News
GFT ramps up for institutions
ADA, MICHIGAN – Futures commission merchant Global Forex Trading (GFT) is expanding its institutional business with an aggressive recruitment drive for another new office.
ACI expects 1,200 delegates in London
LONDON – Forex industry body ACI is expecting 1,200 attendees for the European congress in London later this month, said Robin Poynder, chairman of the congress organising committee.
ABN Amro Q1 figures show return to form in forex
AMSTERDAM – ABN Amro has seen a return to form in forex, with a year-on-year rise of 47% in its Q1 FX dealing income, published last week.
Martin Wiedmann leaves UBS
ZURICH – The departure of Martin Wiedmann from UBS in Zurich last week sparked a guessing game among his peers over which bank he is set to join.
Barclays sets cap at Boston
BOSTON – Barclays Capital has raided Goldman Sachs’ sales team to recruit regional US dealers for a new institutional sales office in Boston.
Kemp takes FX helm at Merrill
NEW YORK – Morgan Stanley FX chief Stephen Kemp is set to take on the continued build-up of Merrill Lynch’s forex business, following the resignation of co-head of global FX and rates Michael DeSa.
News and research firms set to diversify
NEW YORK – News and research firms are looking to diversify their offerings following the recent take-over of currency analysis firm MMS by publishing group Informa Global Markets, said officials.
Volatility helps Reuters return to growth
LONDON – Renewed marketing efforts and continued volatility in the FX market led to a return to growth for Reuters’ dealing business in the first quarter despite fierce competition from EBS and Bloomberg, it said last week.
China hints strongly at yuan peg change
BEIJING – China last week gave its strongest hint yet that the yuan’s peg to the US dollar could be altered sooner rather than later.
Banks draw EU25 battle plans
LONDON – Euro convergence may yet be years away for the 10 new member states joining the European Union (EU) this weekend, but far-sighted banks and brokers are already drawing up their FX battle plans for the new Europe.
Westpac reorgs management
SYDNEY – Westpac has named two joint heads of FX in Sydney after former head of FX Ian MacGougan transferred to another role within the bank’s financial markets group.
FXall upgrades fault tolerance
NEW YORK – Multi-bank trading portal FXall is set to deploy the latest version of Sonic Software’s messaging middleware by the end of June, to upgrade remote communication and trading support for its sell-side client banks.
Synthesis takes Saxo for cross-product e-trading
GENEVA – Swiss private bank Synthesis Bank has launched a cross-product trading tool, Synthesis Trading Floor – a version of Saxo Bank’s SaxoTrader platform.
Corporates seek returns from structured FX
LONDON – Corporate clients are increasingly turning to FX structured products, as low short-term interest rates force them to seek returns elsewhere.
Zar Amrolia back at Deutsche Bank
LONDON – Zar Amrolia, the former global head of FX sales at Goldman Sachs, rejoined Deutsche Bank in London last Monday (April 19) to run global FX and commodities bank sales and FX global liquidity services, including FX e-commerce. He reports to Dan…
Central counterparty clearing on the way
LONDON – LCH.Clearnet is planning to launch the first central counterparty clearing service for foreign exchange, in a move that could challenge the role of continuous-linked settlement (CLS).
PFG poaches RBC traders
NEW YORK -- Chicago-based futures commission merchant Peregrine Financial Group (PFG) has hired five sales dealers from Royal Bank of Canada to launch an FX service in New York.
HSBC names new London chief
LONDON -- HSBC will have a new head of European and Middle Eastern FX in London in early May, when Andrew Brown transfers from Hong Kong to take on the key role.
Merrill props up Tokyo
TOKYO -- Merrill Lynch is setting up a prop FX desk in Tokyo with the hires of two traders from Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).
Ex-MMS analysts set up new research firm
NEW YORK -- A group of former MMS analysis staff are launching a new real-time advisory service today (April 19) for FX, fixed income and economic news.
HSBC names new London chief
LONDON -- HSBC will have a new head of European and Middle Eastern FX in London in early May, when Andrew Brown transfers from Hong Kong to take on the key role.
FX profits soar as funds up risk
NEW YORK -- Citigroup and State Street both reported surges in Q1 FX revenue last week on the back of increased activity from fund managers, senior officials told FX Week .