This year marked the fourth edition of the iFX Expo in Cyprus and the event has been a resounding success. A number of industry executives have gathered once again at the Grand Resort in Limassol for two days of intensive networking. This edition of the forum has been attended by a diverse number of users with the universal opinion that there have been a lot of new faces walking between the booths of the exhibitors.
A number of industry trends have been discussed actively at the conference part of the iFX Expo with the crown jewel being the last panel which discussed how the Swiss National Bank event is still changing the industry. After a brief period of retrospect, the discussion focused on the ways to prevent dramatic repercussions when the next Black Swan hits.
The top executives in the industry have universally agreed that a mix of more proactive Risk Management combined with a hike in capital requirements are crucial to the prevention of calamities for foreign exchange brokers.
Apparently the U.S. National Futures Association has agreesd with the crème de la crème of the foreign exchange industry as it proposed to the CFTC on late Thursday a revamped regulatory framework, which includes higher capital requirements.
In the mean time FXCM Hong Kong was the next major asset of FXCM Inc (NYSE:FXCM) which got sold to Japanese brokerage house Rakuten Securities for $36 million. The move is part of the U.S. listed company’s effort to repay its loan obligations to Leucadia National, after the latter pledged $300 million to the broker in the aftermath of the SNB calamity in January.
IronFX made the headlines again, with an estimated 10% of its staff being laid off amid restructuring efforts. In contrast with the bulk of the industry, which is seeing much higher volumes than a year ago, the Cypriot brokerage appears to be struggling as its reputation has been put into question by a number of clients which have been experiencing withdrawal issues.
The brokerage continues claiming that it is investigating a group of clients for mischievous trading tactics, however with every passing month it takes to prove these allegations, the doubts about the credibility of the IronFX brand are increasing.
FXPrimus faced regulatory challenges in Mauritius, with its license getting suspended, however the company stated that it is working with the regulator to amend the current situation.
