FX week in review: Exec moves at ETX, M4Markets, Markets.com; MFSA in chaos
Forex industry news was headlined this week by a fairly larger-than-usual number of executive moves, especially involving senior marketing and affiliate program personnel of a number of leading UK and Cyprus based brokers. And as usual, all the key hires and moves were reported exclusively at FNG.
Also this week topping our visitor figures….
Why is Malta’s financial regulator MFSA in chaos? And what is being done about that?
What immediately preceded the breakup of IC Markets’ planned sleeve sponsorship of Inter Milan?
Which leading FX market maker unveiled a venture capital investment arm?
Answers to these questions and a whole lot more appeared exclusively on the pages on FNG this past week. Some of the top forex industry news items to appear on FNG this week included:
MFSA appoints former Chief Justice to oversee CEO free-Vegas-trip scandal. This is clearly being taken very seriously by the authorities in Malta. Following our weekend report that Malta financial regulator MFSA has been thrown into chaos following the self-suspension of CEO Joseph Cuschieri and General Counsel Edwina Licari, the MFSA has indicated that it appointed a panel of third parties led by Former Chief Justice Joseph Azzopardi and independent lawyer Dr. Mark Simiana to look into the matter. The regulator announced Friday that Mr. Cuschieri and Ms. Licari had “voluntarily suspended” themselves, after reports surfaced in the country that the two had gone on an all-expenses-paid trip to Las Vegas with Maltese businessman and casino owner Yorgen Fenech in May 2018.
Exclusive: IC Markets website blocked by regulator led to broken Inter Milan deal. FNG Exclusive… FNG has learned that the breakup of the IC Markets-Inter Milan sponsorship was precipitated, at least in part, by actions taken last month by Italian financial regulator CONSOB against IC Markets. FNG reported exclusively last week that IC Markets was suing the iconic Italian soccer club, after Inter Milan cancelled the agreement with IC Markets which was to have seen the Australian Retail FX broker become Inter’s sleeve sponsor in a three-year deal worth upwards of €14.3 million. Inter cancelled the agreement after it claimed a breach by IC Markets, which apparently failed to make payments as agreed after an initial €2.5 million deposit was made when the agreement was signed in June.
Market maker XTX unveils venture capital arm. FX market maker XTX Markets has gone public with details of its venture capital arm, aptly called XTX Ventures. XTX Markets surprised the FX sector with its latest financial report for 2019, first reported exclusively here at FNG, mainly with regards to how much money it makes. In 2019 XTX brought in $447 million in Revenue resulting in Net Profit of $183 million, all from low margin, high volume market making. And it seems like XTX is planning on plowing some of those profits back into startup companies which straddle its expertise of machine learning and automation.
Interactive Brokers warns Brexit could negatively impact its business. Electronic trading major Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBKR) has warned that the expected departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union could negatively impact its business and results of operations. The statement forms part of a Prospectus Supplement filed with the SEC on October 30, 2020. Interactive Brokers has sought to address Brexit-related risks by, inter alia, applying for additional licenses in Europe, through its affiliates Interactive Brokers Ireland Limited (“IBIE”) and Interactive Brokers Central Europe Zrt (“IBCE”). These license applications are pending. It is possible that one or both will still be in progress at December 31, 2020.
FX industry executive moves reported this week at FNG include:
❑ Exclusive: ETX Capital hires former FXTM exec Nandik Barbhaiya as CMO.
❑ Exclusive: TIOMarkets’ Head of Affiliates Eleni Nicolaou moves to Markets.com.
❑ Exclusive: Marketing exec Mariliza Karrera leaves Tickmill for M4Markets.
❑ Exclusive: OANDA hires Gain Capital’s Ella Hacer Gumus to head affiliate marketing.
❑ Exclusive: Former IG Group CRO Andrew Bole joins board of Trading 212 UK.
❑ Exclusive: easyMarkets Australia’s Head of Trading Johan Koo moves to ACY.