FX week in review: IG staff cuts, BKR44 launch, CFI in Oman, CEOs in new places
Why is IG Group laying off about 10% of its staff?
Who is behind the launch of new Cyprus based FX and CFD broker advisory firm and solutions provider BKR44?
Who was charged with insider trading in connection with StoneX’s $236 million acquisition of Gain Capital (and its Forex.com and City Index brands)?
Who did CFI Financial tap to run its new licensed operation in Oman?
Which rival Australia based broker did FairMarkets CEO James O’Neill move to?
Some of the most read and commented-on FX industry news stories to appear over the past seven days on FNG included:
IG Group to axe 300 jobs. Electronic trading major IG Group Holdings plc (LON:IGG) today announced it is beginning measures to simplify and streamline the business. The Group expects to reduce headcount by approximately 300, which represents around 10% of the total workforce at the end of FY23. Alongside other efficiency measures, including expanding the use of its global centres of excellence, the Group expects to deliver full run rate cost savings of £50 million per year. These initiatives are expected to drive operating margin expansion over the medium term.
Exclusive: Victor Zachariades launches CFD broker solutions provider BKR44. FNG Exclusive… It seems as though a new trend in Cyprus is emerging, where former senior executives at FX/CFD brokers start broker advisory firms – offering everything from platform setup and administration to dealing room support and risk management consulting. FNG has learned that former Pepperstone (and Alpaca) Cyprus office head Victor Zachariades is launching CFD broker solutions provider BKR44. Victor also recently joined the board of Go Markets Cyprus, as a non-executive director.
SEC charges former StoneX exec with insider trading ahead of GAIN Capital acquisition. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced settled insider trading charges against Joseph Conlan for trading in the securities of GAIN Capital Holdings, Inc. (GCAP) in advance of an announcement that Conlan’s former employer, StoneX Financial (then known as INTL FCStone, Inc., had agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of GCAP stock. The SEC’s order finds that, on February 19, 2020, Conlan, who had worked at INTL as Global Head of FX Sales until August 2018, learned from a close friend and former colleague who still worked at INTL that INTL would be acquiring GCAP.
CFI expands to Oman with new license and office in Muscat. Leading online trading provider CFI Financial Group has announced that after receiving a regulatory license from the Capital Markets Authority (CMA), the company has launched its latest subsidiary, CFI Financial L.L.C. (CFI Oman). CFI Oman is the fourth entity that CFI launched this year after Egypt, Kuwait, and Palestine.
Top FX industry executive moves reported at FNG this week included:
❑ Exclusive: FairMarkets CEO James O’Neill moves to Blueberry Markets.
❑ CFI management changes: Karim Malas named COO, Loay Azar MENA CEO.
❑ Exclusive: FXPrimus alum Steve Haggerty joins Monaxa in BizDev role.
❑ Exclusive: Victor Zachariades joins Go Markets as a Director in Cyprus.
❑ Jonathan Clelland to step down from Aquis Exchange BoD.