Reuters and CME to set up FXMarketSpace
CHICAGO & LONDON – Industry heavyweights Reuters and the CME announced plans to establish a centrally-cleared FX market-place for early in 2007.
December 2006 - City Index plans new FX brand
LONDON – Spread betting firm City Index told FX Week that it is set to launch a new FX business in the New Year, as it integrates the IFX business it bought in the summer.
November 2006 - RBS and JP Morgan scale back prop trading
LONDON & NEW YORK – November saw mixed fortunes for FX traders. Just as volatility returned to the market, two major banks made cuts to their prop trading desks.
October 2006 - AIB to pay €30m for overcharging
DUBLIN – Allied Irish Bank (AIB) is to pay over €30 million in further damages relating to foreign exchange overcharging, ending a two-year investigation into the matter.
July 2006 - Ruble becomes fully convertible
MOSCOW – The Russian ruble became fully convertible in July, signalling a new era for the country's financial markets.
September 2006 - Thomson expands FX offering with Tullett
LONDON – Thomson Financial introduced foreign exchange and money market pricing pages with content from Tullett Prebon Information (TPI).
May 2006 - Currenex launches CX SmartOrder
LONDON – Currenex an-nounced plans to move into algorithmic trading with the launch of CX SmartOrder, a platform that enables customers to use a number of standard models or to create their own.
August 2006 - First renminbi interest rate swap
HONG KONG – HSBC and Standard Chartered traded the first non-deliverable renminbi (RMB) interest rate swaps deals in August, marking a significant step in the development of the local currency derivatives market.
April 2006 - Icap purchase of EBS completed for $775m
LONDON – In mid-April, Interdealer broker Icap agreed to a deal that saw it acquire electronic forex heavyweight EBS. The deal saw Icap pay $775 million for EBS Group, with a share alternative option for EBS shareholders to switch a third of their cash…
June 2006 - Merrill Lynch departures continue
LONDON – The departures from Merrill Lynch continued, with a quartet of staff leaving in the wake of restructuring at the investment bank.
January 2006 - Acquisitions in e-FX take precedence
LONDON – The year started with a bang with two high-profile acquisitions in the electronic trading space.
September 2006 - Trading for CME and Reuters disrupted
CHICAGO – September showed the frailty of trading systems with both CME and Reuters seeing disruption to their platforms.
February 2006 - BoA builds algorithmic forex capabilities
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS – Bank of America (BoA) took a major step towards building up its algorithmic trading capabilities in the FX space, with the acquisition of algorithmic-driven pricing and trading specialist, Financial Labs.
January 2006 - Deutsche Bank cuts out $1 trillion
LONDON – Deutsche Bank said it had cut out $1 trillion of what it described as 'predatory trades' in 2005, as it repositioned its business to make it more profitable.
March 2006 - FXCM abandons Refco negotiations
NEW YORK – Forex Capital Markets (FXCM) abandoned negotiations with Refco creditors to acquire the assets of the defunct brokerage's unregulated currency trading operation.
October 2006 - Flextrade to launch block trading platform
CHICAGO, NEW YORK AND LONDON – October was a month where new players looked to make their mark on the industry. Reuters CME joint venture FXMarketSpace announced 20 more banks signed to be clearing prime brokers while it emerged trading technology vendor…
July 2006 - FXall stake sold to TCV for $77.5 million
NEW YORK – FXall sold a minority stake worth $77.5 million to private equity firm Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV).
February 2006 - Refco saga continues with veto of FXCM deal
NEW YORK – Refco creditors vetoed a deal that would have seen the remains of the unregulated business sold to Forex Capital Management.
May 2006 - CLS cuts prices for low-value, high-freq trades
LONDON – CLS Bank has introduced a new pricing structure that sees charges slashed for settling low-value payment instructions, as it seeks to attract low-value high-frequency trading business.