News
CFTC charges another forex fraudster
WASHINGTON, DC – The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) last week charged an individual with defrauding more than $5 million by soliciting customers to trade foreign exchange futures contracts via hedge funds.
SG CIB names deputy
PARIS – Société Générale Corporate & Investment Banking has made Serge Topolanski deputy head of Europe and Asia global FX activities – a newly created position.
Dresdner builds in sales
LONDON – Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW) is building its sales capabilities globally, has introduced a new e-trading platform, and is developing its FX prime brokerage capabilities.
Tullett Prebon Information to revamp distribution platform
NEW YORK – Tullett Prebon Information plans to expand its set of FX products and services, as it builds up its presence in FX.
FX trading down for ABN Amro
AMSTERDAM – ABN Amro posted a large drop in income from foreign exchange dealing for 2005, despite a large increase in overall trading.
Man completes Refco Canada acquisition
TORONTO – Man Financial has completed its takeover of Refco's Toronto-based Refco Canada subsidiary.
BarCap takes eFX options trading to the next level
LONDON – Barclays Capital last week became the first bank to launch live two-way streaming tradable prices for FX options.
Citigroup hires Merrill's Browning
LONDON – Citigroup has poached Marcus Browning from Merrill Lynch, in a newly created position as global head of FX trading in London.
CME posts strong results
CHICAGO – CME last week posted strong growth for revenues in the fourth quarter and a sharp increase in the number of contracts in January 2006 compared with the same period last year.
JPM creates new reporting structure
LONDON – JP Morgan has introduced a new reporting structure in FX following the departure of Frank Rawlins, head of spot FX for Europe and global head of metals trading at the bank in London.
Forex trading volume soars in 2005
Foreign exchange turnover continued to surge last year, according to surveys from the foreign exchange joint standing committee (FXJSC) chaired by the Bank of England and the FX committee (FXC) of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
RBS adds electronic order book
LONDON – Royal Bank of Scotland has added an FX electronic orderbook to its FX dealing platform RBSTrade.
EBS to put data on sale
LONDON – EBS is to sell historical FX data to banks and non-bank traders via a new service called EBS Data Mine.
Lloyds looks to raise its FX profile
Lloyds TSB may not be well known for FX, but it has made a big-name hire that it hopes will enable it to continue buiding its presence in the fiercely competitive UK market
Knight Capital in landmark deal with Hotspot FXi
NEW JERSEY – Knight Capital last week announced plans to acquire electronic currency network Hotspot FXi in a landmark deal worth $77.5 million.
Corporates fail to hedge
NEW YORK – A major study of corporate FX hedging practice by Citigroup has found that nearly half of all companies either do not hedge at all or hedge under six months.
Singapore releases inaugural forex volumes survey
SINGAPORE – The Singapore Foreign Exchange Committee released its inaugural survey of foreign exchange volume in the city-state last week.
State Street to offer settlement solution
BOSTON – State Street Global Markets (SSGM), the investment research and trading arm of State Street, will launch an online settlement instructions system linking CLS and global directory SSISearch.
EBS ends sale speculation
LONDON – Interdealer broker Icap last week confirmed it is in discussions to acquire electronic forex heavyweight EBS.
Western Union joins forces with Travelex
LONDON – Western Union, the worldwide money transfer service, and Travelex, the world's largest non-bank foreign exchange payment firm, have signed an exclusive agreement whereby the latter offers Western Union's transfer service.
Commerz continues to rebuild
FRANKFURT & LONDON – Commerzbank has boosted its FX team with four new hires in London and Frankfurt, as it continues to rebuild after cutbacks in late 2004.
BOA falls in FX
NEW YORK – Bank of America (BoA) posted a fall-off in FX trading-related revenue for 2005 versus the previous year in its annual results released last week.