Suspensions and Consolidations - Best Stories of the Week

During the passing week the most interesting stories from the online trading industry included the suspension of operations at one brokerage and a continued investigation of another. On the more positive side we also saw increased volumes in the US market in February and the launch of a new service from a New Zealand firm.

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An Enduring Legacy?

On Monday, the CEO of forex and CFDs brokerage LegacyFX, Mariano Obludzyner, confirmed to Finance Magnates that the brokerage’s operations have been suspended. The shareholders of Leverate reconsidered their decision to run an FX brokerage using the proprietary technology developed by the forex and CFDs trading technology firm after the unveiling of the project some months ago.

While the firm would have been a great way to test the technology provider’s services on a smaller scale before launching to other clients, the prospective conflicts of interest which could arise from the operations could have been the main reason behind the shutdown of the project.

XForex Phased out

On Tuesday we reported that the parent company of XTrade and XForex, XFR Financial Ltd, has decided to consolidate its offering and phase out the older brand. The move is a natural progression in the aftermath of a sponsorship deal that was signed by XTrade with Cristiano Ronaldo. The firm has become the first brokerage to market its products through a single football player.

The agreement is likely to have cost a substantial investment, which the parent company of Xtrade is now taking to bigger use after phasing out its XForex brand. The latter was previously operated by OCM Holdings LTD, a Cypriot company that has been renamed ‘XFR Financial Ltd’.

US Market Update

On Wednesday it was revealed that OANDA has gained a substantial amount of client deposits from its deal with IBFX, according to the latest batch of CFTC Futures Commission Merchants data. The brokerage gained about $35 million in client funds, gaining 37.5 per cent to a total of 94.8 million in retail forex obligations in March. The figure is somewhat less than the $43 million total which clients of IBFX held at the brokerage as of the end of February.

Overall the total obligations of American retail foreign exchange dealers to their clients have increased by 4 per cent in February amid a one-off adjustment to the client funds holdings at Canadian brokerage Wedbush securities, it was also revealed this week.

ACFX License Still Suspended

On Thursday, just over a month after the suspension of the license of ACFX, the Cyprus watchdog has announced that the broker’s license remains suspended. The regulatory body outlined in a statement that the board of the CySEC CySEC The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) is a financial regulatory authority of Cyprus. CySEC is one of the key watchdog authorities for brokerages in Europe, whose financial regulations and operations comply with the European MiFID financial harmonization law.Founded in 2001, CySEC is instrumental in providing licensing and registration for forex brokers and previously binary options providers.CySEC is responsible for a variety of different functions, which includes the supervision The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) is a financial regulatory authority of Cyprus. CySEC is one of the key watchdog authorities for brokerages in Europe, whose financial regulations and operations comply with the European MiFID financial harmonization law.Founded in 2001, CySEC is instrumental in providing licensing and registration for forex brokers and previously binary options providers.CySEC is responsible for a variety of different functions, which includes the supervision Read this Term convened to extend the suspension until further notice.

Back in April Finance Magnates broke the story about Chinese clients of ACFX suffering from withdrawal delays. The event was followed shortly with a report that CySEC suspended the license of the brokerage and key executives from the firm left.

MahiFX Vector

On Friday we reported that New Zealand based brokerage MahiFX has launched its new MFX Vector platform for buy-side clients. MFX Vector represents MahiFX’s latest efforts to optimize spreads and spot FX orders, with specific emphasis on new Risk Management Risk Management One of the most common terms utilized by brokers, risk management refers to the practice of identifying potential risks in advance. Most commonly, this also involves the analysis of risk and the undertaking of precautionary steps to both mitigate and prevent for such risk.Such efforts are essential for brokers and venues in the finance industry, given the potential for fallout in the face of unforeseen events or crises. Given a more tightly regulated environment across nearly every asset class, One of the most common terms utilized by brokers, risk management refers to the practice of identifying potential risks in advance. Most commonly, this also involves the analysis of risk and the undertaking of precautionary steps to both mitigate and prevent for such risk.Such efforts are essential for brokers and venues in the finance industry, given the potential for fallout in the face of unforeseen events or crises. Given a more tightly regulated environment across nearly every asset class, Read this Term techniques

“We are really excited at the launch of MFX Vector tonight. Empowering the buy side with a rigorous approach to FX execution, reducing costs and providing an independent transparent framework to assess their true cost of trading. This ultimately benefits asset managers and their end clients,” said Tom Robinson, Head of Sales at MahiFX.