Proof of how hot retail FX is at the moment comes from the news that Spectrum Equity Investors has taken a $40 million minority equity investment in the somewhat bizarrely named Salt Lake City-based Interbank FX – bizarrely named because it’s not an interbank platform at all.
Anyway, according to Todd Crosland, Interbank FX’s founder and chief executive, the company is already liquid enough to comply with the NFA’s proposals on net capital requirements. “As you know, the NFA has proposed to raise the minimum net capital requirement to $5 million. If you offer greater than 100:1 leverage, you would have to maintain two times that amount, or $10 million. We believe that by the end of the year the NFA will have fully implemented the new minimum net capital requirements. Our current net capital is in excess of $25 million,” he says.
Interbank FX says it will use the investment to position itself for its next stage of growth and that the existing management will retain full operating authority of the company. It also says there will be no change to its strategy, operations, personnel or commitment to customer service.