2018: mergers, name changes and having one’s day in court

While 2018 had its share of unpleasant headlines, FX Week covered more than prison sentences handed down to former foreign exchange traders, or fines levied on banks and brokers for past failures and misconduct. Several other top stories demonstrated a flurry of activity elsewhere in the industry.

The trend of company acquisitions persisted over the course of the year and were a popular read on FX Week.

These began with March’s announcement, and subsequent approval, of CME’s acquisition of Nex for £3.9 billion ($55.4 billion). Two months later, Deutsche Börse’s FX unit, 360T, revealed it was buying fellow trading venue GTX from Gain Capital for $100 million.

More acquisitions ensued with State Street deciding to buy transaction cost analysis provider BestX in August for an undisclosed sum; a move that prompted BestX clients to seek reassurances as to the firm’s independence.

The top read this year was actually the coverage of Thomson Reuters’ Financial & Risk unit being rebranded as Refinitiv, following a partnership deal with a consortium of investors by Blackstone.

At Refinitiv, we firmly believe in the power of financial markets to drive pro­gress and we believe in our role at the heart of that progress

David Craig, Refinitiv

“At Refinitiv, we firmly believe in the power of financial markets to drive pro­gress and we believe in our role at the heart of that progress,” said David Craig, chief executive of Refinitiv, at the time.

Two pieces on non-bank liquidity providers Flow Traders and HC Technologies were also popular – the latter reared its head after flying under the radar since its launch in 2007.   

“We want to be part of the conversations and we want to be an active participant in improving the market,” Jessica Sohl, president of HC Tech, told FX Week in June.

People news

On the people front, our subscribers read about Dmitri Galinov leaving FastMatch, and Fabio Madar joining Barclays as part of a string of hires in the bank’s Ficc business. We sadly had to bid farewell to Cian Burke, Paul Chappell and Guy Plummer.

In October, three UK nationals were acquitted of conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids by a US court. Earlier in the year, a former employee of Barclays won an unfair dismissal case against the bank.

The top stories on FX Week in 2018

Thomson Reuters unit becomes Refinitiv

State Street to buy BestX

Boards approve CME’s £3.9bn offer for Nex

CFTC charges TFS-Icap with fraud

Flow Traders goes live to make FX splash

HC Tech: it’s time to speak up

Johnson sentenced to two years in prison

360T buys GTX

Barclays names Madar as global head of G10 FX

Dmitri Galinov leaves FastMatch

Fred Boillereau leaves HSBC

Obituary: Paul Chappell

Obituary: Cian Burke, HSBC veteran

Guganeswaran and Burrell leave Citadel

Obituary: FX veteran Guy Plummer passes away

Fotheringhame wins Barclays employment claim

FX Cartel traders found not guilty

US DoJ changes tactics in Bogucki case

RBC fights £13 million whistleblower claim

European FX lawsuit may follow soon, says source

NYDFS fines Deutsche Bank $205m for FX

NatWest bids for order-book management business