Financial markets Archives - The Industry Spread

Expiry Dates on all Financial Markets Conduct Act Licences to be Removed

March 18, 2019 by industryspread Leave a Comment Filed Under: Regulatory Annoucements Tagged: Financial markets, Financial Markets Authority, FMA, legal obligations, licence, markets, regulatory

The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) is to remove the expiry dates for all licences issued under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 in a process expected to be complete by the middle of 2019.

Open-ended terms will apply to all new and existing licences, unless an expiry date is specified on a case by case basis. Current licence holders will not have to apply to be relicensed before the expiry date of their licence.

A notice of variation has today been sent to all holders of existing licences.

The FMA initially imposed on a 5-year term on all licences as part of a conservative approach to ensure it had the opportunity to reassess licence holders. The FMA has revisited this approach following the development of our risk monitoring framework.

A targeted consultation on the proposal took place at the end of last year.

The FMA does not believe that the costs associated with re-licensing would be matched by the benefits gained.

Relicensing imposes significant direct and indirect costs on all market participants, regardless of the risk they pose to fair, efficient and transparent markets.

The FMA will continue to prioritise its monitoring, intelligence gathering and supervision activities to those areas it considers to pose the most significant risk and harm. The change does not remove any of the regulatory tools at the FMA’s disposal and the FMA will take appropriate action if a licensee fails to meet their licence conditions or legal obligations.”

Any licence holders with questions should contact Compliance@fma.govt.nz

The media contact is Edwin Mitson who can be contacted at Edwin.mitson@fma.govt.nz

Questions from the general public can be sent to questions@fma.govt.nz

SAXO Bank Places Bid Amount of €424 million to BinckBank for All its Issued and Outstanding Shares

March 13, 2019 by Karthik Subramanian Leave a Comment Filed Under: Industry News Tagged: BinckBank, Capital Markets, Financial markets, Kim Fournais, Mr F. Reisbøl, Mr S. Blaafalk, Mr S. Kyhl, risk management, Saxo Bank, Vincent Germyns

Copenhagen-based multi-asset broker, SAXO Bank on Tuesday confirmed about placing a bid for BinckBank. The bid amount of €424 million by SAXO Bank will be voted by the shareholders of the Dutch company on April 23rd.

Saxo Bank’s €424 million offer to BinckBank is 42 per cent, 43 per cent and 38 per cent over the average volume weighted price over the last one, two and three months prior to the announcement. If all things go well, the deal is expected to get completed in the first half of Q3, 2019, with shareholders vote only a technical requirement.

BinckBank is a discount brokerage and is listed on Euronext, and through this takeover, both companies will help to realize important economies of scale. The deal will be financed partly through Saxo Bank’s available cash resource and €100 million through an equity financing.

With increased competition in the EU region and stiff regulatory competition, the deal between Saxo Bank and BinckBank is the next logical step to operate competitively in the region. With changing business dynamics, there is considerable change in client behaviour, and firms are required to take proactive and decisive strategic actions.

CEO of Saxo Bank Kim Fournais said:

“Our conversations and initial preparations over the past months have reaffirmed the strong cultural fit between BinckBank and Saxo Bank based on a shared vision and purpose to democratise investment and empower everyone to take control of their financial destiny.”

Vincent Germyns, Chairman of BinkBank said:

“On a term of two to three years, this will, of course, have consequences for staff. As far as possible these consequences will be met through natural staff turnover. In the case of redundancies, a good severance scheme will apply. The executive board, supervisory board and works council support this severance scheme unanimously.”

Post completion of the deal, Saxo Bank will appoint Mr S. Kyhl, Mr S. Blaafalk and Mr F. Reisbol, to the supervisory board of BinckBank. And at the same time, Mr J.W.T. van der Steen and Mr J.G. Princen will continue as independent directors. And, Van der Steen will become the Chairman of the Supervisory Board.

The BinkBank Executive Board will be composed of three members: Mr V.J.J. Germyns, Mr E.J.M. Kooistra and Mr S.J. Clausing post the deal.

GBPUSD Breaks Below 1.30 as we Enter a Heavy Brexit Week

March 11, 2019 by Nikolas Papas Leave a Comment Filed Under: Market News - European Open Tagged: Asian Markets, banks, Brexit, Donald J. Trump, FED, Financial markets, forex markets, Powell, trading platform, UK lawmakers

It has been a positive start to the new trading week as Asian markets recorded gains across the board. Major US indices on Friday fell for five straight days. In Japan, the Nikkei225 main index added 0.47 percent to 21,125 and the Hang Seng benchmark in Hong Kong gained 0.59 percent at 28,393. The Shanghai Composite rising 0.96 percent at 2,998, while The Aussie stockmarket finished 0.40 percent lower to 6263.

In commodities markets, the Crude oil gains 60 cents to $ $56.65/barrel while Brent oil is 48 cents higher to $65.95/barrel. Gold is trading flat at $1298 after Fridays ten dollar rally. The precious metal price may find support at $1280 ahead of testing the 100-day simple moving average down to $1265. The yield on 10-year Treasuries held at 2.6393 percent.

On the Lookout: The Japan February preliminary machine tool orders came at -29.3% vs. -18.8% prior. The German government is said to now expect 2019 GDP growth of 0.8% The previous revision to their growth forecast for the economy stood at 1.0% for 2019 from 1.8% last.

In our trading calendar during the Wall Street session, the US retail sales data will be published at 12:30GMT. BOE MPC member Haskel’s speech will be closely followed at 13:00GMT. The US traders may receive some fresh trading impetus from the US President Trump’s budget release at 15:30GMT.

UK GDP for January will be released Tuesday with the expectations for 0.2% vs. -0.4% last month. US durable goods orders for January will be released on Wednesday.

In Central Banks events for the week, we have Fed’s Powell speak on Monday at 12:00GMT. On Tuesday, March 12 Speech by Reserve Bank Deputy Governor Guy Debelle. Thursday, the BOJ is expected to keep rates unchanged. Kuroda speaks as well and focus will be on whether he signals the potential for more easing due to lower growth and inflation expectations.

Trading Perspective: In forex markets, the Aussie dollar is adding some pips and currently trading at the daily highs to 0.7041, while the Kiwi regained the 0.68 level amid US dollar weakness. The US dollar index has now established a trading range between 97 and 97.70.

GBPUSD Daily Chart

GBPUSD: Brexit concerns returned to FX markets amid increased odds of the PM Theresa May’s Brexit deal rejection by the UK lawmakers ahead of Tuesday meaningful vote. The Cable in Asian trading session broke below the 1.3000 level and reached three-week lows near 1.2957.

It will be a busy Brexit Calendar this week, here are the main events

12th March – Next “meaningful vote” on Brexit in UK Parliament
13th March – Parliamentary vote on opposing “no deal” exit option
14th March – Parliamentary vote on extending negotiations/Article 50
21st – 22nd March – EU Leaders’ Summit
29th March – Article 50 end date
9th May – European Council (heads of state) meeting
18th – 23rd May – EU Parliamentary elections
20th – 21st June EU Leaders’ Summit

GBPUSD during Asian session breached the all-important 50 and 200-day moving averages deteriorating the long term technical picture, now a test of the 100-day moving average at 1.2885 looks possible as we enter a volatile week for the pair.

In sterling futures market traders scaled back their open interest positions by just 602 contracts on Friday from the previous session, clinching the seventh drop in a row. On the other hand, volume rose for the second consecutive day, this time by around 66.4K contracts.

EURUSD started the week higher at 1.1242 area in an attempt to stabilize after last week’s heavy losses amid the backdrop of economic and political uncertainty in the Eurozone. The pair must reenter the two-month trading range lower band at 1.1240 in order to scare bears away.

The open interest in Euro futures market shrunk by more than 4.1K contracts on Friday, from Thursday’s final 549,347 contracts. In the same line, volume dropped significantly by nearly 151K contracts.

EURUSD Hourly (H1) Chart

USDJPY is adding 30 pips in early European session catching some bids around 111.20 in an attempt to turn the momentum to bullish mode. A break above the 100-day moving average at 111.40 can open the way for the upper bound in the recent trading range at 112.

In JPY futures markets open interest shrunk by around 12.1K contracts after three consecutive daily builds. On the other hand, volume increased for yet another session, this time by almost 36.8K contracts.

SafeCharge Adds Susanne Chishti as Non-Executive Director to its Board of Directors

March 6, 2019 by Karthik Subramanian Leave a Comment Filed Under: Industry News Tagged: Arman Tahmassebi, Capital Markets, Christian Faes, Financial markets, IG GROUP, LeadInvest, pre-IPO funding, risk management, SafeCharge, Susanne Chishti

London-listed innovative payment solution provider to online and mobile merchant, SafeCharge has added Susanne Chishti as a non-executive director to its board of directors.

Ms Chishti has over two decades of experience in the banking and payments sector with 10 plus years of board level experience. She also has extensive knowledge of workings of FinTech start-ups and is currently the CEO and Founder of FINTECH Circle.

FINTECH Circle is an angel network that enables emerging fintech firms to execute their vision and expand their business. At present, she is also serving as non-executive director at Kompli Holdings plc, Crown Agents Bank Ltd and JLG Group Plc.

SafeCharge’s majority share is owned by Israeli investor Teddy Sagi and is witnessing strong growth across verticals. The company reported 24 per cent growth in 2018 revenue compared to 2017 and 45 per cent year-on-year growth in deal turnover from its customers.

Commenting on the new addition to the Board, SafeCharge’s chairman Roger Withers, said:

“We are delighted to welcome Susanne to SafeCharge. Her background and extensive experience in the banking and FinTech sectors will further strengthen the Board and will be invaluable as we continue to grow the business.”

Former ETX Capital CEO Arman Tahmassebi Joins FinTech Player LeadInvest

Former ETX Capital’s CEO Arman Tahmassebi has now joined a Fintech player, LeadInvest as its Chief Operating Officer. It marks the transition for Mr Tahnassebi, who has been working in the retail forex broker industry for the last two decades.

He started with IG Group, where he spent almost 15 years in various roles and then moved to London Capital Group as its COO. From there he moved to ETX Capital, where he was initially appointed as COO and CEO of the company.

LeadInvest’s move to appoint Arman Tahmassebi as its COO comes at a time when the whole fintech sector is going through toughened regulatory pressure. LeadInvest is a peer-to-peer lending platform and has raised near to £30 million in a pre-IPO funding round. Tahmassebi is joining the firm as the company is in the run-up to a prospective IPO, which it announced later last year.

But, CEO and Cofounder of LeadInvest, Christian Faes gave hints that the company’s IPO plans have been delayed for almost one to two years, as it wants to look for the effects of Brexit before taking next step.

ATFX Promotes Mohamed Halim to the Position of Senior VP for MENA Region

February 28, 2019 by Karthik Subramanian Leave a Comment Filed Under: Industry News Tagged: Amaury Dauge, ATFX, Brokers, Capital Markets, Financial markets, FX trading, Mohamed Halim, Sebastian Ceria, trading platform

Multi-regulated FX broker, AT Capital Markets (ATFX), has promoted Mohamed Halim to the position of Senior Vice President for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and the appointment to the role has been made with immediate effect.

Mohamed Halim has been working with ATFX since March 2018 and has over a decade of experience working in the region. At ATFX, Halim was responsible for expanding its brand partnership campaigns and created new business opportunities for the company. He will be working based out of the company’s headquarter in Dubai to develop multi-channel marketing and content solutions while leveraging the unique attributes of ATFX’s offering.

Prior to joining ATFX, Halim had worked in different roles and has teamed up with many FX brands which include working as Sales Manager for the MENA at UAE subsidiary of UK-regulated GKFX Financial Services. In addition, Halim has also served as a Senior Account Manager with GCC-focused FX broker Noor Capital Markets and also an Account Executive with Swissquote.

Technology Provider Axioma Elevates Amaury Dauge as Company President

Leading technology provider to enterprises, Axioma has announced the appointment of ex-Euronext CFO Amaury Dauge as company president.

In this newly created role, Mr. Dauge will be responsible for enhancing the execution and operational management of the company. Amaury Dauge will report directly to Axioma Founder and CEO, Sebastian Ceria.

For Dauge, the appointment at Axioma strengthens his association with the firm, as he has joined the firm as CFO in 2017 and has been working as Chief Operating Officer. According to the statement released by the company, Dauge will continue to serve all his current roles.

Dauge had joined Axioma from Euronext, where he spent a major part of his career when he joined the firm in 2001 as merger and acquisition analyst. During this time frame, he has worked in multiple roles before being appointed as CFO in 2014.

Founder and CEO Sebastian Ceria commented:

“In an environment of increasing competition and shrinking margins, investment managers must take up their game by leveraging best-of-breed solutions, analytics and data, all interoperably driven by modern, cost-efficient technology.”

“Amaury’s appointment as President will ensure that we fully optimize our internal resources in order to deliver the capabilities our clients need to achieve competitive advantage.”

Dauge also commented:

“Over the past three years, Axioma has almost doubled its headcount and extended its global footprint in support of our expanding client base. As we continue to grow, my focus will be on making sure that Axioma has the right structure, processes, and resources to deliver on our vision at scale, while maintaining the unique collaborative approach to client problem-solving that is Axioma’s hallmark.”

Brazil’s B3 Exchange Publishes Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2018 Financial Results, Reports Strong Volume and Revenue Growth

February 22, 2019 by Karthik Subramanian Leave a Comment Filed Under: Industry News Tagged: B3, Brasil Bolsa Balcão S.A, brokerage, Capital Markets, Financial markets, financial services, FX rates, Retail Fx, RPC, trading platform

The Brasil Bolsa Balcão S.A, commonly known as B3 and is one of the world’s largest financial market infrastructure provider by market value has published its fourth quarter and full year 2018 financial results.

The year, 2018 marked the first full year result for B3 and has managed to achieve a strong financial performance during the period. The B3 exchange came into existence after the merger of three separate exchanges, São Paulo Stock Exchange (Bovespa), the Brazilian Mercantile and Futures Exchange (BM&F) and CETIP. The exchange provides trading in all financial instruments including FX, stock indices, interest rates, commodities and more.

The full-year revenue for B3 is reported at R$5.352 billion ($1.42 billion) in all business segment, representing an increase of 20.6 per cent year-on-year. The BM&F segment during the period generated an average daily volume of 3.7 million contracts in 2018, a growth of 20.8 per cent compared to 2017.

The BM&F segment has the highest trading volume of contracts in Interest rate Brazilian real (BRL), with more than 1.9 million contracts, representing a rise of 2.3 per cent year-on-year. The strong volumes were mainly contributed due to the volatility and uncertainty in the market fueled by a reduction in interest rates in 2017 and the Brazilian elections in 2018.

The Interest Rates in USD contracts volume for FX Rates has been boosted by 31.6 per cent, due to the demand for hedging against exchange rate variations. The average daily volumes for FX Rates in 2018 were 690,100 contracts, an increase of 27.4 per cent from 541,800 contracts in 2017.

The revenue per contract (RPC) also managed to climb higher by 7.3 per cent year-on-year for the BM&F segment in 2018. Higher revenue realisation was mainly driven by 17.1 per cent appreciation in USD against BRL. More specifically, the average RPC for FX rates was R$3,355 ($890.50) in 2018 and RPC for interest rates in USD also grew by 18.6 per cent year-on-year.

In the fourth quarter of 2018, the average daily volume in the derivatives market (BM&F segment), came in at 3.7 million contracts, reporting a growth of 15.6 per cent compared to the final quarter of 2017. The growth in the final quarter was mainly driven by 41.7 per cent increase in the volumes of Interest rates in USD and 26.7 per cent year-on-year growth in FX rates. The trading volume for stock indices also doubled during the final quarter.

Digital Vega Adds Two Veteran Executives to Institutional FX Options Business

February 18, 2019 by Ricardo Esteves Leave a Comment Filed Under: Industry News Tagged: Digital Vega, Financial markets, foreign exchange, Fx Option, FX trading, OTC derivatives, Retail Fx, trading platform

Digital Vega has appointed two senior appointments in order to support its expanded product development strategy for its leading FX Options e-trading platform. The firm, which will shortly add two new salespeople, has recently hired two new senior developers.

The provider of FX Options trading solutions named industry veteran and ex-Tullet Prebon executive Simon “Benny” Lewis as Head of Interdealer Solutions. “Benny” spent 20 years at Tullett Prebon, building a market leading exotic options desk from scratch, and ultimately being appointed Global Head of FX Options, until retiring in 2016.

“Transparency, regulation, and efficiency are driving the evolution of Capital Markets, and trading firms are increasingly looking to trade more of their FX options online as a result. Digital Vega has already built a strong business and reputation in the Dealer to Client market, and I am really pleased to be able to lead the new Interdealer initiative,” Simon Lewis commented on his appointment.

Digital Vega has also appointed Romain Camus as Head of Exotic Options. Camus, who spent 15 years working in foreign exchange in addition to roles in both commodities and equities, joins the company from VTB where he was Executive Director, Head of Foreign Exchange Structuring. His vast career includes roles as Structurer at Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank.

“Joining Digital Vega was an obvious decision for me, as it has an innovative set of products and an impressive client list, which provides a tremendous foundation of success to build upon. Building and delivering an Exotics and Wealth Management platform will capture the growing volumes in this asset class and satisfy client demand for the increased use of electronic trading solutions,” said Romain Camus.

Mark Suter, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder, Digital Vega, said:

“We are very pleased to welcome Simon and Romain to our growing team. They bring extensive domain knowledge, many years of experience working in our core markets, and valuable contacts that will help to fuel our development. Digital Vega is already recognised as the leading FX platform for trading vanilla options electronically, and our aim is to build on this success by adding new clients, extending our product coverage to Exotics and Wealth Management Solutions, and launching a unique new solution for the Interdealer market.”

Digital Vega is a leading provider of OTC FX option trading tools to the Institutional FX market. Its offering includes the Medusa FX Options trading platform which has gained attention as more OTC and derivatives markets migrate to electronic trading models, driven either by regulations or client demand.

TMX Group’s Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2018 Revenue Increases by 22%, Tops Analysts Estimate

February 15, 2019 by Karthik Subramanian Leave a Comment Filed Under: Industry News Tagged: brokerage, Capital Markets, dividend, Financial markets, financial results, Fiscal 2018, investment, risk management, TMX Group, trading platform

Canadian financial services company TMX Group, owner of Toronto Stock Exchange has released its fourth quarter financial results. The group continued with its strong third quarter, and in the fourth quarter, the profits have topped the analyst estimate as it recorded strong growth in performance of its global solutions, insights and analytics business.

The revenue in the fourth quarter came in at CA$207.6 million ($156.4 million), which is 22 per cent or CA$36.8 million higher year-on-year. However, higher revenues during the quarter have not translated to higher net income during the quarter, and it fell by almost 65 per cent or $132.5 million to reach $69.8 million.

This is to be noted that the net income in the final quarter of 2017 was benefited from the number of acquisition, which then boosted the results. This included gains in tune to $157.8 million from the sale of NGX and Shorcan Energy. And, it also added gains of FX forwards relating to the Trayport acquisition.

During the quarter, the organic revenue growth that came was 8 per cent, excluding Trayport, which had revenue growth in its core subscriber business of 12 per cent on a yearly comparison.

For the full year Fiscal 2018, the total revenue came in at CA$817.1 million, which is also 22 per cent higher compared to 2017, which had a revenue of CA$668.9 million. The net income during the period also witnessed a fall of 22 per cent year-on-year to CA$286.0 million.

Commenting on operating performance in the fourth quarter of 2018, John McKenzie, Chief Financial Officer of TMX Group, said:

“We were pleased to report another strong quarter with revenue growth of 22%. Once again, we saw the benefits of having a diversified business where the strength in our trading, clearing and subscription-based businesses more than offset a decrease in additional listing fees revenue.”

Lou Eccleston, the Chief Executive Officer of TMX Group also added:

“TMX’s 2018 results reflect the strength and resiliency in our diversified business model, with year over year growth across all operating segments.”

“In a year highlighted by strong financial performance, TMX continued to make significant progress in the execution of our global growth strategy, increasing our presence in key new markets around the world. Looking ahead, TMX is steadfast in our client-first commitment to serving the world’s premier capital markets, while keenly focused on generating long-term, profitable growth.”

The Board of the company has declared a dividend of $0.62 on each common share outstanding — a rise of 7 per cent from the previous year.

Adaptive Financial Consulting Appoints Former Saxo Executive Amanda Harrison as Senior Sales Executive

February 12, 2019 by Karthik Subramanian Leave a Comment Filed Under: Industry News Tagged: Amanda Harrison, brokerage, Brokers, Capital Markets, Deutsche Bank, economy, Financial markets, Saxo Capital UK, trading platform

Capital market consultancy firm, Adaptive Financial Consulting has tapped former Saxo Capital UK executive, Amanda Harrison as a Senior Sales Executive. Harrison has spent almost six years with Saxo Capital and joins Adaptive to expand its existing sales team. She will be based out of the company’s London office, where she is currently based.

The company’s sales team targets both sell-side and buy-side clients, those who want to build real-time trading systems. At Saxo Capital, she has held the role of Head of UK Client and Partner Support, and prior to Saxo, she was with GFT Global Markets and spent almost two years as a part of the institutional relationship management team.

Commenting on the appointment, Matt Barrett, the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Adaptive, said:

“Amanda brings extensive knowledge of White Label product sales. This experience will allow us to further strengthen and expand our sales strategy as we focus on selling solutions to our clients based on our innovative front-office technology uniquely suited for the capital markets, and we are excited that she has chosen to join our team.”

Deutsche Bank Appoints its Newest Managing Director to its Investment Grade (IG) Credit Trading Division

Deutsche Bank has appointed a new Managing Director to its Investment Grade (IG) Credit Trading Division. According to the information made public on LinkedIn, Olivier Gazzolo was appointed last month in the role.

Olivier Gazzolo comes back into the financial services space after a gap of almost two years, and his last stint was with SGCIB as Global Head of Credit Trading which he left in September 2017. Gazzolo has spent over 10 years with the firm, and before joining SGCIB, he was Head of European Credit Trading at Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (CACIB) and spent almost six years with the firm.

For Gazzolo, the way ahead at Deutsche Bank will be bit difficult as the bank is forced to merge with the state-owned Commerzbank, and caught up in a wave of scandals.

FCA Fines Former Fund Manager Paul Stephany

February 8, 2019 by industryspread Leave a Comment Filed Under: Regulatory Annoucements Tagged: Enforcement, FCA, Financial markets, fund manager, Mark Steward, market, Paul Stephany, UK financial markets

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Paul Stephany, a former fund manager at Newton Investment Management Limited, £32,200 for his conduct in relation to an Initial Public Offering (IPO) and a placing.

On two separate occasions, Mr Stephany submitted orders as part of a book build for shares that were to be quoted on public exchanges. Prior to the order books for the new shares closing, Mr Stephany contacted other fund managers at competitor firms and attempted to influence them to cap their orders at the same price limit as his own orders. The FCA found that Mr Stephany risked undermining the integrity of the market and the book build by trying to use their collective power. As a consequence, Mr Stephany failed to observe proper standards of market conduct. He was also found to have acted without due skill, care and diligence by failing to give proper consideration to the risks of engaging in these communications.

Mark Steward, Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight at the FCA, said:
‘This matter underscores the importance of fund managers taking care to avoid undermining the proper price formation process in both IPOs and placings. These markets play a vital role in helping companies raise capital in the UK’s financial markets and when they are put at risk the FCA will take action.’