FX week in review: USGFX bankruptcy saga, broker IPO, eToro acquires

Gerald Segal 0 Comments August 1, 2020

If you followed FNG’s FX industry news this past week, then you heard first about:

The UK-Australia Retail FX broker planning an IPO.

USGFX’s bankruptcy saga – claims of off-book client assets, administrators selling the client list, an uncooperative shareholder, and more.

The Singapore based Retail FX broker which was awarded licenses in both Australia (ASIC) and the UK (FCA).

Why XTB’s shares are plummeting after reporting record first-half results.

And, of course, a list of executive moves in the FX sector.

Some of the top forex industry news items to appear on the pages of FNG this week included:

Exclusive: ThinkMarkets preparing for $300 million IPO. FNG Exclusive… FNG has learned that 10-year-old Retail FX and CFD broker ThinkMarkets is in the latter planning stages for an initial public offering (IPO). The company is working with investment bankers including Citi, which have indicated to ThinkMarkets that the likely valuation range for the company would be around $300 million. The plan would be to raise about $100 million, most of which would likely go to the company but some of which might be in the form of existing shareholders cashing in part of their positions. While no final decision has been made, the IPO appears to be centered around the Australia market with a listing on the ASX.

Exclusive: Singapore FX broker Samtrade gets FCA and ASIC licenses. FNG Exclusive… FNG has learned that Singapore based Retail FX and CFDs broker Samtrade FX is planning a major international push, in two of the world’s leading jurisdictions for FX traders. Within the past several months the company has set up subsidiaries in the UK and Australia – and within the past few weeks has received licenses for each. In the UK, the company established Samtrade UK International Limited and received an FCA license as of July 15. The company’s license is as an “Appointed representative”.

USGFX administrators selling client list, as creditor claims climb. The USGFX Australia bankruptcy saga continues, with administrators BRI Ferrier sending out a letter to creditors of the company indicating some problems they are having in carrying out their duties – and in getting the cooperation of USGFX’s shareholder Hein Min Soe in the process. BRI Ferrier stated that they are already embarking on a due diligence phase with potential buyers for bankrupt USGFX’s business and assets – mainly, its client list. BRI said that there were a large amount of creditor claims submitted for the first creditors meeting, which far exceed those disclosed in the company’s financial records.

XTB shares plummet 31% after Q2 results release. Shares of Poland based Retail FX and CFDs brokerage house X Trade Brokers Dom Maklerski SA – operator of the XTB.com and X Open Hub brands – lost almost a third of their value on Wednesday, following the release of XTB’s Q2 and first half 2020 results. XTB shares, which opened the day at PLN 28.40, closed at PLN 19.50, down PLN 8.90 or 31.3% – mirroring the company’s 31% drop in Revenues in Q2. The phenomenon we saw yesterday with XTB was almost a mirror image of what happened just last week at IG Group in the UK.

eToro launching UK debit card via Marq acquisition. Social trading focused Retail FX and CFDs broker eToro is continuing its expansion plans, announcing the acquisition of e-money firm Marq Millions and the launch of a UK debit card service. Marq Millions will be rebranded as eToro Money, and will be the issuer for eToro’s card. eToro said the card will initially be available to eToro Club members only in the UK. The timing of the eToro announcement is interesting in that it comes not long after an online brokerage rival, Robinhood, surprised investors with a delay in its UK launch plans.

Exclusive: Admiral Markets’ Jens Chrzanowski on record 1H-2020 results. Estonia based Retail FX and CFDs brokerage group Admiral Markets released its first half 2020 results today, indicating record revenues and profits for the company – and more than double last year’s top-line results. While we reproduce the company’s full results release below, we were equally interested in: How has the company managed through the Covid-19 crisis? How are ‘neo brokers’ such as Robinhood affecting the Forex and CFD trading industry? What does company management see for Admiral Markets and the FX industry moving forward? We’re pleased to present our conversation on 1H-2020 results and a whole lot more with Admiral Markets’ Member of the Management Board and Co-CEO Jens Chrzanowski.