Electronic FX trading: FXall looks to secure its position

It is hard to believe just how different the FX market was when FXall was created a mere eight years ago with initial investment from Bank of America, Credit Suisse First Boston, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and UBS Warburg. Back then, although it was clear that electronic trading had already reshaped the interbank spot market, it had made little impact on the way banks interacted with their clients. Perhaps the only thing that was certain was that the market would change but very few people could be sure of the direction it would take.

"Nobody knew how profound the impact of electronic trading would be," says Phil Weisberg, chief executive of FXall. "Everyone was fearful that the role of the bank would fundamentally change. Of course, that hasn’t happened but at the time people were afraid. I think at the time the value of the single...