Who's buying whom?
Barely a week goes by without a new announcement from one of the numerous FX service providers. What is probably more interesting than the latest new product offering, system enhancement or senior appointment is the talk of who will consolidate and who will be consolidated in a crowded marketplace. Recent buzz has suggested that Hotspot, whose backers include billionaire Joe Lewis, was taking a look at bank consortium-owned FXall. Well-placed sources say the two outfits held talks, but nothing further has materialized.
Gain makes another senior appointment
Hot on the heels of last month's announcement that it had made several senior appointments and moved its headquarters to New Jersey, non-bank dealer Gain Capital said that Alexander Bobinski had joined as its new chief financial officer. Bobinski held the same position at Refco, the recently floated futures trading and clearing firm. There he managed finance, treasury and accounting operations, as well as due diligence and integration efforts for acquisitions. Gain says Bobinski will, among other things, focus on strategic corporate development and expansion initiatives. There have also been rumours about whether Gain is going to do the consolidating or be consolidated.
CLS extends offering
CLS Bank, the settlement system created to remove Herstatt risk in the FX market, has announced plans to extend its services. It says that by 2007 it will offer a complete end-to-end service post execution to settlement of cashflow positions for non-deliverable forwards and FX option premiums. At present, it settles spot, forwards, options and FX swaps.