Market sources say that LavaFX’s interbank platform is now up and running and being pushed by the company. Interestingly, live demos are apparently not available but the company is said to be pleased by both the number of banks signed up and initial volumes.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg is aggressively marketing its Tradebook FX, which was launched earlier this year. Much is apparently being made of the fact that it has AIG as its central counterparty, which I’m not so sure is a strong selling point for most of the interbank players.
Separately, Ron Smith-Galer, the man behind YoursMineShag, says he will unveil his rebranded platform this summer. “Feedback from potential users suggests there is nothing wrong with the platform,” he says. “In particular, the full name transparency, and the WhatAreYouForMeShag and HaveYouHadEnoughOrDoYouWantSomeMoreShag functions seem to be want the market’s true liquidity providers want. The problem we’ve had, though, is getting the platform through banks’ firewalls. Clients have advised me to rebrand and said that I should get the word Place or Space in the name,” he adds.