The TRADE is delighted to introduce the shortlist for our Editors’ Choice, Outstanding FX Trading Venue. The shortlisted FX trading venues have all stood out over the past year for their innovative approach and outstanding performance. Learn more about our shortlisted candidates below, including CME EBS, Eurex, Euronext FX, LSEG (Refinitiv FXall) and 360T, Deutsche Börse.
CME EBS
CME’s EBS provides users with access to one of the largest and most liquid FX markets in the world, facilitating international trade and risk management. As part of CME Group’s ongoing commitment to deliver an optimal trading experience, the firm has re-platformed its EBS trading venues, interfaces, and technology. According to CME, these changes will enhance its FX offerings, reinforce EBS’ role in global FX liquidity, and preserve the attributes that customers appreciate.
EBS (Electronic Broking Services) was originally founded in 1990 by a consortium of big FX market-maker banks as a spot FX platform, acquired by ICAP in 2006, and then merged with BrokerTec in 2014. Renamed NEX Markets, it was acquired by CME Group in 2018 and has since become a specialist in the growing market for non-deliverable forwards (NDFs). It was the first venue to offer e-traded NDFs and has continued to innovate, with new solutions including end of month (EOM) NDFs.
EBS Market was the first venue to offer e-traded NDFs and continues to innovate with new solutions for the market including End of Month (EOM) NDFs and the one month against the fix. Increased FX volatility over this year has seen the platform boom, with a 7% increase in average daily volume (ADV) year-on-year as of June 2022. According to Jeff Ward, global head of EBS, the EBS Market CLOB also saw volumes increase 11% year-on-year as of June, while G3 volumes generally were 15% higher over the same period. Asian NDF volumes were also up, by 16% year-on-year.
EBS Market has now been integrated into CME Globex, creating global liquidity pools for spot, metals, and NDFs, with uniform access and matching priority across order book depth. Meanwhile, EBS Direct looks to improve low latency execution, enabling faster market data with processing times under 50 microseconds end-to-end, supporting low latency trading and improved execution outcomes.
The wider CME Group has had a strong year in 2022, with quarterly international average daily volume (ADV) reaching 6.1 million contracts in Q3, up 21% year on year. Reflecting all trading reported from outside the US, volume was notably driven by listed FX products, which jumped 36% in volume over the first nine months of the year.
Eurex
Over the last year, Eurex has strengthened its position as a FX venue in Europe, continuing to grow its customer base and expand its service scope. As of July 31, total FX volume on Eurex continues to grow, with a total of 849,000 contracts traded, an increase of 193% year-on-year. In addition, open interest as of July 31, stand at €7.9 billion. In June, Eurex recorded its highest daily FX trading volume with more than 162,000 contracts, including a single block trade of almost €5.9 billion.
In November last year, Eurex listen seven new FX futures on Scandinavian currencies, which are the most traded European currencies after GBP, CHF and EUR. A total of 25 FX futures can now be traded on Eurex. Elsewhere, Morgan Stanley entered into Eurex’s listed FX business in July 2022. According to Eurex, as a major participant in the global FX market, Morgan Stanley is among a growing number of market participants at Eurex that are moving their business to the exchange or combining over-the-counter and listed FX trading by using so-called ‘Exchange-for-Physical’ (EFP) services.
Euronext FX
Euronext serves as the biggest pan-European exchange and market infrastructure, connecting seven markets across the continent. The exchange has had a strong year with trading volumes increasing as well as a string of successful acquisitions.
In particular, FX volumes were up 30% (year on year) in September alone, which acted as one of the busiest months ever for the exchange. Looking more broadly at the last quarter as a whole, the average daily FX trading volume in Q3 2022 was well over the $21.7 billion mark, an increase by 24% from $17.5 billion compared to the previous year.
LSEG (Refinitiv FXall)
Formed in 2001, FXall has served the corporate, asset management, hedge fund and banking communities for over two decades. FXall supports single bank and multi bank request for quote, algo and resting orders, auto-execution orders, fixing orders and multi bank batch orders, which allow the submission of up to 200 trade requests at one time.
2021 was a top performing year for FXall, which saw its average daily trading volumes (ADV) increase by 13.5% from $84 billion in 2020 to $95.4 billion in 2021. Elsewhere, its EMEA ADV increased by 14.75% from $51.8 billion to $59.4 billion.
Last year, FXall invested heavily in increasing the variety of ways that its clients can trade FX. The firm’s order splitting capability now supports multi-leg trades and enhanced execution types such as fixing orders, auto-execution orders and multi-bank batch orders. Elsewhere, the FXall general user interface (GUI) has been updated to give clients an improved user experience.
As part of the LSEG and Refinitiv acquisition, the Settlement Center also now supports the clearing of NDF trades through LCH ForexClear, giving FXall clients a quicker way to clear NDF trades and minimize counterparty credit risk. It also provides solutions for clients who are impacted by the upcoming phases of the Uncleared Margin Rules (UMR).
360T, Deutsche Börse
Deutsche Börse’s FX trading venue, 360T, allows users to trade spot, outright forwards, swaps, NDFs, options and listed FX products across its venue. Disclosed, semi-disclosed and anonymous trading is supported by the platform, while firms can also trade via RFQ/RFS, streaming pricing, auto-execution and algos.
In addition, 360T partners with a broad range of client types globally, including corporates, hedge funds, asset managers, retail brokers, etc, allowing the platform to offer a unique pool of FX liquidity to interact with.
Looking at differentiated products offered by 360T, its Swaps Orderbook is the first platform to begin automating the interbank FX Swaps market to facilitate auto-hedging, aggregators and algo execution. The platform is also committed to three new technology releases per year, ensuring that the venue is continuously enhanced and able to remain competitive.