Infrastructure
South Africa comes under global focus
JOHANNESBURG – South Africa is currently a focus of activity in the FX world, as global institutions such as the Continuous-Linked Settlement Group (CLS) and spot broker EBS add the region to their sphere of activity.
FX volumes up by a third
LONDON – FX trading volumes are up by nearly a third over the past three years, according to new research from UK consultancy ClientKnowledge.
CSAM to add emerging markets to FX management
LONDON – Credit Suisse Asset Management (CSAM) is looking to add emerging market currencies to its suite of forex management services from early next year.
Dollar/yen break-out expected
TOKYO – Technical indicators suggest dollar/yen could be set to break out of the tight trading range it has been trapped in since June. "Resistance is declining and support is rising. We will get a decent break-out trade soon," said Karen Griffith, head…
Oil price hits Asian currencies
HONG KONG – Surging oil prices have put pressure on Asian currencies, but the impact has been magnified by other factors influencing the region, according to analysts.
Toyota reports ¥70bn FX impact
TOKYO – Japanese car manufacturer Toyota Motor Corporation last week announced a ¥70 billion ($645 million) hit from exchange rate changes affecting its first quarter operating income.
HSBC’s profits up by a third
LONDON – HSBC’s FX profits so far this year are up by more than a third compared with last year, with a massive $902 million earned from FX dealing in the first half.
Currency transfers for multiple entities
Straight-through processing FX for intra-company transfers used to be impossible. Royal Bank of Scotland’s Stamos Fokianos explains how this can now be done via RBS FiX
Bloomberg and Cognotec partner on streaming rates
LONDON – Bloomberg is bringing streaming FX rates to users of its Bloomberg Professional terminals, courtesy of a joint venture with FX vendor Cognotec, the two firms will announce today (August 2).
AIB repays e 26m for overcharging
Customers to be repaid as regulator's report details AIB's "failures" DUBLIN – Allied Irish Banks (AIB) said it is repaying e 26 million ($32 million) it overcharged clients on three million FX deals, after a regulator slammed the bank in a report last…
Billiton transfers forex to Europe
MELBOURNE – Australian banks in the UK could see added flow going through their FX dealing desks later this year, when the world's largest mining company transfers its remaining forex trading from Melbourne to Europe.
Industry altered by e-trading
NEW YORK – E-trading has changed the way banks communicate with their clients, agreed panelists in an e-FX debate at the FX Week USA Congress last week.
FXC issues broker points rules
NEW YORK – The Foreign Exchange Committee, a US industry association affiliated to the Federal Reserve, last week issued new guidelines on broker ‘points’ – the issue at the heart of last year’s massive Wall Street forex fraud.
Structured euro deposit adds cash as it hedges
A structured deposit denominated in euro can fulfill the twin goals of a European company by hedging its US dollar payables and generating a cash-rich position in its functional currency, says Didier Meyer, FX structurer at SG Corporate and Investment…
Spitzer to drop RBC inquiry
NEW YORK – Eliot Spitzer, the New York State attorney general, will not pursue a formal inquiry into Royal Bank of Canada for overpayments its clients made on FX trades, FX Week has learned.
JPMC’s merger plans revealed
NEW YORK – JP Morgan Chase’s plans to absorb Bank One’s global foreign exchange trading business became clear last week, following the completion of the US banks’ merger on July 1.
Baltics, Slovenia set for early euro adoption
LONDON – Estonia, Lithuania and Slovenia are likely to be the first of the new European Union member states to adopt the euro, Fitch Ratings said last week.
Rivals gear up for FX clearing
LONDON – The stage is set for a central counterparty clearing (CCP) system for FX as two potential providers moved their plans forward last week.
Korean CLS utility opts for PAYplus
The utility through which Korean banks will use the continuous linked settlement (CLS) service for FX, has selected vendor Fundtech’s PAYplus as its core application, it said last week.
AIG restaffs FX post-merger
LONDON – Banque AIG, a subsidiary of AIG Financial Products, has hired six sales and trading specialists in a bid to upgrade the FX component of its cross-product service.
ABN Amro signs half CCIL’s members for CLS
MUMBAI – More than half of the 60+ members of Indian forex settlement service the Clearing Corporation of India (CCIL) will use ABN Amro as their provider for continuous linked settlement (CLS), the Dutch bank said last week.
"What is risk management?" ask Risk USA speakers
BOSTON – The way banks and other financial institutions think about – and sometimes misinterpret – risk management formed the main theme of the opening keynote speeches at FX Week sister publication Risk 's USA conference held last week.
Micex expands forex coverage
MOSCOW – The Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (Micex) has launched new FX contracts in a step towards expanding the exchange-traded FX market in Russia.