News
Dollar volatility rockets over terror fears
LONDON -- Continued terrorist threats are expected to plague the FX markets in the coming weeks, due to a heightened level of concern over further attacks following the Madrid bombing on March 11, analysts warned last week.
SuperD adds 10 European banks
LONDON -- Ten more banks in Germany and Austria have started using SuperDerivatives’ FX options pricing system, the vendor said last week.
Banks add NDFs to e-trading tools
LONDON -- Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays Capital and Standard Chartered are planning to launch electronic trading of non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) this year, chasing market leaders in the field such as Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein and Deutsche Bank.
FXpress switches architecture
BALA CYNWYD, PA -- A new version of vendor FXpress’ exposure management and trading platform will enable corporate users to share position-keeping information with their remote offices via the internet.
US election to highlight Asian intervention issues
BEIJING -- As the US presidential race picks up, campaigning will inevitably highlight US opposition to Asian currency intervention. But analysts interviewed by FX Week disagreed on the impact this added pressure would have on the ground in Asia.
NAB report: managers axed
FX head and three executives leave NAB in wake of report on forex losses MELBOURNE -- National Australia Bank (NAB) sacked head of FX Gary Dillon on Friday (March 12) after he was criticised by PricewaterhouseCoopers’ independent report into the bank’s A…
US salaries moderately up
NEW YORK -- FX dealers in the US saw slight increases in their wages this year, according to a new salary survey out this month.
IFX loses foreign exchange head
LONDON -- Ongoing restructuring at financial trading and spread-betting firm IFX claimed another staff departure last week, with the exit of head of FX Peter Romilly.
FX is platform for growth at Merrill
NEW YORK -- Merrill Lynch’s investment in foreign exchange will form a platform for growth for the US investment bank, said chairman and chief executive Stanley O’Neal last week.
Volatility plays havoc with cross-border M&A
LONDON -- Foreign exchange volatility might be offering traders unprecedented opportunities in the currency markets -- but sales dealers are paying for it with the loss of cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) business.
800 expected at ACI London event in May
LONDON -- Forex industry body ACI is expecting up to 800 FX officials to descend on London in May for its seventh European Congress, hosted by ACI UK.
SSiSearch adds 10 more for system testing
LONDON -- SSiSearch, a vendor of authenticated FX settlements reference data, said last week that 10 new clients are set to start testing the system, bringing the total number of banks now in trial with its global directory to 275.
Bronia Jenkins leaves Bank of America
NEW YORK -- Bronia Jenkins left her position as New York-based FX time-zone manager for North America on March 1. A spokesperson at the bank confirmed her departure, but declined to say whether she would be replaced.
Funds struggle as market trend ends
STAMFORD, CT -- Fund managers struggled to generate returns during January as the trending markets of late 2003 ended. Volatility in the market led to an overall return of only 0.60% for the Parker FX Index, with discretionary funds reporting losses for…
RJ O’Brien buys Zap Futures
CHICAGO -- Chicago-based futures commission merchant RJ O’Brien has bought online futures firm and introducing broker Zap Futures.
Post-bonus job swaps begin
LONDON -- Last week saw a flurry of movement among senior FX staff as the bonus season draws to a close.
Asian regulators ease restrictions
HONG KONG -- Banks in Northeast Asia are rushing to apply for licences to enable them to transact non-renminbi derivatives in China, following a relaxation of the rules from March 1.
Citi names new global head
LONDON -- Jeff Feig took over as global head of FX at Citigroup in London on February 27, a senior official told FX Week .
Loewy exits on a high note
HSBC’s FX chief retires as the bank makes highest-ever forex profits LONDON -- Rob Loewy, head of FX at HSBC for the past 15 years, retired last Monday (March 1) as the bank announced its highest-ever dealing profits for foreign exchange.
Centradia userbase doubles
LONDON -- The growth of financial institution and asset manager clients using European multi-bank portal Centradia has fuelled rocketing volumes and client numbers on the platform, said chief executive Fabrice Mativat last week.
Pronet offers outsourced technical analysis
LONDON -- UK-based FX analysis firm Pronet Analytics is offering a research outsourcing service to up to three banks, to provide them with on-demand, bespoke responses from the firm’s technical team.