FX: Is there life beyond the bulge?

Is a high level of consolidation in the FX market sustainable? And what of the hundreds of banks that fall outside the bulge bracket?

The emergence of a clear bulge bracket in foreign exchange should raise questions for all participants in the industry. According to Euromoney’s 2007 FX poll, just five banks now account for around 61% of client activity. This is up sharply from even just a year ago, when the top five had a 54% market share. In 2002, it was around 45% and a decade ago it was less than 29%.

Such consolidation in a financial market intuitively seems unsustainable.

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