October 09, 2009

Special Feature: Have Reuters and EBS lost control of FX?

Very much astonished how established electronic market places such as EBS and Reuters could lose ground based on cheaper new technology (new ECN's) and on change of behaviour of market participants in a well developed global FX market environment.

This could well guide other well established exchange markets (equities, derivates) how their market structure could change without warnings.......
As a tight wad I have just read the free Reuters / EBS demise article… A discussion that does not surprise me at all as I have being say there crowns would slip from the advent of eTrading. More pools of liquidity undoubtedly mean that they will lose share, the growth in the markets up till 2008 has hid some of that loss of share (their growth has not matched overall market growth) and I think as more banks try to alleviate diminishing margins by internalising flow and as overall growth in the market slows there crown will slip more noticeably in coming years… I might be missing something but I am not sure how they can arrest the slide although they will remain a key pool of liquidity.
A retort! http://blog.integral.com/wp/

Harpal Sandhu

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