e-Forex Magazine April 2002
e-Forex magazine, April 2002, issue 6, e-FX, Prime Brokerage, ABN AMRO
e-Forex magazine, April 2002, issue 6, e-FX, Prime Brokerage, ABN AMRO
- The ABN AMRO Experience...show more
The electronic challenge for ACI – The Financial Markets Association...show more
- facilitating convergence and alliance across the FX industry...show more
The Foreign Legion gains new recruits...show more
e-forex: the second wave breaks...show more
Secondary FX flows – the evolution continues...show more
Overcoming resistance to e-FX:...show more
eFX - Helping to reduce operational pain points for the corporate client...show more
Benchmarking - Helping to reduce market footprints...show more
Fitting structured FX on e-trading platforms...show more
BrokerTalk puts the flow back into the market...show more
True Straight Through Processing in FX becomes feasible – the TWIST perspective Standards: business process focus and harmonisation...show more
CLS: A Key Driver for STP...show more
White Label Partnerships: Co-operation v. Competition...show more
The rise of FX Model Systems Trading...show more
Five more banks join Fxall...show more
Bloomberg and Cognotec to deliver Streaming Rates...show more
JPMorgan launches TransFix Benchmarking product...show more
EBS Prime banks expand offering to PTC...show more
Currenex available to RealTick customers...show more
Traiana TRMâ„¢ selected by ABN AMRO...show more
SEB’s Trading Station opens up new e-FX possibilities...show more
Reuters launches new live price feed...show more
Barclays Capital becomes an EBS Prime Bank...show more
Global Forex Trading introduces Facilitated Systems...show more
Telerate enhances Active8...show more
RBS selects Caplin for FX trading portal...show more
FXpress releases FIRSTâ„¢ treasury workstation...show more
Saxo Bank launches lower prices...show more
Handelsbanken...show more
ACM adds new currency pairs...show more
UFJ goes global with Sierra FX Options...show more
Global Link rolls out Trade Manager...show more
Chohung Bank chooses Fenics FX...show more
Nordea e-Markets goes live on Reuters RET system...show more
EBS Spot hits deals per minute record...show more
CLS has significant impact on trading practices...show more
GNI Touch Forex sees month-by-month growth...show more
SuperDerivatives enhances SD-FX option pricing system...show more
Lava launches innovative FX Product Suite...show more
HSBC introduces Online Charting Service...show more
Currenex® now offers CitiFX® Benchmark pricing...show more
Top FX banks join 360T...show more
BOI Selects Summit for Credit Derivatives...show more
Cognotec recognised by industry awards...show more
Hotspot FX debuts FIX Gateway with access via RealTick...show more
Integral hires Dominic Gattuso...show more
Viewpoint...show more
e-Forex talks with Dr. Ulrich Boettger, Senior Vice President, Treasury at BASF Aktiengesellschaft in Ludwigshafen, Germany...show more
e-Forex talks with Hans van den Bosch, Head of treasury operations at Unilever in the Netherlands...show more
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Chris J Pickles Manager, Industry Relations, Radianz...show more
Tim Kemp Technology Consultant, Caplin Systems Inc....show more
Rick Schumacher ...show more
Tony Cripps Head e-Commerce, CIBM, HSBC...show more
Michel Everaert Global Head of Product Marketing at GFI...show more
The e-Forex Surgery Helping to answer your ...show more
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Godfried De Vidts looks at the advantages that the FX market offers retail investors....show more
Marshall Bailey discusses how the FX market is evolving and how FX e-commerce is changing the profitability model dramatically for all....show more
Thomas Price outlines why as the FX marketplace is maturing we can expect a consolidation of the myriad FX execution venues to occur over the next two to three years....show more
Alain Broyon and Dr. Andre Duka discuss: Fight for Liquidity: Centralization versus Decentralization...show more
Paul Ronan and Nicholas Hodder examine the challenges that need to be addressed when including new liquidity Pools such as the CME in your business model....show more
Francis Maguire examines what large multi-nationals and mid-sized companies are looking for from e-FX and what banks are doing to future-proof their systems....show more
Francis Maguire sets out to discover why the majority of the corporate treasury community is still not taking full advantage of the range of benefits that e-FX brings....show more
Kevin Houstoun and Ken Yeadon provide an overview of the FIX protocol FAST initiative and It’s implications for the FX markets....show more
Nick Dyne looks at how post trade functions are being dramatically improved from an STP viewpoint and what post-trade e-FX innovations we are likely to see in the near future....show more
Joe Locke offers an insight into considerations that a bank must give in selecting the right technology vendor and a view on what may well be a new era for customer and software vendor relationships....show more
FX order execution algorithms are already appearing in numbers, but plotting their future trajectory isn’t straightforward. Andy Webb talks to a number of major providers to gauge their views on the market....show more
Jonathan Butterfield looks at the opportunities that Algorithmic FX trading present to CLS and how CLS deliver operational efficiencies to Algorithmic traders....show more
Yannos Hadjiioannou FX Product Development & Marketing, RBS Global Banking & Markets...show more
Andy Barber looks at what the latest trends in electronic trading in FX are doing to the recruitment market....show more
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Mike Thrower examines why banks are looking to target the increasing growth in flows originating from Retail FX investors and what’s required to enable them to deliver a professional margin trading solution....show more
Heather McLean profiles e-FX within the country....show more
Andrew Haines provide an overview of the opportunities API trading offers to Retail FX traders and what’s required to get started....show more
Heather Mclean talks to leading retail FX trading providers about the growing importance of providing value-added and customer relationship services to help maintain customer loyalty....show more
Anand Iyer Vice President and co-head of Foreign Exchange at Flextrade...show more
FXPB expectations: views from the client-side...show more
A major driver for growth in FX prime brokerage has been the hedge fund community and Frances Maguire investigates what they are looking for from their prime brokers....show more
Farid A. Naib CEO, FNX Solutions...show more
Andy Coyne tells us why there are still a great many clients looking to their FX Prime Brokers to provide them with greater levels of support and value....show more
Increasing FX volumes are putting the strain on many back offices, so is the time now right for netting solution for global spot FX? Richard Brass investigates....show more
Stephen Swindon looks at how prime brokers are increasingly looking for ways to take a bigger share of the market and differentiate their offerings....show more
Jesse Drennan examines how automation of prime brokerage operations has created an IT overhead for fund managers and provides a solution to overcome the problem of competing protocols....show more
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Ian O'Flaherty Managing Director, Global Head of e-Commerce, Foreign Exchange, Deutsche Bank....show more
Manfred Wiebogen looks at how the economic impact of globalisation together with the current financial crisis may demand some reorganisation in the world currency structure. ...show more
The debate about whether relationship trading or anonymous trading is superior is perennial, but now is an opportune time to revisit the methods' relative merits. The emerging competitive electronic trading platforms for the interdealer, multi-dealer, and dealer client markets have facilitated the adoption of electronic trading and the ability to trade anonymously during this decade. This article discusses a number of critical risk and regulatory outcomes from the current financial crisis that focus on the deployment of relationship trading vs. anonymous FX trading. ...show more
The current economic situation is unique for a combination of reasons, but one of the most prominent is the combination of a commercial slowdown with an exceptional decline in many bank balance sheets. While this has numerous implications, the effect on global FX trading volumes is particularly conspicuous. Andy Webb explains how FX trading platforms have a duty in such an environment to assist participants in achieving more with less. ...show more
In this Regulatory Roundup feature Felix Shipkevich, General Counsel at CMS Forex, examines the question of leverage and what factors may influence the way regulators draw the line of what is the appropriate level of leverage that should be allowed to be used by retail clients, if any. ...show more
CLS Group and interdealer broker, ICAP, are creating a new joint venture (JV) to provide trade aggregation services to participants active in the over the counter FX market. The new business, initially named CLS Aggregation, is designed to address the rapid increase in foreign exchange trading as an asset class by a widening group of hedge funds, algorithmic traders, retail and institutional market participants, which have brought substantially higher volumes to the foreign exchange industry....show more
While there is little doubt that investment managers are rapidly increasing their use of electronic trading, there is still much to be done in terms of standardising access and processes to enable them to reap the full benefits of automation....show more
With Complex Event Processing (CEP) having spread out across the asset classes – initially in equities – multiple and growing demands for using CEP in the FX space are being made among both sell-side and buy-side firms. Roger Aitken canvasses leading CEP vendors and others on the landscape. ...show more
New and seasoned participants in the burgeoning foreign exchange (FX) market continue to leverage electronic trading platforms. Whether they are money managers in search of better fund performance or banks in need of cost-saving efficiencies, users are seeking particular electronic FX (e-FX) functionality and benefits. The best products and providers offer access to liquidity, improved cost and time efficiencies, better price transparency, greater stability, error reductions, enhanced auditability, and smooth integration with existing in-house systems....show more
Time is money and nowhere can this truism be taken more literally than in the trading world. Algorithmic trading in FX has grown in order to sate the appetite for higher frequency, larger volume trading and more sophisticated strategies – all of which can be more easily achieved through the deployment of automated systems....show more
Derek Sammann, Managing Director, Global Head of foreign exchange at CME Group...show more
With Bjorn Lundvall, E-commerce Manager Trading, e-solutions at Handelsbanken Capital Markets, Niels.van.Daatselaar, Head Financial Markets e-Commerce at Rabobank International, Peter Hagenauer, head of eCommerce Applications & Technologies, Markets, ANZ Institutional, Stamos Fokianos, Global Head – eChannels, Financial Markets, Standard Chartered Bank and Clive Standish, Head of Electronic Markets Client Service, North America at RBS Global Banking & Markets. ...show more
FX margin trading and the subsequent need to manage collateral has become very much in the spotlight in recent times as the cost of credit becomes more prohibitive and firms seek to squeeze greater efficiency from their bottom line....show more
We review the ProTrader multi asset platform from PFSoft. ProTrader provides a complete solution for retail brokers, market makers and hedge funds. The platform supports a wide range of products and is based on the latest technology. Denis Borisovsky, CEO of PFSoft tells us more about it.....show more
Before a trader can start making money in FX, they must first choose a trading platform from which to work. This is no simple or even relatively easy task such as deciding on a new car or a lawnmower. From broker, to type of service, to checklist of needs and wants, to individual trading style, the choices facing traders are varied and can be quite complex....show more
e-Forex talks with Jamal Fakhory, Managing Director of United World Capital, a leading provider of online FX trading services for Retail and Institutional investors....show more
The recent release of the 2009 Forexds Trader’s Choice Awards provides a rare glimpse inside the broker preferences of average currency traders worldwide. Rather than making an article about yet another FX award, e-Forex magazine asked me to share the unique aspects of the Forexds Awards. For that, I’d like to share some personal thoughts going into this 2 year project and then delve into the results beyond what appeared in the May press release....show more
A fully regulated, diversified asset manager located in Jersey, Channel Islands....show more
Thomas Vinding, co-head of e-Markets at Nordea discusses the question of whether Algorithmic Trading can work in abnormal FX Markets....show more
'Sovereign downgrade could hit eurozone lenders' was a headline in the Financial Times which I recently read on my flight back from a Bucharest meeting with local traders and representatives from the BNR – the National Bank of Romania. Standard & Poor had warned in this edition that it was looking to downgrade fifteen Eurozone country’s sovereign debt! Having just re-rated 37 global banks a week ago, whereby seventeen of them subsequently became downgraded, this outlook was the next shock to the financial markets in particular to the Eurozone. Such announcements are certainly nurturing volatility in all market segments, including Foreign Exchange. But is there any reason or pattern behind them? ...show more
Lack of clarity about the extent of mandatory regulation for over the counter foreign exchange (OTCFX) derivatives persists but 2012 should bring greater definition and guidance to those in the market. Meanwhile, Richard Willsher reports on how exchanges, clearing houses and service providers are setting their strategies and gearing up their technology for the opportunities that may emerge. ...show more
As a global market operating at almost every waking hour, FX has always been highly attuned to the flow of information, ideas and news. It should then come as no surprise that institutional FX firms and traders are starting to explore the new possibilities that social media communication tools bring. Joe Morgan investigates what these are....show more
In 2011 we saw some innovative moves by banks utilising Social media in FX, and with more of them beginning to see the benefits of Social Forex as a sales & marketing channel, we believe that these efforts deserve major recognition. ...show more
As the FX industry enters into a new era of electronic trading for FX options, Frances Maguire examines the key role that technology is playing in the provision of new and additional services whilst redefining standards in the way these instruments are traded....show more
Analytics are the basis of any trading strategy. This is, of course, an obvious statement but, as Nicholas Pratt reports in this feature, the realisation that a more intelligent approach to the use of analytics leads to a more intelligent trading strategy is increasingly apparent in the FX world. ...show more
As an investor, have you been reluctant to trade cross-border securities due to the costs and complexities involved? As a portfolio manager, have you found it an operational hassle to deal with the FX cover trades? As a fund manager, have you found it difficult to measure the actual performance of your portfolio managers due to the different currencies between the underlying assets and the fund? As a state pension fund, do you balk at the exorbitant post trade FX spreads charged by intermediaries such as custodians?...show more
The results are now in from the buy-side. The 2011 Lab49 FX Platform Survey reveals what single dealer platform users really want from their FX trading platforms....show more
South East Asia’s increasing economic prosperity is driving growth in the region’s foreign exchange trading activity and, as Richard Willsher discovers, the regions electronic FX trading capabilities have accelerated even faster....show more
With trade volumes through single dealer platforms growing faster than multi-dealer platforms, Frances Maguire talks to Joe Locke, Operations Director, and Carl Martin, Banking Products Director, at Eurobase Banking Solutions about the launch of its new electronic trading platform – Siena eTrader evo®....show more
e-Forex talks with Stina Ekberg, Head of e-FX Trading and Distribution at SEB Merchant Bank....show more
Eddie McDaid, Head of Business Development at my-Channels, a leading technology firm specialising in Messaging solutions takes part in the first of the new e-Forex speed interview series....show more
The introduction of centralised clearing for OTC instruments is heralding a major re-engineering of technology. Trading infrastructures are being re-designed to support it and banks are investing in new systems to facilitate improved front to back-office transaction processing and risk management. Systems upgrades are also being undertaken to handle the new margining requirements and collateral management, Frances Maguire explores how all this activity is creating a demand for a new generation of trading and risk management systems, based upon innovative and highly scalable technology architectures, as clearing providers start thinking about how to differentiate their clearing offerings....show more
The need for greater capacity and more efficiency of time to trade, otherwise known as latency, is becoming increasingly important for many FX market participants. Joe Morgan examines why growing numbers of globe-trotting FX trading firms are therefore checking in for co-location services, where specialist service providers’ host traders’ servers as close as possible to a trading platform’s matching engine. ...show more
As the firestorms engulfing financial markets continue to captivate participants and observers alike, the activities of managed network service providers remain, appropriately, largely in the dark. The work of companies specialising in network infrastructure beneath the ground and sea is not likely to make the headlines in the financial or popular press at the moment. But, as Joe Morgan reports in this article, these businesses are at the nexus of the forces driving the development of an increasingly interconnected global financial system, driven in part by the growth of high-speed trading. The fibre optic cabling which links trading hubs together is of vital importance in FX, a global market where traders follow the rising sun to trade on different venues throughout the day....show more
Howard Tolman, Director of Cloud Trading Technologies tackles some questions on the application of Cloud Computing services within the FX trading environment....show more
The world of FX algorithmic trading continues to develop on all fronts. On a technical level the algos are increasingly sophisticated as developers bid to match the market’s appetite for lower latency, better performance and more complex trading strategies. And on a commercial level, providers continue to offer new algo trading services. Nicholas Pratt canvasses a leading technology vendor and two leading FX banks to see what we can expect to see in the algorithmic FX trading space during 2012....show more
Heather McLean discovers that starting up a new electronic foreign exchange brokerage is a task littered with pitfalls, bear traps and electronic fences. However, approaching this entrepreneurial mission well researched means you will be well armed to overcome the problems and take the strategic decisions that lie ahead....show more
Gold-i, a global market leader in trading systems integration, is aiming to revolutionise the industry this year by transforming MetaTrader, the world’s most popular trading platform for FX, into a multi-asset trading platform. In our three step guide below, we outline details of one of the biggest industry developments for 2012....show more
When deciding on the most suitable broker or service, forex traders are faced with a number of considerations. Until recently in the retail e-FX market, these considerations have focused on a number of basic factors such as spreads, platform usability and transaction options. But as homogeny took over, making it harder to distinguish between brokers, traders have developed more sophisticated criteria on which to base their decisions. ...show more
The demand for low latency trading has been a feature of the HFT equities markets for many years to the point where there is little room left to go in terms of seeking the quickest possible executions. Low latency has also become a feature of the institutional FX space and has been present for a number of years. More recently though there has been a growing demand for low latency execution from the retail FX trading space. Nicholas Pratt investigates why high frequency players are now increasingly interested in trading on retail FX platforms. ...show more
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e-Forex talks with Michael Konnaris, CEO of easy-forex, a leading online forex broker with headquarters in Cyprus and representative offices in many other parts of the world....show more
It may have taken a while for retail trading providers to latch on to the social network phenomenon so prevalent nowadays in most other online activities, but now that they have, social trading is taking the retail forex world by storm. Recent statistics from the eToro OpenBook social investment network show that traders not only prefer to carry out their trading activities through the social medium (over 70% of all trades), but that the medium itself is radically changing trading habits and efficacy. A dramatic 20% improvement in overall trader performance figures since the launch of the network, shows that the newly introduced social aspect of trading is not only a much needed injection of fun into the field, but a veritable revolution in the retail FX industry. ...show more
e-Forex talks with Adil Soyfoo and Nathan Halfon, co-founders of FX Fifty Five, a specialist e-FX execution venue....show more
The current view from Asia is driven by macro factors such as US tapering policy, recovery in the economies of key Western countries, and the risk that growing concerns of a Chinese slowdown negatively impact appetite for the region. ...show more
Max Knudsen Chief Market Strategist at ADS Securities...show more
A backdrop of falling inflation...show more
Solid fundamentals favor the zloty...show more
What happens in Macau? … Isn’t going to stay in Macau ...show more
Leading on from the success of the soon to be repeated London event - February saw the second instalment of the EMFX conference, this time in Singapore....show more
It was my great pleasure to join Alderman Fiona Woolf on her trip to Hong Kong and Taipei this January as a part of the City of London RMB Initiative....show more
At the end of February I had the opportunity to participate at the ‘Bretton Woods @ 70 – Regaining Control of the International Monetary System’ conference in Vienna. The meeting was jointly hosted by the Reinventing Bretton Woods Committee, the Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance and by the Oesterreichische Nationalbank. ...show more
Electronic foreign exchange (e-FX) trading is maturing. Among many of the large institutions that generate the bulk of FX trading volume around the world, the rapid uptake and growth that have characterized this industry for the past decade show signs of slowing. But the e-FX market has not yet lost its dynamism. Instead, electronic trading is simply making new headway among smaller FX players and the market’s most active traders. ...show more
Cryptocurrencies are a confidence trick. Their valuations express a market view and very little else; certainly not reference to a store of intrinsic value. But the same could be said of US Dollars, Sterling or any other fiat currency. Whether you put your trust in dollar bills, credit cards or discrete little chunks of code, you’re not buying exposure to a gold standard. We can all kick cans down the road, but can we define the term “reserve currency†without feeling a little uneasy?...show more
While reporting went live in February it is just one part of an ongoing process. Frances Faulds talks to several industry players about what’s on offer....show more
The growth of electronic trading in global FX has revolutionised the way that market data is distributed and used. But, as Caroline Henshaw discovers, with big data comes big responsibility: stricter regulation, the increasing focus on internal risk processes and cost control mean clients are expecting providers to deliver more for less. In the face of these challenges, disruptive technologies are forging a new path in increasingly competitive markets....show more
While tier one banks may have led the way in the development of singe dealer platforms (SDP) the need to compete, innovations in software and the demand for customisation have increasingly led many other providers to build their own, agile and effective platforms. Richard Willsher investigates....show more
Morgan Stanley’s focus on delivering market-leading quantitative analysis tools through its fixed income e-commerce platform started to pay dividends last year. Facing stricter regulations and tighter profit margins, a growing spectrum of clients are using Matrix’s advanced functionality for unrivalled pre and post-trade transparency and to enter the world of algorithmic trading. Caroline Henshaw spoke to David Wright, head of FX electronic distribution and product development in Europe & the US, and Pete Eggleston, head of Quantitative Solutions and Innovations (QSI), about how the bank is tailoring its unique tool set to the needs of its clients....show more
e-Forex talks with Philippe Ghanem who is building a Middle Eastern FX powerhouse in Abu Dhabi...show more
The impact of the regulatory changes will stretch beyond just the products that fall under mandatory clearing. Frances Faulds looks at how the exchanges are becoming more attractive to FX traders and how they are preparing for future growth....show more
Two key trends have characterised recent developments in electronic trading across North America’s foreign exchange markets: the rise of the Mexican peso and the need for transparency in order to meet regulatory demands....show more
One might think that an aggregation service is a numbers-based business. The more providers that are on the platform the better, and the cheaper the costs, the better. However it is increasingly being viewed as primarily a relationship-based service by the many providers in the market. Against that backdrop Nicholas Pratt sets out to discover what exactly defines a good relationship, how it manifests itself through the technology employed in a liquidity management service and whether it is really possible to find a middle path that satisfies both liquidity providers (LPs) and liquidity takers....show more
e-Forex talks with Rosario M. Ingargiola, President and Chief Executive Officer of FXone Seabury Financial Solutions (SFS)....show more
With Roger Rutherford, Chief Operating Officer, ParFX, Paul Tivnann, Global Head of FX and Commodities Electronic Trading at Bloomberg and John Miesner, Managing Director, Head of Global Sales, KCG Hotspot...show more
MahiFX, the foreign exchange technology provider, has recently announced the launch of MFX Compass, its comprehensive electronic FX trading technology for institutional clients. ...show more
William Essex explores which FX buy side sectors are now becoming the biggest users of execution algorithms and in what ways the focus on transaction cost analysis in FX is further stimulating the use of algorithms as a key component of best-execution toolsets....show more
When the forex industry began to look at technology as a way to make more money, faster, and to stay ahead of the markets and the competition, an ‘out of the box’ or ‘off the shelf’ approach to technological solutions was the way to go. Today, as Heather McLean discovers, that idea is losing its appeal as a more tailored approach and a desire for differentiation in the marketplace, takes precedent. ...show more
e-Forex talks to Fabrice Benouaich, CEO of Olfa Trade about the key role technology now plays in helping forex brokers to meet the challenges of running their trading operations...show more
As new firms enter the FX market, their need for technology, infrastructure and expertise is encouraging them to buy into the white label service model. Nicholas Pratt examines what they should look for from a potential provider....show more
Many brokers do not have an in-house IT team or the required IT infrastructure to manage their trading environment. Tom Higgins, CEO of Gold-i, the global market leader in trading systems integration, explains the range of technology outsourcing options available which enable these brokers to run efficiently....show more
Prime brokerage is proving to be a popular model with institutional FX trading firms so Nicholas Pratt asks what the attraction is and how prime brokers are helping clients to leverage the benefits of their services....show more
With its strong heritage, tailor-made liquidity, innovative technology and growing global client base, CFH Clearing is widely recognised as one of the world’s leading Prime of Prime brokerages. We speak to Lars Holst, CEO of CFH Clearing, to find out more about the company’s successes and the benefits it offers to clients....show more
The increased adoption of Algorithmic FX trading coupled with the growth of currency trading On Exchanges and the launch on new ECNs is making connectivity a much more complex and potentially costly issue for trading firms wanting to link into increasingly numerous sources of FX liquidity. Dan Barnes explores some of the issues....show more
By Marc Burki, CEO of Swissquote Bank...show more
Social trading in forex is becoming ever more established in the retail world, and is even becoming a useful tool for more experienced traders looking to exploit the knowledge of the masses to improve their strategies. Heather McLean explores how this innovative area is seeing the development of new functionalities and toolsets to improve the trading experience for all, leading to an exciting future of opportunity....show more
Recently, our roving “forex photo-journalistâ€, Larry Levy, met up with automated trader Rickey Cheung in Hong Kong to learn more about the local legend. Here are Larry’s photographs and his interview with Rickey....show more
I’m told in the North – 2015 is the Year of the Sheep, in the West the Year of the Ram and in the South - the Year of the Goat. There’s certainly no shortage of differing perspectives on the zodiac animal itself let alone what’s next for the RMB....show more
By Kwah Wee Hong Forex Dealer, Phillip Futures...show more
By Peter Rosenstreich Head of Market Strategy at Swissquote...show more
By Simon Smith Chief Economist at FxPro...show more
By Noureldeen Al Hammoury Chief Market Strategist at ADS Securities...show more
As I travel to meet senior bankers and regulators around the world, the conversation often turns personal. Yes, the agenda can be to discuss how to fix the industry, and providing industry-wide, global solutions to the FICC conduct challenges. The pros and cons of “hard legislation†in response to recent misdemeanours that have occurred is often discussed, but so is an acknowledgement that, despite the best efforts of regulators, the discrepancies and lack of harmonisation in rules is leading to unintended consequences and unclear expectations regarding behaviour and ethics. Thankfully, the industry is coalescing around a few central frameworks....show more
Uncertainty over the future course of regulation and whether more trading malpractice may come to light are continuing to cloud the foreign exchange market. Which is why better policy synchronisation and improved trading transparency are demanding attention....show more
Foreign-exchange users and dealers can expect a significant shift in trading activity to multi-dealer platforms from telephone voice execution and, potentially, from single-dealer systems. ...show more
When you buy a bitcoin, you are buying a record of the fact that you own a bitcoin. Nothing more, nor less, than that. The bitcoin itself is an inalienable record of its own existence (see the box: How are bitcoins stolen?). In the long, cumulative record that is the Bitcoin block-chain, your bitcoin has made its mark – or, if we’re being scrupulously literal-minded, the act of “mining†(generating) your bitcoin was the act of scratching the long-playing record, since its mark will remain in place, through successive iterations of the block-chain, for as long as that globally distributed network endures....show more
An email conversation with the team at start-up Blockstream (“We transform global systems of value exchange that, by design, make it possible to trust anyone;†see www.blockstream.com) brought this fascinating account of how “side-chains†can be applied to physical asset transfers and the foreign exchange market....show more
New York-based LedgerX is currently awaiting regulatory approval from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to operate the first US-regulated exchange and clearing house for trading bitcoin options. Paul Chou, CEO, LedgerX, spoke to William Essex about the company’s plans. ...show more
David Woolcock Global Head of Sales & Business Development at Eurobase International...show more
Single Dealer Platforms are being re-engineered to position clients at the centre of a simpler, more precise and integrated cross-asset class trading environment. Frances Faulds talks to some of those behind these next generation systems....show more
By placing client interests at the heart of what they do and by focusing on the quality of service offered JFD see themselves as game-changers in e-FX. Despite only starting up 3 years ago they are already listed by Forex Magnates in the top 15 Largest MT4 Brokers, top 30 Largest Brokers (all categories) and 1st by average volume traded per account. (source: QIR4 2014). e-Forex asks Cyril TABET, Partner & CEO and Lars GOTTWIK, Partner & MD to tell us more about some of the latest developments at the firm....show more
e-Forex talks to Lars Holst, CEO of CFH Clearing, who explains how the organisation has evolved to be so much more than a leading STP venue for Tier 1 liquidity....show more
Foreign Exchange has been very much in the headlines in the last 12 months and rightly so: Too many problems and irregularities came to the surface, starting with the potential skewing of the 4pm fixing and more recently the lack of liquidity in the market after the SNB decision. Foreign Exchange has – once again – reached a point where the market will demand a better practice. This demand will be to not only access to the best price shown, but more towards the fastest and most reliable price available. Additionally it is also becoming increasingly important from a regulatory perspective to document best execution....show more
Following the recent recommendations from the Financial Stability Board, Frances Faulds looks at the perceived benefits and drawbacks of using the Fix, and what is most likely the way forward for the FX industry....show more
Ganesh Iyer Director, Global Product Marketing Financial Markets Network, IPC...show more
According to James Banister, CEO of FXecosystem, brokerages across the globe are becoming increasingly aware of the competitive advantage they gain from hosting their trading platforms within the same sites as the main liquidity providers. ...show more
The demand for co-location services is still booming despite the market’s maturity but, as Dan Barnes discovers, the detonation of the Swiss Franc cap in mid-January has necessitated some emergency packages for firms in trouble. ...show more
With Rosario M. Ingargiola, President and Chief Executive Officer of Seabury FXone ...show more
Following the carnage of the SNB event, Nicholas Pratt looks at the technology and the steps that brokers can take to protect themselves and their clients in the future....show more
Luis Sanchez CEO of BMFN...show more
In the second in our series of Ask Tom features, we ask Tom Higgins, CEO of Gold-i, to respond to four more questions relating to liquidity bridges, risk management, integration, and hosting and server management – four key areas which are critical to the smooth running of a successful brokerage. Tom is one of the world’s leading experts in the technical aspects of MT4. His responses below highlight how technology can be used to help brokers using MT4 to run their operations more effectively and profitably....show more
Jonathan Brewer, Managing Partner of IS Prime talks about FX Prime Brokerage and the evolving Prime of Prime brokerage landscape...show more
After years of struggling to adjust to the upheaval suffered during the global financial crisis, FX prime brokers are now facing another seismic shift after the SNB’s surprise move in January. But, for the best-of-breed players out there, this debacle has proved an opportunity. Caroline Henshaw investigates....show more
Abdelrahman Alimari Managing Director of CommexFX...show more
Matthew Clark, Co-Founder and Director at Global Forex Pros, a forex education and analysis platform provider, talks to e-Forex about the launch of the company’s new website and service offering for FX brokers....show more
When you talk about sophisticated traditional buy-side players using algos, one name sticks out in the foreign exchange space. Patrick Fleur, head of trading and execution for Dutch pension fund service provider PGGM, has close relationships with virtually every major bank that’s producing algos for FX trading. He is constantly testing and evaluating them and he has dozens of algos to choose from. So what does Patrick think about the evolution of FX algos and what the key issues are now? Adam Cox reports....show more
All eyes were on Brazil for the first Brazil Capital Markets Day in London last month. ...show more
“Jakarta is hot and has a lot of traffic†– such was a comment from the Finance Ministry when compared to the City of London on the Lord Mayor’s recent trip in May. ...show more
The iFX Expo Cyprus is one of the most important B2B iFX exhibitions held for FX brokers, technology providers, and other service vendors and consultants to the retail FX industry. ...show more
By Daniel Ang investment analyst at Phillip Futures...show more
By Yann Quelenn Market Strategist at Swissquote ...show more
By Simon Smith Chief Economist at FxPro...show more
By Noureldeen Al Hammoury Chief Market Strategist at ADS Securities...show more
Dear Reader, since my last contribution to this magazine I am pleased to report that we have made some unbelievably positive progress in our effort to help the markets industry on ethical conduct. ...show more
Bryan Seegers, Head of eFX and Pricing, ADS Securities looks at the wider implications of the Swiss National Bank (SNB) removing its trading floor of 1.20 franc per euro and how the industry is adapting to the longer term issues accelerated by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) actions....show more
Whilst it’s true to say that block-chain applications can sometimes be developed without Bitcoin it isn’t always the case. William Essex discusses the implications this has for the role of crypto-currencies in FX....show more
There is a potential crypto-currency solution to the Greek debt crisis. Lee Gibson Grant, founder of Coinstructors and instigator of the Drachmae project (www.drachmae.com) speaks to William Essex....show more
Launched in 2013, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria’s (BBVA) eMarkets is a next-generation e-commerce platform, initially focusing on FX and money markets, which enables corporate and institutional clients to execute a full range of FX transactions online in real-time, benefitting from a transparent and competitive pricing and the ability to make multiple related payments. ...show more
Lars Holst ...show more
By Sophie Verdellet ...show more
e-Forex talks to Tod Van Name, Global Business Manager for FX and Commodity Electronic Trading at Bloomberg LP....show more
Regulatory requirements are adding further cost and complexity to the FX back office so Frances Faulds reports on how the FIX Working Group and two of the industry’s leading technology providers are helping market participants to address the issues....show more
Electronic communication networks may be in the FX market sweet spot right now but Richard Willshire sets out to discover whether they can all survive....show more
It has been our strong belief for quite some time that the CFD provider landscape is in need of a shake-up. There has been a focus amongst retail brokers in the recent past to try to diversify their product mix to include CFDs....show more
FXSpotStream, a subsidiary of LiquidityMatch, was formed in late 2011. It is a bank owned consortium operating as a market utility, providing the infrastructure that facilitates a multibank API and GUI to route trades from clients to Liquidity Providers. We talk to their CEO Alan F. Schwarz, about the company’s ongoing expansion, key staff and future growth plans....show more
Wayne Roworth, Co-head of e-FX at Sucden Financial explains why the firm is in a stronger position than ever post SNB events....show more
The Middle East region presents a mixed picture of accelerating growth in technology but slower development in product offerings. Richard Willsher investigates....show more
Nicholas Pratt examines ways in which leading institutional FX brokers are leveraging their e-dealing platforms and market intelligence services to meet the needs of clients....show more
Technology is raising the bar in terms of smarter ways to aggregate connections to the large number of trade venues in the FX market. Frances Faulds talks to three leading providers to see what solutions are available....show more
By Rosario M. Ingargiola...show more
Retail FX brokers face a plethora of challenges on a daily basis as they navigate the risks thrown at them by the markets across multiple front-ends, servers, clearing relationships and client segments. With major events such as the Swiss National Bank (SNB) debacle adding to the strain and even causing the collapse of some companies, Heather McLean discovers why it is now more important than ever for brokers to improve control of trading systems and better analyse, manage and hedge customer order flows in order to avoid being blindsided by unexpected market events. ...show more
By Tim Brankin Managing Director of TradeToolsFX...show more
In the third in our series of Ask Tom features, e-Forex poses questions to Tom Higgins, CEO of Gold-i about the increasingly important role technology providers are playing in helping brokers to broaden their offering and manage their risk more effectively. For anyone interested in becoming a market maker, read on....show more
Dan Barnes reports on how market volatility has made flexibility and control of connectivity key for FX trading firms looking to access and leverage opportunities in emerging markets....show more
FXecosystem, a leader in outsourced connectivity services to the FX market, provides global FX banks, financial institutions, fund managers and retail FX brokers with enhanced connectivity and operational efficiencies. James Banister, CEO, FXecosystem discusses key factors to consider when deciding to outsource all or part of your connectivity requirements....show more
e-Forex talks with Romael Karam, Partner at Harmonic Capital Partners LLP (Harmonic), an independent quantitative macro manager....show more
July saw the bi-annual meeting of the Emerging Capital Markets Taskforce. An initiative from George Osborne’s office to help expand trading in EM markets in the City of London....show more
In July this year both R5 and the UK Foreign Office bought together a roundtable of INR traders to meet with the Indian Ministry of Finance and discuss the big question – When or will India overtake China in the economic growth race? ...show more
In addition to the networking opportunities everyone expects, this year’s FXIC New York, organizer Shift Forex, included a new feature—speed networking. During this speed-dating-style program, 20 companies and organizations including Nasdaq, Current Desk, Eurex, CME Group, TIBCO, FCM360 and Investing.com to name few, sponsored tables for five-minute attendee meetings during the morning and afternoon....show more
By Kenneth Tan Forex manager at Phillip Futures...show more
Yann Quelenn Market Strategist at Swissquote Bank SA...show more
By Simon Smith Chief Economist at FxPro...show more
By Noureldeen Al Hammoury Chief Market Strategist at ADS Securities...show more
At present the Fair and Effective Markets Review (FEMR) has produced just a report. But what might it achieve over the longer term for foreign exchange markets? Richard Willsher investigates....show more
Here’s a thought-provoking idea. Bitcoin is the incentive that makes the block-chain work. ...show more
Dan Connell, managing director, market structure and technology practice, Greenwich Associates, co-authored his firm’s report Bitcoin, the Block-chain and Their Impact on Institutional Capital Markets. He’s been watching the banks watching the block-chain. ...show more
With Illit Geller, CEO of Tradair, Harpal Sandhu, CEO of Integral Development Corp., Patrick Myles, CTO of Caplin Systems Ltd and David Woolcock, Global Head of Sales and Business Development at Eurobase International....show more
Roger McAvoy Institutional Sales Director, Asia, at 360T Trading Networks...show more
Caroline Henshaw reports on the development of rapidly growing Renminbi hubs around the world where trading volumes are now starting to surge and explores the role e-banking and e-trading channels will play in facilitating the future development of the RMB market....show more
What do organisations really want from a Liquidity Provider? How have attitudes and priorities changed since SNB events? Leading London-based Prime of Prime Broker, Sucden Financial conducted extensive research to address these questions amongst brokers, banks, fund managers and professional traders across the globe. The results provide insight into current market requirements and, as Peter Brooks, co-head of e-FX at Sucden Financial explains, highlight a major shift in priorities....show more
e-Forex talks with Takis Spiropoulos, Managing Director and Head of the Global e-Commerce Solutions Group at CIBC. ...show more
CFH Clearing, the London-headquartered Prime of Prime clearing provider, continues to attract an increasing number of prestigious institutional clients across the globe. We asked Lars Holst, CEO, CFH Clearing, about the secrets to the organisation’s ongoing success....show more
Exchange traded currency products are here to stay. Frances Faulds looks at how existing and new derivatives exchanges are gearing up to cater for the OTC FX market....show more
Cyber attacks are increasing in both number and sophistication and no market is immune, including FX. Nicholas Pratt examines the nature of the threats and the work being done to limit the damage....show more
High service levels have always been a priority for Gold-i, a world leader in trading systems integration. The company has recently strengthened its support team with a number of new appointments to ensure its increasing number of clients have access to MT4 technology specialists at all times. Ian Bunn has joined Gold-i as Head of Support, with 25 years’ experience in support roles and a strong track record in servicing clients in Europe and Asia. As a further investment, Gold-i is opening an office in China in November 2015 and will be providing local language support to clients operating in the Asia-Pacific time zone. To coincide with this increased focus on service and support, we asked Tom Higgins, Gold-i’s CEO to highlight the options available to brokers who need external support in order to run MetaTrader effectively....show more
In a business where your customers are multitudinous, fast moving, often inexperienced, and therefore sometimes quick to fail, standing out as a retail FX brokerage can be difficult. Heather McLean explores in what ways investing in their technology infrastructures can help retail FX brokers to more quickly achieve their business objectives including becoming the gateways of choice to world markets for their clients....show more
e-Forex asks Cyril Tabet, Partner & CEO at JFD Group, to outline some of the latest news from his company with a focus on JFD Prime....show more
When every microsecond counts cutting code into specialised hardware offers real time saving, but has standard chip evolution caught up? Dan Barnes weighs up the benefits of hardware-accelerated appliances for electronic FX trading applications....show more
The Prime of Prime market is in transition, with many players still struggling to find PB solutions in the wake of the market turbulence in January. We believe that this gives an opportunity to the more active players in the retail broker market to compete in the Prime of Prime space. ...show more
Dan Barnes explores some of the characteristics of the foreign exchange markets across Asia and the key connectivity and infrastructure issues that FX firms need to consider in order to configure the best routes for accessing them....show more
The gap between the spot e-FX pricing and risk management technology deployed by the big liquidity providing banks and other institutions has only slightly narrowed in recent years. ...show more
Traditionally, Contracts for Difference (CFDs) have been seen as a financial derivative class best suited to be used by very experienced and semi-professional traders, as opposed to the majority of retail FX market players. However, as Heather McLean discovers, that opinion is changing, as more retail traders decide to try out CFDs. ...show more
While many firms tend to pick a strategy or two and stick with that, Pecora Capital LLC prefers to mix things up. The Swiss-based macro investment management firm uses a variety of algo-based systems to navigate the world’s FX markets. What’s more, Managing Director Aaron L. Smith and Head of Trading William Adams see no reason why man and machine can’t work together. Smith calls the approach ‘managed systematic’....show more
Last time, I looked at the impact of events in China on LATAM currencies, but as we enter a new year and a likely Fed tightening, it's worth taking a step back and a look at what the coming year may hold. ...show more
Investors in the Middle East are looking for further weakness in the Euro against the major currencies and especially against the US Dollar (USD). Although it has been a choppy ride, the consensus, looking at the open positions, is for further declines towards the parity with the USD. ...show more
Thinking about the direction of currencies in 2016, we have to start with the question: what will be the main themes likely to persist throughout the year? The past year was dominated by fears about global growth, particularly China; the decline in commodity prices, particularly oil; and the denouement of policy divergence between the US and the rest of the world, particularly the EU. ...show more
I recently had the opportunity to attend the Finance Magnates London Conference (FMLC). This is a renaming of the former Forex Magnates London Conference (‘FMLC’) which changed its name to reflect the greater diversity the Forex diaspora had produced....show more
This event has been getting better and better lately and I was quietly surprised and impressed by both the quality of speakers and attendees this year. ...show more
I’m reliably told Gai Bain 更改 is the Chinese word for change. It’s not so much the concept of change that’s so apparent in RMB markets these days – but more the speed of it. Like the Shanghai sky line – its moving on up fast....show more
In November it was my great pleasure to receive an invitation by the Lord Mayor and City of London to an address given by Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and David Cameron....show more
A lot gets said about China joining the Special Drawing Rights – will they, won’t they? More likely when will they? With many pundits adding colour or distraction to the debate....show more
An exclusive report and survey carried out by LMAX Exchange goes right to the heart of what is wrong with the FX market and what needs to be done if it is to regain the trust it has lost among customers. e-Forex summarises some of the findings....show more
Whether or not MiFID II/MIFIR is delayed remains to be seen, but as Frances Faulds reports, the industry is still grappling with a January 2017 deadline to get the systems in place for the biggest regulatory shake-up of the FX, derivatives and commodities markets....show more
Although William Essex believes that large parts of the FX industry have tried to disassociate the blockchain from Bitcoin he argues that ultimately this doesn’t matter as long as this potentially transformative technology is exploited to its full potential. ...show more
Richard Olsen ...show more
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Many banks have joined the consortium around R3’s initiative to design and deliver advanced distributed-ledger technologies to global financial markets. Charley Cooper, managing director, R3, spoke to William Essex about the way forward....show more
Regional eFX providers are making a comeback in currency markets long dominated by the majors, as the myriad new, sophisticated technology solutions available has made them more competitive at a time when clients are increasingly seeking local expertise and dedicated service....show more
Nicholas Pratt examines the growing challenge of sourcing liquidity in today’s FX market and what steps trading firms can take to select the right providers....show more
FXecosystem, the leading provider of outsourced connectivity services to the FX market, experienced significant growth over the last year with the introduction of new products and further investment in its network infrastructure. James Banister, CEO, FXecosystem talks to us about the organisation’s plans for 2016....show more
Crédit Agricole CIB is a leading market maker on the foreign exchange and precious metals market and offers a full range of spot, forward, option-based and derivative foreign exchange and precious metal products. e-Forex talks with Stamos Fokianos, Global Head of eBusiness, about the range of FX services the bank now offers, its growing electronic trading product suite and future plans for building on its comprehensive FX e-commerce capabilities....show more
e-Forex talks with David Mercer, CEO of LMAX Exchange...show more
In September 2015 Hotspot announced the successful launch of its new London FX matching engine. e-Forex caught up with Bill Goodbody, Head of FX at BATS Global Markets and asked him to tell us a little more about the venture....show more
The Chinese currency is the main subject of discussion among those involved in e-FX trading in the Far East....show more
Chris Davis, Managing Director of Broadridge FX and Liquidity (FXL) ...show more
CFH Clearing is rapidly gaining market share as a world leading Prime of Prime broker and award-winning Liquidity Provider. Paul Groves, Sales Director at CFH Clearing, shares his views with e-Forex readers on current broker requirements and priorities for the year ahead....show more
Nicholas Pratt reviews the changes that have recently taken place in the FX prime brokerage market and what it means for trading firms....show more
e-Forex talks with Brandon Mulvihill, MD and Global Head of Institutional sales at FXCM....show more
Heather McLean discovers more about how white labelling solutions can assist retail FX brokers to quickly establish their online trading operations and why white label partnerships can prove a very attractive proposition....show more
According to Luis Sanchez, CEO of BMFN...show more
Over the last six years, Gold-i has become widely known as the world leader in trading systems integration and has built an impressive client list consisting of many of the most prestigious and fastest growing brokerages across the globe....show more
Dan Barnes looks at how financial trading ecosystems have evolved, what services they can offer and the benefits they can deliver to a wide variety of FX market participants ....show more
e-Forex talks with Buford Scott, Managing Partner at Stelrox Capital Management LLP, an alternative asset manager, with a focus on foreign exchange markets....show more
India’s central bank, the RBI, has long been wary of discussing or even admitting the existence of offshore Rupee transactions. Yet this year’s UK India Economic Financial Dialogue (EFD) made a significant breakthrough in that both countries supported the City of London and R5’s plans to create a Rupee Internationalisation Initiative in London....show more
The UK General elections on June 8th was the most important risk event for the Pound since the Brexit referendum. Unfortunately for the Sterling, the elections resulted in a hung Parliament as the ruling Conservative party failed to command the majority needed and the Pound dropped almost 3% when Britain woke up to an uncertain political stage in the face of the Brexit negotiations. ...show more
While interest rates (IR) have continued to climb on major fiscal policy reforms and a rising consumer price index (CPI), U.S Q1 2017 GDP growth rates reached their lowest level since 2014, albeit rising quarter-on-quarter when compared to Q4 2016, signalling that the US economy is slowing down. ...show more
Safe havens had strengthened across the board as risk events over the past month have lifted markets’ risk off sentiment. Notably; the London terror attack, UK general election, Trump’s Russia leak scandal and the gulf states cutting diplomatic ties with Qatar. JPY has been one of the best performing currencies over the past month....show more
Most of the risk, when it comes to the EUR/USD pair, is in the rear window. It is safe to say that the Euro currency does not face any mammoth immediate threat. Investors are anticipating a move from the European Central with respect to their monetary policy because of abating risk. However, the bank has used a very balanced approach so far. Â It is also safe to say that inflation remains the biggest thorn for the ECB and the president of the ECB, Mario Draghi has his eyes riveted on it....show more
Over the past 18 months, GreySpark Partners has observed that the structure of the flow FX market – consisting of spot FX and vanilla OTC swaps, forwards and futures – has continued its incremental evolution....show more
The month of September will mark the 9 year anniversary since the 2009 G20 Pittsburgh meeting which established the framework for new derivatives regulation, leading to a fountain of new rules being established across different regulatory jurisdictions for financial institutions to follow. ...show more
Ask the crowd, says William Essex...show more
A round up of significant recent and forthcoming blockchain events around the world...show more
Maksim Balashevich, founder and CEO of cryptocurrency data-feed provider Santiment, kicked off 2017 by blogging that, “following the recent rise in Bitcoin, we believe the altcoin market is set to experience a similar bull market over the course of the next 6 to 12 months as cryptocurrency investment enters the mainstream consciousness.†So far, so correct. William Essex met Maksim Balashevich to discuss future use cases, crypto-competitive innovators and the wisdom of crowds....show more
Brothers Guy and Hugh Halford-Thompson founded BTL Group in 2015. The company has been listed on Canada’s TSX Venture exchange since November 2015 and runs its own proprietary blockchain platform. Interbit “is focused on helping enterprises streamline their existing IT infrastructure and therefore reduce risk and costs†(http://btl.co/interbit/). William Essex went to find out more....show more
OTC Exchange Network (OTCXN​) leverages its own proprietary blockchain technologies to operate a permissioned, peer-to-peer trading network solving the biggest problems facing all market participants; starting with the OTC Spot FX market. In this article we highlight its range of products and services....show more
The foreign exchange market is more fragmented than ever, and participants need to harness aggregation to access the liquidity they need. Joel Clark reports....show more
With Mark Goodman, Global Head of Electronic Execution (FX, Rates, Credit, Futures) at UBS Investment Bank, Scott Wacker, Global Head of e-commerce Sales and Marketing at JP Morgan, David Mechner, CEO, Pragma Securities, Nickolas Congdon, Head of E-Trading Services at Commerzbank and Fergal Walsh, Managing Director, Global Head of FX Algorithmic Execution at Citi....show more
If events in the financial market over the last couple of years have taught us anything, it is that risk management is not something that should be taken lightly. In fact, it has become such a hot topic during recent months that it has been identified as one of the top focuses for businesses to improve in 2017, after numerous firms have fallen into administration. ...show more
e-Forex talks with Ramy Soliman, CEO of London-based Prime of Prime Brokerage, Stater Global Markets about his firm’s extraordinary fast growth and future plans....show more
Launched almost a decade ago, Citi Velocity has continued to evolve rapidly since its signature v2.0 release in 2012, and has most recently been overhauled to provide a best-of-breed platform, built for and designed by traders in today’s regulatory environment. e-Forex talks to David O’Byrne, Director and FX Global Product Head of Citi Velocity, about the features that will future-proof Citi Velocity and ensure it is not only the fastest and slickest single-dealer platform, but also the safest....show more
The Nordic FX markets continue to adapt quickly to new e-trading trends. But local service providers are caught between competition from international banks and demands from their increasingly technology driven customers, writes Richard Willsher....show more
There are a lot of questions and hype right now about the transformational benefits that Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and allied capabilities are about to bring to the capital markets. They probably will, but the truth is that these capabilities have been around for quite a while, and are now becoming more accessible as they become more affordable and people discover how to use them more effectively....show more
e-Forex talks to Raj Sitlani and Jonathan Brewer, Managing Partners at IS Prime about how the firm has been building up market share....show more
There is an increasing demand for FX services across Asia but providing connectivity and trading services poses several challenges. Nicholas Pratt examines the various strategies employed by service providers to overcome the obstacles....show more
PrimeXM is a leading technology provider to the global financial industry. The company was established in 2010 and its key business focus is providing cutting edge aggregation software, ultra-low-latency connectivity, institutional grade hosting solutions and high end MT4/MT5 Bridging and White Labels. e-Forex talks with Cristian Vlasceanu, CEO of PrimeXM about how it is building its business in Asia....show more
IG has been at the forefront of innovation in trading for over 40 years and is now the world’s leading retail CFD provider, handling over 7 million transactions a month for over 152,000 active clients around the world. e-Forex talks with Mark Chesterman, Global Business Development Officer at the firm about its fast growing Institutional Services division....show more
In this the first of a new series of regular articles that we will be publishing in e-Forex, Alex Walker, Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Transaction Network Services’ Financial Services Division, answers some of your questions on various hosting and network connectivity issues....show more
Alex Krishtop is a trading strategies architect and the founder of Edgesense Solutions, a boutique research and automated trading solutions provider. He can be reached at alex@edgesense.net...show more
Visual Edge is one of Gold-i’s most innovative products for dealers and risk managers. It enables them to manage exposure risk, protect against toxic clients and view key trading metrics such as intra-day P&L and volumes. With customised dashboards, it provides high-level summary views as well as detailed drill down to individual symbols and clients. e-Forex talks to Misha Kipnis, VP, Gold-i Visual Edge, to find out more....show more
Social trading now comes in many guises, but they arguably all developed from the same basic premise: facilitating traders with the ability to copy, or hedge against, successful trades or trading strategies. But how has the concept developed, why are there such marked differences in approach between providers and how is this sector likely to further evolve? Nicola Tavendale writes. ...show more
What a difference a decade makes. Ten years ago, wallet and keys would have been top of the list of essentials when heading out of the house. These days (for most people) mobile phone is now at the top of that list. ...show more
William Essex reports about some very interesting times in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space....show more
With Andreas Thalassinos, Head of Education at FXTM...show more
Amid the recent ramp-up in US-China trade tensions, market observers wouldn’t have been faulted for expecting the Dollar to rise on the wings of risk aversion. Instead, in the days leading up to May 10 when US tariffs were more than doubled to 25 percent on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, the Dollar index continued weakening towards the 97-support level....show more
Since my last analysis on the 15th of March, more key factors affecting the Euro and the Eurozone, after Draghi’s last speech at the ECB conference, need to be taken into consideration. There has been weakening growth within the Eurozone and this has affected the future inflation forecast as well. The Headline inflation predictions have also been downgraded by the ECB, thus forecasting inflation at 1.6% for the financial year of 2021....show more
The Bank of Japan has vowed not to raise interest rates before spring 2020. A specific date gives markets better certainty during the next year, with nobody expecting a rate rise, and will unlikely make any substantial difference to the economy....show more
There are huge headwinds causing the Australian dollar to remain under pressure over recent weeks, all of which show no signs of changing in the short term. Add the major economic headwinds to the upcoming federal election, and the uncertainty this causes and you can understand why the Aussie is finding it hard to cling on to any of the recent rallies. The Australian Dollar had a slightly more positive start to the month despite a decidedly negative start for global stock markets which would typically be met with sharp declines in the Aussie currency. Global markets have fallen into the red on concerns that the U.S.-China trade war may re-escalate....show more
James Sinclair, executive chairman at MarketFactory, sets out to define a flash event, ask how frequent they are, determine what factors cause them and how market participants may minimise their impact...show more
As return on equity in financial markets continues to remain stubbornly low and often below funding costs, business leaders need to consider their options to address core underlying profitability. Many have already deployed the traditional options of offshoring, nearshoring, outsourcing. And still industry wide ROE is below 10% against a higher cost of capital. This position is not sustainable and so new approaches and different target operating models need to be considered....show more
Exploring new ways to deliver deeper insights into your FX trading operations ...show more
Integral’s Chief Revenue Officer Vikas Srivastava offers his perspective on how heads of FX desks can use technology strategically to future-proof their trading and operations while still doing well in a low volatility environment....show more
Stater Global Markets is a London-based Prime of Prime brokerage which offers institutional clients direct access to Tier 1 bank and non-bank liquidity, clearing and institutional grade technology for FX and CFD trading.  The firm, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCAâ€), has a global client base and offers customisable multi-asset liquidity and technology solutions of the highest calibre. ...show more
Since ParFX’s inception in 2013, the company has been at the forefront of efforts to bring about change to the industry. It played a role in the development of the FX Global Code through its participation in ACI’s foreign exchange committee and was one of the first to sign up. e-Forex spoke to Roger Rutherford, Chief Operating Officer at ParFX, to discover more about the unique aspects of the platform and business model, and the steps it will be taking to continue its mission of improving trading behaviour in the FX market....show more
e-FX in Africa is a huge opportunity. The winners will be those businesses that can span the continent and harness technology to deliver services to a huge and varied range of clients, writes Richard Willsher....show more
By Guillaume Spay, Global Solution Director, Treasury Capital Markets at Finastra....show more
Advanced Markets is a company focused on bringing true Direct Market Access (DMA) liquidity, credit and technology solutions to the foreign exchange, energy, precious metals and CFD markets. The firm has put together an international team of FX experts who are located all over the world. We asked key members of this team to tell us a little more about their individual roles and responsibilities, the clients that the firm is servicing and their thoughts on how Advanced Markets is adapting to the fast changing FX landscape....show more
By Stefano Durdic, Managing Director of Financial Services, Transaction Network Services...show more
There is an increasing awareness among brokers and institutional trading firms that quality rather than quantity works best when sourcing liquidity. This has resulted in a shift away from linking to the maximum number of liquidity providers (LPs) on the basis of simply obtaining the best price to establishing deep and long-term relationships with a small panel of LPs. Joe Morgan reports....show more
In every industry, there are movements and shifts to public cloud. Amazon, Google and Microsoft are taking the lead, moving significant amounts of computing requirements to cloud services, and a significant portion of the marketplace is adopting noticing and following suit. In this article, I will discuss the role of public and private cloud in the FX trading environment, and how firms can ensure they are adequately protected....show more
The factors that influence FX network connectivity are diverse. Regulations govern the culture of trading in FX as they do other asset classes; technology provides the tools while market participants and......show more
Having a chat with one of the world’s fastest-growing FX and cryptobrokerage solution providers...show more
In an industry as technology-centric as crypto trading, it’s somewhat ironic that speed might be less important than many people might think....show more
All brokers operating in the EU, whether they operate under a 125k licence or a 730k licence, are no doubt aware that under the Capital Requirements Regulation Directive 4, they need to be capturing their Capital Requirements. ...show more
Mobile technology opened the door for the individual trader. Prior to this technology, prospective traders were bound by location and inhibited by daily routines and obligations. From conception, the percentage of trades made via a mobile platform and the amount of trade volume has steadily increased....show more
Forex robots, Expert Advisors and Artificial Intelligence, all of these words are probably familiar right now to retail Forex traders. They may be thinking, “I don’t need any of that to trade the financial markets, all I need to do is click a button!â€. Well, the professionals are saying otherwise, hedge funds such as Renaissance Technologies and Bridgewater are already using Artificial Intelligence and computer modelling with great success in trading. Why do these firms even bother using automated systems?...show more
By removing barriers to exchange, standards always increase the amount of business done. They cut costs, widen margins, expand opportunities and reduce risk....show more
Richard Willsher investigates how electronic FX markets are performing as the global corona crisis deepens...show more
In 2020, global capital markets consultancy GreySpark Partners observes that overall FX market structural dynamics significantly impact trading franchise business models and drive decision-making across the different segments of market participants in different ways....show more
For as long as there’s been foreign exchange trading, buy side institutions generate the demand for FX liquidity, while market makers provide the supply. A symbiotic relationship that has stood the test of time, but with increased pressures for best execution and enhanced transparency, especially in uncertain times like now with the resurgence of volatility, the demand for peer-to-peer liquidity has never been greater....show more
“The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) survey states that turnover is a rough proxy for liquidity and, if it is, liquidity is at an all-time high,” said Gavin Wells, moderator of the FX Day at Sibos on 23 September 2019. “Yet if you talk to market participants, they would tell you that the capital implications have led to a reduction in credit, which has reduced market access, which means they have less liquidity. So how can both conditions exist?”...show more
Refinitiv’s trading business provides solutions across the entire trading workflow including pre-trade insight, execution capabilities, and transactional workflow solutions for the sales, trading, and research of FX, rates, credit, equities and other exchanged-traded instruments globally, constituting nearly all the major buy-side and sell-side financial firms around the world....show more
Client demands for speed and efficiency, coupled with regulatory pressure for transparency, will continue to drive the growth of electronic trading, including trading of more complex products....show more
With Paul Arnold, EMEA Head of Sales, Euronext FX and Vincent Sangiovanni, CEO 360TGTX...show more
We asked Gill Bacon, Business Development Director, Banking to tell us why now, more than ever, integrating trading, treasury and sales operations can help navigate the ever-complex world of e-trading and regulatory compliance....show more
FX, as an asset class, has long exhibited certain key and defining features in the context of the global financial markets. Firstly, there is the intrinsic link between FX and the real economy – and the role that FX plays not only in facilitating global trade and commerce, but also payments....show more
In this increasingly competitive market, we continue to see spread compression in FX and precious metals. This has been an exponential trend since the rise of electronic trading (namely e-FX), as access to the $6 trillion daily FX industry has become far more appealing with the evolution of technology and the relative ease of market entry....show more
Gold price has risen by almost 2% in the past month while the dollar index has risen by more than 4%. This price action was mostly due to global central banks and policymakers. The two have moved swiftly to support the economy....show more