Month: February 2019

Has FX Turned a Corner?

Posted on February 28, 2019 by Galen Stops

Now that MiFID II is in force and the industry has had time to digest the Global Code of Conduct, platform providers will face less distractions in 2019, says Galen Stops.In the second half of 2017 it seemed as though many FX market participants, on both the buy and sell sides, were forced to shelve any business plans that they might have as resources were diverted to help ensure compliance with MiFID II ahead of the deadline on January 3, 2018. Preparations for MiFID II cost an estimated $2.1bn in 2017 alone, according to a report by Expand, a Boston Consulting Group company, and IHS Markit, and this does not account for the amount of manpower and time that was also devoted to ensuring that everything was ready within these firms ahead of the deadline.

Integral: Adopting the Netflix Model for Technology

Posted on February 28, 2019 by Galen Stops

I ntegral reported average daily volume (ADV) of $36.41 billion between April 2018 and the end of the year, although this figure includes all FX products, not just spot. Because last year was the first time that Integral publicly started reporting monthly volumes it’s impossible to benchmark the firm’s performance along this metric, but in any case the firm’s CEO, Harpal Sandhu, explains that these volumes are really indicative of client performance rather than the platforms. “Integral is much more heavily weighted towards being a technology provider for our customers, as opposed to being just a pure platform or ECN,” he says.

Integral: Adopting the Netflix Model for Technology

Posted on February 28, 2019 by Galen Stops

I ntegral reported average daily volume (ADV) of $36.41 billion between April 2018 and the end of the year, although this figure includes all FX products, not just spot. Because last year was the first time that Integral publicly started reporting monthly volumes it’s impossible to benchmark the firm’s performance along this metric, but in any case the firm’s CEO, Harpal Sandhu, explains that these volumes are really indicative of client performance rather than the platforms. “Integral is much more heavily weighted towards being a technology provider for our customers, as opposed to being just a pure platform or ECN,” he says.

Has FX Turned a Corner?

Posted on February 28, 2019 by Galen Stops

Now that MiFID II is in force and the industry has had time to digest the Global Code of Conduct, platform providers will face less distractions in 2019, says Galen Stops.In the second half of 2017 it seemed as though many FX market participants, on both the buy and sell sides, were forced to shelve any business plans that they might have as resources were diverted to help ensure compliance with MiFID II ahead of the deadline on January 3, 2018. Preparations for MiFID II cost an estimated $2.1bn in 2017 alone, according to a report by Expand, a Boston Consulting Group company, and IHS Markit, and this does not account for the amount of manpower and time that was also devoted to ensuring that everything was ready within these firms ahead of the deadline.

Multi-Dealer Liquidity on the Rise

Posted on February 27, 2019 by Galen Stops

Although the latest FX committee turnover data hold no terrors for other channels, a longer term trend does seem to be confirmed that more volume is heading towards the multi-dealer model, especially those on a disclosed basis. Colin Lambert takes a look.The historically clichéd method for a customer to execute an FX hedge was to call three or four banks and ask for a price. Surprisingly, even as relatively recently as late 2017 customers were still telling Profit & Loss and other industry surveys that they still preferred to pick up the phone, but more recent data suggest this is no longer the case and that customers are moving to the e-channel for their FX needs.

FXSpotStream: A Model That Works

Posted on February 27, 2019 by Galen Stops

Throughout 2018 FXSpotStream experienced a very sizable increase in trading volumes, even though it made no trading product launches on its service last year. Yes, in 2017 it added NDF/NDS products to its trading suite, and yes, in percentage terms it saw a healthy increase in trading volumes in this segment, but this still only accounts for less than 1% of the overall volume on the service. Instead, FXSpotStream’s CEO, Alan Schwarz, attributes the uptick in trading volumes to a significant increase in business from existing clients and volumes coming on line from new clients in the pipeline. At the same time, a broader shift in the market towards disclosed trading is contributing to FXSpotStream’s volume growth as is the firm’s fee structure, which sees liquidity provider banks pay a flat monthly fee to trade on the service while liquidity takers are not charged at all.

QuantHouse Makes FastMatch Tape Available via API

Posted on February 27, 2019 by Galen Stops

QuantHouse announced that the FastMatch consolidated central market dataproduct, the FX Tape, is now available on its API Ecosystem store.QuantHouse is an independent provider of systematic trading solutions, including market data services, an algo trading platform and infrastructure solutions. QuantHouse says that more than 300 buy side firms and investment banks are connected to its API Ecosystem, which enables access solutions provided by buy and sell side firms, execution venues and technology partners. As QuantHouse manages the API, customers can access services quickly and efficiently, simply by ‘plugging-in’.FastMatch’s FX Tape includes transactions from a range of market participants and sources, including FastMatch’s ECN, delivering a reference point for executed trades in the spot FX market.

Multi-Dealer Liquidity on the Rise

Posted on February 27, 2019 by Galen Stops

Although the latest FX committee turnover data hold no terrors for other channels, a longer term trend does seem to be confirmed that more volume is heading towards the multi-dealer model, especially those on a disclosed basis. Colin Lambert takes a look.The historically clichéd method for a customer to execute an FX hedge was to call three or four banks and ask for a price. Surprisingly, even as relatively recently as late 2017 customers were still telling Profit & Loss and other industry surveys that they still preferred to pick up the phone, but more recent data suggest this is no longer the case and that customers are moving to the e-channel for their FX needs.

FXSpotStream: A Model That Works

Posted on February 27, 2019 by Galen Stops

Throughout 2018 FXSpotStream experienced a very sizable increase in trading volumes, even though it made no trading product launches on its service last year. Yes, in 2017 it added NDF/NDS products to its trading suite, and yes, in percentage terms it saw a healthy increase in trading volumes in this segment, but this still only accounts for less than 1% of the overall volume on the service. Instead, FXSpotStream’s CEO, Alan Schwarz, attributes the uptick in trading volumes to a significant increase in business from existing clients and volumes coming on line from new clients in the pipeline. At the same time, a broader shift in the market towards disclosed trading is contributing to FXSpotStream’s volume growth as is the firm’s fee structure, which sees liquidity provider banks pay a flat monthly fee to trade on the service while liquidity takers are not charged at all.

CME Tweaks FX Options

Posted on February 26, 2019 by Galen Stops

CME Group is set to change the strike price listing for certain FX options contracts in a bid to offer more granularity.Essentially, the exchange is reducing the number of steps above and below the at-the-money strike, while also reducing the strike increments. So, for AUD/USD, instead of 21 steps at $0.50 increments above and below the at-the-money strike, there will be eight steps above and below at $0.25 increments and then 10 steps at $0.50 increments for all weeklies and front monthly contracts. For non-front serials and quarterly contracts there will be 10 steps above and below the at-the-money strike at $0.50 increments and then 10 steps after that at $1 increments.

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