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.

By April 2023, CME Group had become the largest centralized FX venue globally, according to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). BIS data shows that more volume is now traded in CME Group FX futures than on the two primary OTC spot markets combined. The group also recently realigned its FX futures, options and EBS cash markets business to create a single FX business, in a bid to further boost client service, increase efficiencies and enhance product development across the entire FX marketplace.

NatWest Markets (NWM) treats its FX Prime Brokerage (FXPB) business as a distinct growth focus as opposed to an ancillary service, with significant investment in the business to ensure it can provide high-touch, high-service offerings. Combining the freedom of having a proprietary platform with an appetite for developing client solutions has resulted in a suite of solutions that are used for different client types. While most FXPB banks use the market standard FXPB agreement, NWM has developed six distinct FXPB models. These models can be combined to address a broad selection of client types ranging from prop traders through to agency brokers and FX platforms.

Capitolis’s financial technology platform aims to unlock capital constraints for its clients by providing access to diversified capital and investment opportunities. Recognising significant inefficiencies in bank-held derivative portfolios, Capitolis works with clients to reduce risk, increase stability, and improve capital efficiency. With that aim, over the past year, Capitolis has introduced several strategies that have significantly enhanced its foreign exchange novation business.

CLS has been steadily expanding and refining its services to meet the diverse needs of the foreign exchange industry, with a strong emphasis on reducing settlement risks and boosting operational efficiency.

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.

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.

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.

The low volatility conditions observed in FX markets over the past year have posed challenges, with market makers facing spread compression and reduced turnover. Despite these obstacles, JPMorgan has maintained a high level of performance. The firm has consistently ranked highly across multi-dealer channels. Additionally, JPMorgan continued to expand its dominance in the FX options market, further solidifying its reputation as a top player in the space.