Infrastructure
ICE pilots Nybot index
ATLANTA – The Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) began piloting the New York Board of Trade (Nybot) US dollar index and FX futures products last Friday (March 16), with a full launch due in April.
State Street acquires Currenex
BOSTON & NEW YORK – State Street has completed the acquisition of multibank platform and technology vendor Currenex for $564 million.
Nordea triples its autoquote limits
COPENHAGEN – Nordea is continuing to develop its e-commerce capabilities, with an almost threefold increase to autoquote limits across all platforms to which it deals.
Italy's Banca Akros adopts Corona CLS
MILAN – Banca Akros, the investment-banking arm of Italy's Banca Popolare di Milano group, has implemented SmartStream Technologies' Corona CLS to manage its confirmation matching process.
Erste Bank implements Calypso
VIENNA – Erste Bank has begun implementing a front- to back-office solution from San Francisco-based techno- logy vendor Calypso Technology for interest rates, foreign exchange and credit derivatives.
Trading platform volumes surge as stock markets plunge
LONDON - The sharp correction in stock markets around the world last week triggered the unwinding of the carry trade, bringing record trading volumes to foreign exchange platforms.
BarCap adds commodity-linked structured notes
LONDON - Barclays Capital has added commodity-linked structured notes trading to its Barx Investor Solutions platform.
South Africa looks to currency futures
JOHANNESBURG - South Africa will launch currency futures trading on its interest rate exchange platform, YieldX, in coming months.
Fimat opens Sydney FX desk
SYDNEY - Brokerage firm Fimat has launched an FX desk in Sydney as it expands its Asia-Pacific presence.
CLS mulls netting option
NEW YORK - CLS is reviewing the possibility of launching a netting service, as the settlement platform looks to adapt to the changing landscape.
Retail FX offers lucrative returns
LONDON - Retail FX traders account for $50 billion of the $2.5 trillion a day FX market, according to research released last week.
Mifid – a commercial opportunity
The commercial opportunities Mifid presents to the foreign exchange dealer are examined by Chris Pickles, chair of the directive's Joint Working Group in London
Where there's change, there's opportunity
The financial markets are exceptionally good at thinking up new and innovative ways of getting things done when hurdles emerge.
Carry on... with a difference
There are many ways to take advantage of uncorrelated carry trades, says Marios Maratheftis, FX strategist at standard chartered in London
FXall goes live with Accelor ECN
LONDON – FX trading portal FXall has launched Accelor, its new anonymous electronic communications network (ECN). The platform went live with a pilot group of 30 sell- and buy-side participants at the end of last month, and is now being rolled out more…
FXall adds benchmark fixings to QuickOMS
LONDON – FXall has added benchmark fixings from Citigroup, HSBC and the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to its order management system, QuickOMS.
BoNY launches upgraded version of iConfirm
NEW YORK – The Bank of New York has launched a new version of iConfirm, a web-based system that automates confirmation processing for FX trades.
Celent consulting report hails the exchange model
PARIS – The exchange model is set to be the future model for FX, according to a report released last week.
Currenex set to move into new asset class
NEW YORK – Trading technology vendor Currenex is going multi-asset class, according to officials at the company in New York.
New platforms: ready, steady, go
And it's all systems go, literally. FXMarketSpace is very close to testing in a live environment, with final details being put in place. Meanwhile others, such as FXall's new anonymous trading platform, should have begun piloting by now.
FinIQ rolls out DCD white-label
SINGAPORE – Technology vendor FinIQ has released a white-label version of its structured deposit pricing and processing system for dual currency deposits (DCD) distribution.
CME, Reuters finalise FXMarketSpace
CHICAGO & LONDON – The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and Reuters are making final preparations for the launch of their joint-venture platform, FXMarketSpace.
Forex gap widens between London and New York
LONDON & NEW YORK – Forex volumes in London have outstripped those of rival trading centres, as the boom in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and proximity to emerging markets provides a boost to the UK capital.
The importance of best execution
The biggest piece of news to come out of last week is the sale of Currenex to State Street for $564 million.