UBS has appointed the former head of emerging markets (EM) FX spot and forwards from the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) as its new global head of EM FX options, according to people familiar with the situation.

UniCredit has hired an exotic options trader from Macquarie Bank to be based in London, according to people familiar with the situation.

CLS Bank International, the multi-currency cash settlement system for the FX markets, has been designated a systemically important financial market utility (FMU) by the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC).

Hotspot FX, the multi-dealer platform owned by Knight Capital, reveals volumes in June rose 10.8% from the previous month, in line with the leading multi-dealer platform FXall.

TraFXpure, the FX exchange established in May by interdealer broker Tradition, has hired the former head of FX from CME Group, as it adds to its management team ahead of the projected live launch at the end of 2012.

Speculators on the CME increased their short positions in the EUR, after the European Central Bank’s (ECB) decision to lower its deposit rate to zero signalled its implicit support for a lower euro.

The clock has begun ticking on granting the US an exemption from clearing and trading rules for FX swaps and forwards, after the release of the CFTC's product definitions on over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives last week. EU regulators have said they need to look at what this means for an EU exemption.

Pressure on USDJPY and the JPY crosses is likely to intensify as the market heads into the second half of the calendar year, argues RBC Capital Markets.

Thomson Reuters got the week off to a brisk start with the announcement it was buying FXall, the leading FX platform with non-financial corporates and asset managers, in a deal worth about $643 billion.

Investors mindful of risks and hefty costs deserve to know which currency managers deliver their money’s worth, argues Institutional Investor, a sister publication to EuromoneyFXNews.

FxPro, the retail broker, has appointed a former Citi banker as a non-executive director.

The market was given another reason to shy away from the EUR on Thursday, as figures revealed Chinese FX reserves dropped last month.

The world remains focused on the unfolding political process in Egypt, but the nation’s currency is teetering on the edge of a substantial devaluation, says BCA Research, one of the world’s leading independent providers of global investment research.

There is no shortage of recommendations to sell the EUR after last week’s decision by the European Central Bank (ECB) to cut its deposit rate to zero, but where will buyers come in?

There is no shortage of recommendations to sell the EUR after last week’s decision by the European Central Bank (ECB) to cut its deposit rate to zero, but where will buyers come in?

Average daily volumes on Thomson Reuters fell in June, bucking the trend among other leading FX venues.

QuantumFX, the institutional division of FX broker Alpari, has hired a former Citi spot trader to drive its sales push.

Sydney-based Northbridge Park Asset Management is launching a macro FX fund in October that is being viewed as one of the most keenly awaited hedge fund launches from the Asia-Pacific region this year, reports AsiaHedge, a sister publication of EuromoneyFXNews.

Deutsche Bank has hired two senior FX salespeople in Asia to service Japanese corporates – one from Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU) and the other from JPMorgan, a bank spokesman confirms.

Tullett Prebon, the interdealer broker, has become the eighth company in three months to launch a trading platform, with the announcement of its tpSpotdeal offering.

Barclays has hired a new sales chief from RBS.

Speculators on the CME cut their short positions in the EUR ahead of last week’s European Central Bank (ECB) policy meeting.

Nomura has hired the former head of Asian emerging markets (EM) trading at RBS to run its linear FX trading business in the Asia ex-Japan region, according to Derivatives Intelligence (DI), a sister publication of EuromoneyFXNews.

EBS, the FX interdealer trading platform run by Icap, on Tuesday published new dealing rules for counterparties that trade on the platform, as it seeks to eradicate technology and latency arbitrage that has favoured certain market participants.

Singapore looks set to capture more renminbi business from Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) corporates, as plans develop to establish a clearing bank for the Chinese currency, according to Asiamoney, a sister publication of EuromoneyFXNews.

FxPro, the retail FX broker, has moved from a market-making to an agency model across all jurisdictions.

FXall, the largest multi-dealer trading platform, has announced record average daily volume for June and the second quarter.

FXall’s head of sales for the EMEA region has resigned from the firm, according to people familiar with the situation.

Thomson Reuters has agreed to acquire full control of FXall, the world’s leading FX multi-dealer platform with non-financial corporates and asset managers, for about $643 million, as it attempts to broaden its brokerage fee-based business beyond the interbank FX market.

FX volumes at EBS, Icap's electronic platform, continued to pick up in June, as the volatility that sparked the currency markets back into life in May showed little sign of abating.