It goes without saying that 2018 was a big year for the foreign exchange (FX) industry. Regulation has completely changed the sector over the past 12 months and, as a result, the industry has only gotten tougher for brokers to remain competitive, particularly within the retail space. As can be expected, this has led to some big executive moves within the industry.
During the year, Finance Magnates has been diligent in reporting all of the that occurred. To celebrate 2018 coming to a close, we have compiled the “Top 5” moves in the forex industry during the past year that we reported, staring first with IG Group, one of the largest brokers in the world, based in the United Kingdom.
IG Group CEO Peter Hetherington steps down
In terms of monthly trading volume, IG Group topped 2018 as the largest broker in the forex sector. In September the firm made headlines when it announced that its was stepping down from his position and from the Board with immediate effect.
IG chief steps down as regulatory pressure mounts Shares in trading platform drop after unexpected departure of Peter Hetherington
— HydroFunds (@HydroFunds)
At the time of the announcement, the retail brokerage powerhouse didn’t give an explanation for his departure. However, his shock resignation came only a week after IG reported a 5 per cent decline in its first-quarter revenues. This was due to a drop in customer activity amid tightening regulation.
In October, IG revealed that it had managed to secure a new CEO – , replacing Paul Mainwaring, the company’s CFO, who took on the role of Interim CEO. Felix joined the broker from Verifone Europe and Russia, where she was the President. During her career she has held a number of executive management positions at large multinational companies, such as Citibank and IBM Corporation.
Pepperstone confirms rumours, announces Tamas Szabo as Group CEO
The next big move for 2018 comes from Pepperstone Group, an Australian online retail forex broker that specialises in forex trading. Towards the beginning of the year in February, that Tamas Szabo was appointed as the CEO for the Group.
Source: LinkedIn
Is Saxo Bank looking to replace CEO Kim Fournais?
It was a big year for Saxo Bank, with the multi-asset broker revealing that in September it had received all of the to enable China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. Ltd and Finland’s Sampo plc to acquire shares in Saxo Bank A/S, elevating Geely to the majority shareholder.
Source: LinkedIn
The appointment of Khyl as Deputy CEO was particularly interesting as the investment bank said in its statement at the time that:
“Søren [Khyl] is the natural and logical interim successor to Kim Fournais should that become necessary.”
Whilst the Danish broker has given no indication that it plans to replace Fournais in the near future, it does appear that we should expect Khyl to be the next Saxo Bank CEO if and when that position becomes available.
HSBC Loses its Global Head of FX
Source: Global Finance Magazine
The departure of Frederic Boillereau, who held the position for almost a decade, came as a result of the changes to a number of the bank’s business lines, ending his 20-year tenure with the firm.
Global Head of FX Sales at INTL FCStone quits
To wrap up the top five, we head to INTL FCStone, where its Global Head of FX Sales, , left the financial services giant. The move saw the end of his more than decade-long career with the company, having taken up his role in 2007.
Source: LinkedIn
Be First to Comment