Buy side
Crackdown on FX vendors could raise costs for dealers
MTF designation could cost aggregators and EMSs $3m to set up and $1m in annual maintenance
Collateral cushions swell as US hedge fund borrowing tops $5.6trn
Top 10 funds’ borrowing becomes 3.7% over-collateralised amid record Q1 leverage
Tidal rides retail boom to lead in single-stock options
Counterparty Radar: Volatility-selling ETF firm accounts for half of trading among US funds
Mutual funds were USD bulls going into April’s tariff chaos
Counterparty Radar: Positioning in Q1 reflected market sentiment that tariffs would lead to a dollar rally
Investors hope US rate cuts will lower FX hedging costs
European investors in US assets set to boost hedge ratios as implied yields rise
Jive Investments quicksteps towards hedged returns
Brazilian fund manager uses combo of options and forwards to push down hedging costs compared with plain NDF strategy
LMAX: stablecoin bill sets stage for FX and crypto convergence
David Mercer on what the Genius Act means for markets, and where the venue’s FX business goes next
Non-cash collateral jump spurs tri-party VM expansion
BNY, Euroclear and JPM extend collateral platforms to variation margin as bonds and equities gain traction
Numerix strikes Hundsun deal as China pushes domestic tech
Homegrown tech initiative – ‘Xinchuang’ – a new challenge for foreign vendors
For variation margin payments, cash is no longer king
Dealers are being pressed to accept corporate bonds and even equities as collateral for non-cleared trades
Amundi’s in-house expert keeping watch on Putin, Trump and Xi
Geopolitics expert Anna Rosenberg believes data and probability are key to forecasting market-moving events
Eyes on automation as FX options volumes surge
Dealers and trading platforms are making gradual progress to electronify foreign exchange options pricing and workflows
What drove the Taiwan dollar surge?
Foreign speculators, carry unwinds and central bank inaction fuelled the 10% move, not just life insurers, say traders
European investors ramp up FX hedging as ‘dollar smile’ fades
Analysts at one bank expect average hedge ratios to jump from 39% to 70% within six months
Wells Fargo’s FX strategy wins over buy-side clients
Counterparty Radar: Life insurers looked west for liquidity after November’s US presidential election
Vanguard is new kid on the CDS options block
Counterparty Radar: Passive behemoth held a quarter of reported notional among US retail funds in Q4 2024
EMS vendors address FX options workflow bottlenecks
Vol jump drives more buy-side interest in automating exercises and allocations
TCA vendors link FX counterparty selection with execution
Services from BestX and Tradefeedr aim to automate the pre-trade and execution process
Corporates hamstrung in response to FX volatility
Restrictions around hedging programmes leave US firms struggling to adapt to dollar weakness
Can Bessent lower 10-year yields? Investors have their doubts
Unconventional tools won’t sway bond markets, say buy-siders, with yields as likely to go higher as lower
Inside the company that helped build China’s equity options market
Fintech firm Bachelier Technology on the challenges of creating a trading platform for China’s unique OTC derivatives market
Does FX Spot+ add up for traders?
New CME venue aims to provide easier access to FX futures liquidity, but some worry about its stability in choppy markets
SRT markets kick US banks’ caution to the kerb
Market for capital relief trades continues apace despite US banks’ reluctance to offer leverage
JSCC plans to open JGB clearing to foreign investors
Clearing house aims to boost cleared market liquidity in Japanese government bonds