North America

The US’s continued penchant for paper payments contrasts with the dynamism of the European market, but change could be afoot in both markets as new payment systems disrupt cheques and chip-and-pin technology.

Morgan Stanley has given traders contemplating their summer holidays further cause to smile by predicting that an uptick in FX volatility might be around the corner.

CFTC commissioner admits data collection ‘poor’; calls for better cross-border cooperation.

Volume on EBS Direct has increased by 70% month-on-month since its launch in November, as volume on EBS Market has fallen to record lows this year, with a management reshuffle unveiled last week.

Almost a year on from the bank payment obligation (BPO) guidelines being released, the BPO is yet to take off in the market – but is too much expectation around what it can offer holding it back?

Banks find the grass is greener with dedicated environmentally friendly bonds.

Universal banks have been trying harder than ever to make investment, corporate and transaction bankers work as one team to capture more business and deliver a better all-round service to their clients.

RBS has had to cease using BankTrade software after the US federal court upheld the bank was breaching copyright.

Ford to buy BMW? Coca-Cola to buy Nestlé? GE to buy Siemens? News Corporation to buy Pearson? Just some of the potential acquisitions US companies could make from their $1.3 trillion cash war chest, according to new research.

WARNING – CONTAINS SPOILERS: It’s amazing how many senior bankers are addicted to the HBO series Game of Thrones. Or then again, perhaps it’s not.

With currency moves relatively muted and few discernible trends to trade, it has not been an easy market for many FX traders, but low volatility has created favourable conditions for the recovery in the carry trade. The eerie calm and the Fed-driven global capital market have caused market players to adopt tail-risk hedges and long-vol trades for the inevitable turn in the cycle.

Dark pools are the most recent corner of the financial markets facing the wrath of the regulators. However, despite the furore and speculation that some banks will close them down, foreign-exchange dark pools are gaining popularity and are predicted to increase in use among the buy and sell side.

As the FX regulatory landscape gets revamped, data from the Euromoney FX Survey 2014 shed light on what the market wants when it comes to benchmark reform, including its views on sticking with the current WM Company and Thomson Reuters fix.

As Thomson Reuters announces a revision to foreign-exchange trading rules, data from the Euromoney FX Survey 2014 reveal the majority of respondents want to see the joint WM Company and Thomson Reuters fix remain as the benchmark.

Credit Suisse estimates $104 billion exposure; exposed banks’ share prices sell off.

The jury is out on whether the use of regional treasury centres is a cost-effective means for treasurers to minimize the effects of currency volatility in emerging markets.

A CFTC official frustrates European regulators at the IDX conference by suggesting futures clearing should migrate to the US to avoid a conflict between Dodd-Frank and EMIR.

Chief financial officers, treasurers and finance professionals of more than 200 companies across industries consider cash management and forecasting to be their top priority over the next couple of years, according to new research.

Fund managers are pouring into primary bond issues because of lack of secondary liquidity. But what happens if that herd mentality remains, or even grows, when the market turns?

The global financial crisis might mark the beginning of a broader realization that global hyper-capitalism has reached its limits. The failure of the AstraZeneca/Pfizer merger shows that, for good or ill, a backlash has begun.

Any new debt issue offering a scrap of yield has met huge demand from investors in recent months. As money floods into fixed-income funds, asset managers cannot put it to work in illiquid secondary markets, leaving the primary market as their only liquidity window. Small investors complain of being unfairly squeezed out from new-issue allocations. Large investors grumble that all other buyers are inflating their orders. And the elephant in the room? Nervous banks sense that regulators are preparing to pounce on traditional allocation practices in debt capital markets.

A dangerous liquidity mismatch is building up in large parts of the investor base for high-yield bonds

Large global transaction banks could start offloading some of their back-office operations in a bid to cut costs and sharpen their competitive advantage, according to the chief operating officer of Fundtech.

“Sorted that allocation 4 u, big boy”. Is this the kind of email from a syndicate manager or fixed-income salesman at one of the leading bond underwriters to a favoured investor client that we can look forward to sniggering over?

The biggest bond funds now dominate the market for good or ill. Just how much muscle they now wield in the primary market is, however, a matter of some dispute.

A new advisory platform targeting US households that have between $100,000 and $1 million of investable assets could disrupt the wealth management industry.

Record low volatility in G10 currencies has driven down volume on large FX trading platforms, but a structural market shift is also pushing liquidity providers to quote prices to disclosed rather than anonymous platforms.

Credit Suisse’s $2.6 billion fine and criminal conviction in the US tax-evasion case raises many questions.

Trade finance desks are seeking ways to repackage their trade finance exposures to sell them on to investors, as banks aim to reduce their balance sheets and encourage clients to look to the capital markets to meet their financing needs.

2014 was hailed as the year of the dollar comeback by analysts across the Street, but the prediction has fallen flat as the US currency has failed to strengthen against the euro. Forecasters are divided as to what the future holds for the world’s most traded currency pair.