Over the past year, Digitec has cemented its position as the global standard for FX swaps and non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) through embracing technological innovation.

With a robust historical foundation as a key bank for the German Mittelstand – firms which collectively account for the largest share of the country's economic output – and a core partner for institutional clients, Commerzbank has leveraged its deep client relationships to drive advancements in providing FX services to its established client base in Germany.

2024 has been a record-breaking year for FXSpotStream (FSS), setting new highs in all products including its offering in non-deliverable forwards (NDFs).

Tradefeedr has continued the development of its secure unified data API product, enabling the analysis and sharing of trading data at scale with the aim of improving transparency in the FX markets.

Euronext FX has focused on enhancing client service through innovative strategies and solutions, resulting in improved satisfaction, engagement and operational efficiency.

Deutsche Bank has continued to deliver solid growth in its western Europe FX business as demonstrated by the rapid adoption of its new offerings among the European client base.

FX HedgePool’s evolution over the past five years underscores its commitment to innovation and adaptability. The company’s latest service, X Bridge, builds on its proprietary credit model to offer true all-to-all FX liquidity for all instrument types with a pioneering Algo Store.

During the second quarter of 2024, 360T averaged €142 billion per day in trading volumes, with the largest portion of that being FX swaps trading. The company specializes in FX swaps trading across three areas – for the buyside, the 360T execution management system (EMS) streamlines trading with customizable automation tools and embedded data feeds for best execution.

Warba Bank has made impressive strides in its provision of institutional FX services to the local market, focusing on innovation, automation and client-centric financial solutions.

UBS has built a formidable reputation as a key liquidity provider across institutional, retail, corporate and wealth management domains, leveraging its expansive market liquidity, product scale and global distribution network.

JPMorgan made a meaningful enhancement to its FX analytics offering with the launch of Algo Simulator.

OneZero Financial Systems is a leading provider of cutting-edge technology solutions for FX liquidity in the financial services industry. The firm has introduced several new initiatives over the review period that have demonstrated its commitment to continuously improving the liquidity-neutral ecosystem that it has built on behalf of clients. The firm has put an emphasis on helping all its client segments make data-driven decisions in liquidity provider (LP) choice.

Banco Santander's Latam FX product offering has evolved over the review period, driven by strategic investment and a focus on meeting its client needs. Key developments include expanding the global volatility product to Latin America, particularly Brazil and Mexico, integrating local expertise with global pricing and risk management. This has enabled the launch of new currency options and expanded Latam crosses, offering clients tailored hedging solutions with improved pricing and risk management.

During the last year, 360T has strategically invested in its spot FX technology, building on a foundation of unique liquidity created by its client base for spot, which spans both its electronic communication network (ECN), 360TGTX, and its multibank over-the-counter (OTC) platform. The first thing that differentiates 360T’s Spot FX offering is the breadth and depth of its client base. While other platforms like to talk about “unique liquidity” the fact is that across its ECN and multibank OTC platform, 360T has over 2,400 buyside clients across more than 75 countries, in addition to being connected to over 200 liquidity providers globally.

UBS has increased its investment and development of leading FX technology builds notably over the past three years, especially since its recent acquisition of Credit Suisse, with a number of significant innovations having been brought to market this year.

In 2023 and 2024, Banco Santander Chile enhanced its FX ecosystem to improve client experience from account opening to transaction completion. Key developments included launching several platforms: a new single-dealer platform with immediate settlement and robust security; an international transfer platform for easy, secure Swift transfers; and a 100% digital platform for individual transfers across Latam, the US and Europe. Additionally, the bank’s Más Lucas initiative offers basic accounts for unbanked and underbanked persons, and new digital foreign currency accounts (JPY, CNH, GBP, EUR, USD) enable retail and CIB customers to manage FX positions efficiently, supported by digital and voice services.

Digital Vega has transformed from a simple aggregator of vanilla bank liquidity into a leading provider of FX options-related products and services to banks and clients globally. This evolution has been driven by continuous innovation, strategic partnerships and a steadfast commitment to delivering client excellence.

State Street views FX as primarily a relationship-driven business and its investment focus reflects this partnership with its clients. As a principal FX business, State Street offers clients multiple execution choices with comprehensive electronic pricing capabilities, including a suite of dynamic algorithms and analytics tools, competitive benchmark solutions coupled with automated rules-based workflows.

UBS has demonstrated resilience and adaptability in the face of significant organizational changes and challenging market conditions, maintaining a strong focus on differentiated client service through consistent liquidity provision, competitive pricing and innovative content.

Over the past year, 360T has made significant progress in transforming the FX swaps trading landscape, driven by strategic investments in its Swaps User Network (SUN). One of the most notable advancements was the launch of streaming mid liquidity via application programming interface (API), enabling banks to trade FX swaps at the market midpoint through automated processes – an industry first, paving the way for auto-hedging, aggregation and even algorithmic execution. The introduction of this feature has enhanced banks' ability to better serve their clients while also improving their own trading operations.

Global fintech oneZero Financial Systems aims to continuously improve the liquidity-neutral eco-system that it developed on behalf of its clients. Its primary goal is to empower clients with transparency throughout the entire trade lifecycle, including throughout the partner framework that allows oneZero clients to access value-added services.

During the review period, 360T introduced new initiatives that made a significant impact to their corporate clients.

JPMorgan has significantly strengthened its presence in the Nordic FX markets by leveraging its role as a key liquidity provider, offering innovative trading technology and analytics, and achieving impressive market share across key currencies.

Through the breadth of its market liquidity, product scale and global footprint, UBS has built a strong reputation as the partner of choice for its institutional, retail, corporate and wealth management client base. Most recently, UBS has been evolving its FX trading platform based on four key principles: agility, resilience, scalability and comprehensiveness. The result of this sustained focus has been the development of new trading capabilities, such as market-making on firm trading venues and developing access to streaming swap liquidity. UBS has also invested heavily in pre- and post-trade analytics to deliver market insights and improve execution outcomes for clients as part of its ‘FX Engine Room’ offering of sales and analytical toolkits. As of 2024, across the bank’s various FX businesses, it daily trades over $125 billion electronically with more than 2,500 clients across the globe.

HSBC continues to develop its market-leading franchise in global non-deliverable forwards (NDF). With operations now spanning 25 key NDF jurisdictions, including Brazil, Taiwan and Korea, coupled with a sales presence in nearly 50 locations and dedicated e-FX sales teams, HSBC provides clients with market colour in local market dynamics.

Stanbic Bank Kenya’s strategic initiatives highlight its ability to blend technological advancements with tailored financial solutions, addressing complex market needs while enhancing client autonomy. The bank’s contributions to major corporate transactions further highlight its pivotal position in shaping the financial landscape in Kenya.

TP ICAP has been making significant progress in transitioning from traditional voice broking to a more integrated electronic and voice broking model. The company’s multi-asset liquidity platform, Fusion, has been at the forefront of this evolution, especially since the launch of its FX options platform, FXOhub in 2020. Since the platform's inception, TP ICAP has seen an impressive increase in volumes and market share in FX options. From being ranked fourth or fifth, the firm has climbed to a consistent second place, occasionally securing the top spot.

Over the last year, Deutsche Bank has played a pivotal role in the development of financial markets in the Asia-Pacific region, assisting clients in navigating the evolution of the FX markets amidst volatility and uncertainty.

Amidst ongoing currency volatility, chief financial officers are facing heightened challenges, as the risk of adverse currency movements threatens to negatively impact profits. MillTechFX has seen an increase in its risk management services, largely due to the rising importance of FX risk management among senior finance executives worldwide, coupled with their need for a transparent and straightforward solution.

Leveraging its prominent position as a facilitator of trade between Germany and frontier markets, Commerzbank has established a strong network of correspondent banks and institutional clients in these regions.