FXCM to Stop Trading Some Currencies After Swiss Franc Losses
(Bloomberg) — FXCM Inc. will stop trading some currencies as it seeks to avoid the risk of sudden swings like the one that almost took down the brokerage last month.
FXCM on Friday will no longer handle 13 currency pairs, including U.S. dollars for Singapore dollars, Hong Kong dollars for Japanese yen and Swiss francs for Swedish krona, Jaclyn Klein, a spokeswoman for the New York-based firm, said Tuesday in an e-mail. Some of those currencies are pegged by their governments, like the Swiss franc was until the country’s central bank decided on Jan. 15 to let it trade freely against the euro.
FXCM, the largest U.S. retail foreign-exchange broker, lost more than $200 million amid the franc’s volatility. A $300 million bailout from Leucadia National Corp., owner of investment bank Jefferies Group LLC, saved FXCM from violating capital requirements.
Forex Magnates, a website for traders, reported on the planned change earlier this month.
To contact the reporter on this story: Zeke Faux in New York at zfaux@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Peter Eichenbaum at peichenbaum@bloomberg.net Steven Crabill, David Scheer
