Forex dealers leave Fimat Chicago

Fimat, the brokerage arm of French investment bank SG, shed four staff from its US dealing team earlier in August, sources close to the company told RiskNews ' sister publication FX Week .

Foreign exchange traders Julie Dell, Ken Hoffman, PJ Morrison and Dick Wallis all left the Chicago-based firm following a streamlining of the business, sources said. All four had joined from Cargill Investor Services in Chicago only a few months earlier to work under Brian Duff, the new head of the team, who also joined Fimat from Cargill in March.

Fimat declined to comment on the departures or on any changes to its forex business. But one London source close to the situation said: "Head count has been eroded following Duff's arrival." The move reflects the increasingly online nature of the business, which means fewer people are needed on the floor, the source added.

Duff's team – which is three-strong, comprising Duff, Bill Crickle and Greg Hagen – continues to operate a 24-hour autonomous business, with support from other forex staff at the firm, said another source in London.

Market sources said they expect the four recently departed staff to resurface as a team at another firm.