This week had it all, as the FX and CFDs sector got back into “full swing” after summer break. IPO plans, new license granted, all-time volume record for a retail multi-asset broker, and a conviction with jail time looming for a forex and binary options fraudster. Plus, numerous executive moves including a Retail FX CEO returning to his old company, and a new Cyprus office head for a forex “major”.

How is Saxo Bank planning to go public? On which exchange? And at what valuation?

Which Retail FX and CFDs broker received a (rare) ASIC license in Australia?

What is the latest record monthly volume figure set by Exness?

Answers to these questions, and a whole lot more, appeared first or exclusively this past week at FNG. Some of the most read and commented-on FX industry news stories to appear over the past seven days on FNG included:

Saxo Bank announced plans to go public. Saxo Bank A/S (Saxo Bank) and Disruptive Capital Acquisition Company Limited (DCAC) have confirmed their intent to explore a listing of Saxo Bank on Euronext Amsterdam in connection with a business combination with DCAC. The potential transaction values the outstanding shares of Saxo Bank (before a Business Combination) at a pro forma aggregate amount of at least €2 billion.

Exclusive: Retail FX/CFDs broker Moneta Markets gets Australia ASIC license. FNG Exclusive… FNG has learned that Australia financial regulator ASIC has approved a new AFS license for Retail FX and CFDs broker Moneta Markets. The license, issued on August 3, was made to a new company named Moneta Pty Ltd. It is somewhat significant (beyond what it means for Moneta itself, of course) in that ASIC has been very stingy regarding new AFS licenses for Retail FX and CFD brokers in recent years, following the collapse of a number of brokers in Australia, such as USGFX.

Exness sets (another) volume record with August trading above $2.8 trillion. Leading multi-asset broker Exness has reported its client trading volume metrics for August 2022. And – in what is traditionally a quiet, end-of-summer month – the company has seen continued growth in activity leading yet another record month for Exness. In total, Exness clients traded $2.811 trillion worth of CFD products in August, up 24% from July’s $2.275 trillion and fully 13% better than the company’s previous best month of March 2022, at $2.484 trillion. Exness has now seen six consecutive months of $2 trillion + in trading volumes, while knocking on the door of $3 trillion.

Aviv Talmor convicted in $22M UTrade algo trading and binary options fraud case. Sources in Israel including leading business news site Globes are reporting that UTrade owner Aviv Talmor has been convicted of defrauding investors of NIS 77 million (USD $22 million), and related charges. Aviv Talmor was first indicted in 2018. The original indictment against Talmor claimed that his company UTrade, which purportedly offered algo trading services, used more than half of investors’ money to expand and cover operating expenses for Talmor’s growing forex and binary options business at the time, which largely targeted investors abroad.

Top FX industry executive moves reported at FNG this week included:

❑ Exclusive: Swissquote hires Sheer Markets exec Elif Kundakci as Executive Director Cyprus.

❑ Exclusive: Trading 212 hires ADSS exec Darren Dale to head Compliance.

❑ OANDA hires FXCM exec Jessica Beckstead as CEO, US.

❑ Exclusive: Rostro hires ThinkMarkets and ADSS alum Chris Andrews.

❑ Exclusive: Mohamed Elsergany resigns as MENA director for PU Prime.

❑ Exclusive: Capital.com Chief Market Strategist David Jones resigns.

❑ Exclusive: Alex Iakobachvili rejoins Global Markets Group.

❑ Exclusive: Sadek Baksh out as CEO of GMG Markets.

❑ Tradefeedr hires Citi exec Alexis Fauth to head Data Science and Client Analytics.