Since its launch in 2014, Bank of America’s (BofA) transactional FX business has quickly risen to become one of the top three global players. This success reflects the bank's strategic vision, innovative products and global reach, enabling it to secure a strong market position and stand out in the competitive FX industry.

TD Bank Group’s (TD) global presence includes TD Securities (TDS), which has strong wholesale relationships with pension funds, asset managers, insurers and corporates, along with a strong retail and wealth FX business, and consistently ranks number one or two in market share for Canada. TDS’s e-FX team has made significant strides in enhancing the bank's data and analytics capabilities in Canada, especially in the area of market microstructure.

UBS expanded its FX sales capabilities by leveraging cutting-edge tools and platforms to enhance operational efficiency and client engagement.

During the review period, Barclays’ focus in the FX algo space has been on enhancing its client experience by improving overall algo performance and increasing platform flexibility to facilitate targeted algo customization. This client-centric approach resulted in the further broadening and refinement of its BARX Gator algo suite. Added to this, Barclays’ established franchise, adaptability and deep infrastructure interconnectivity contribute to the current reputation and standing in the market of the algo offering. The bank’s global teams, quants, and dedicated resources ensure continuous optimization and deliver top-tier, tailored solutions to its clients.

Banco Santander has seen the expansion and success of its FX business extend into Argentina over the review period. Significant developments include its developing non-deliverable forwards (NDF) currency solutions, enabling clients to trade Latam currencies offshore while maintaining onshore delivery. This expansion is driven by growing trade corridors between Asia and Latam and currency rebalancing trends.

BBVA’s Latin America FX business is an integral part of BBVA’s global FX franchise, representing a large portion of its total FX revenues and FX global front office resources.

TD Bank Group (TD) offers a comprehensive retail foreign exchange service across North America, providing currency rates, payments, and banknote products around the clock through over 2,000 branches. This includes 14 FX centres in Canada, where customers can access over 50 currencies either by pre-order or on-demand.

NatWest Markets (NWM) is a UK franchise offering a leading range of FX services to both its local and global client bases.

TD Securities has implemented comprehensive global and regional diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) strategies across the business, with the FX team ensuring that it also has a targeted approach.

State Street is a global powerhouse in FX and has positioned its research as a key differentiator in its market-leading sales offering. Over the review period, the bank introduced new measures for monitoring political risk and improved its capturing of changes in investor and central bank behaviour.

TD Securities (TDS) places client services at the heart of its FX data management strategy. The bank aims to provide a personalized, comprehensive service, transforming client data into actionable insights that enhance its FX offerings. By leveraging advanced forecasting models, trading signals and FX portfolios, it aims to empower clients with the strategies needed to navigate the complexities of the global FX market.

UBS’s acquisition of Credit Suisse boosted its capabilities in the Swiss FX market. Already a dominant player in Switzerland, the deal allowed the bank to offer a comprehensive range of FX services to a larger, more diverse client base. It also enabled it to deepen its expertise, particularly in the Swiss franc market, where client demand for specialized insights is growing.

UBS has continued to evolve the FX offering on its UBS Neo platform over the past four years, with the bank making significant strategic investments in the last 12 months that further refine the offering.

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.

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.

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.

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.

DBS is a leading financial services group in Asia, operating in 19 markets with headquarters in Singapore. The bank's dominant presence in Asia contributes to its competitive advantage in FX for client services, innovative digital solutions and as a leading data provider.

Over 2023, Sacombank’s FX division played a crucial role in the bank's strategy, according to its own records, contributing 10%-20% of its pre-tax profit. Despite global economic challenges including high inflation and geopolitical instability, Sacombank focused on supporting businesses affected by the rising USD/VND exchange rate.

JPMorgan has continued to demonstrate innovation and growth in FX options by enhancing product offerings, expanding platform integrations and strengthening client engagement. The results speak for themselves – JPMorgan’s market share for FX options direct client execution rose by 7% year-on-year.

BBVA has maintained a strong presence in the Peruvian FX market, holding a leading role for the past six years.

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.

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.

Over the past year, Barclays has developed its offering for real-money clients, notably through enhancements to the performance of its online FX trading channel BARX, enhancing spot liquidity and boosting algo flexibility. Using client feedback and behaviour analysis, Barclays also broadened and refined its algo suite, which significantly benefits real-money customers. Barclays offers market-leading insights, especially on UK policy and politics, and maintains tight spreads around economic events. Additionally, Barclays led client discussions on T+1 settlement, reinforcing its role as a key thought partner and strengthening client relationships.

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 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.

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.

A dominant player in the Omani market, Bank Muscat offers comprehensive FX payment solutions to both corporate and individual clients, facilitating remittances and trade-related payments in 29 currencies.

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.

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.