Top Headlines

Tsipras Backs Down on Many Greece Bailout Demands – Financial Times (subscription)
Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras will accept most of the bailout creditors’ conditions offered last weekend, but is still insisting on a handful of changes that could thwart a deal according to a letter he sent late on Tuesday night.

Greece Officially in Arrears After Missing IMF Payment – Profit & Loss (free story)
Greece missed the deadline for its €1.5 billion payment to the International Monetary Fund last night, becoming the first advanced country to fail to repay an IMF loan.

Euro Set for Best Quarter in Four Years – Financial Times (subscription)
The euro was on the cusp of its best quarterly rise in more than four years, underlining the single currency’s resilience in the face of the Greek crisis and nagging concerns about global economic growth. With the second quarter ending on Tuesday, the euro was heading for an increase of around 4% against the US dollar.

Currency Traders Seek Clarity as Policy Gaffes Stoke Volatility – Bloomberg
If there’s one thing currency traders want from politicians and central bankers in the second half of the year it’s more clarity – and  fewer gaffes – on  policy direction. The headlines from the Greek talks are the latest example.

Recruiters Report ‘Cautious Hiring’ in FX Market – Profit & Loss (subscription)
There has been “cautious hiring” by the major banks this year as firms have started to see an uptick in fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) revenues, according to financial markets recruiters.

FX Mis-Selling: Travel Companies Take Aim at Banks – Euromoney
Lawyers and hedging consultants are reporting a rise in mis-selling accusations from companies in the travel and leisure sector, over complex currency derivatives sold to them by their banks and brokers. These cases are in their infancy, but are predicted to rise as the mis-selling scandal broadens from interest rate hedging products to forex products.

Parker FX Index Flat in May – Profit & Loss (free story)
The Parker FX Index, a performance-based benchmark that measures the returns of global currency managers, was flat in May, according to data released by Parker Global Strategies.

Investment Banking Trends to Track in the Q2 Earnings Season – Financial News (subscription)
As the second quarter closes all eyes turn to Wall Street, which kicks off the reporting season in earnest in a fortnight before Europe’s banks reveal what the last three months have entailed for their investment banking and trading units.

Soc Gen’s Bill Stenning to Chair OTCDerivNet – FOW (subscription)
A top clearing and regulatory expert at Societe Generale has been selected to run a powerful consortium of the world’s top swaps dealers after its former head stepped down from the role.

Seven Predictions for the Future of Finance – Financial News (subscription)
Innovative technology is reshaping financial services by putting pressure on traditional business models, says the World Economic Forum, and is set to cause profound changes to the structure of the banking, insurance and asset management industries.

Hayes’ Emails Presented in Libor Trial – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
Former trader Tom Hayes told British investigators he was “not concerned” when the London interbank offered rate came under scrutiny from media and regulators in 2008; because his employer had never questioned his trading activities, a London court heard Tuesday.

 

Regulatory News

Bank of England’s Carney Speaks on Financial Stability – Reuters
Bank of England Governor Mark Carney gave a news conference on Wednesday following the publication of the central bank’s latest financial stability report.

CFTC Casts Margin Net to Catch US Banks’ Affiliates – Risk Magazine (subscription)
Foreign affiliates of US banks that dropped parental guarantees to avoid trading requirements of the Dodd-Frank Act would still be caught by new cross-border margin rules proposed on June 29 – one of a series of potentially divisive provisions in the draft rules. Lawyers are already challenging the ability of US regulators to regulate so-called non-guaranteed affiliates.

FCA Bosses Wheatley and Lawton to Lead ESMA Committees – The Trade
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has appointed six senior regulatory figures to lead its regulatory standing committees, including FCA chief executive Martin Wheatley, who will become the chairman of the Investor Protection and Intermediaries Standing Committee.

Mifid Research Wrangling Raises Hackles on Capitol Hill – Financial News (subscription)
A senior US politician has written to the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission raising concerns about how incoming European trading rules will affect US firms’ access to capital markets.

 

Company News

Thomson Reuters Matching Goes Down in London – Profit & Loss (free story)
Matching, Thomson Reuters’ anonymous electronic FX matching application, suffered an outage yesterday afternoon (30 June) in London.

Deutsche Rejects Watchdog Claim that Jain Lobbied for Traders’ €130 Million Bonus – Financial Times (subscription)
BaFin, the German financial watchdog, has accused Deutsche Bank’s Anshu Jain of personally lobbying for the bonus for Christian Bittar, who is now part of a criminal investigation into alleged benchmark-rigging.

 

Market Savvy  

Greece’s Five Possible Future Currency Arrangements
Wall Street Journal (subscription)
Greece is poised between remaining a member of the eurozone or leaving it. In fact, there are five possible future currency arrangements for Greece.

FX Focus Tsipras Concedes?
RBC Capital Markets
As we go to press, EUR has bounced from the day’s low (1.1095) to the day’s high (1.1172) on a report (FT), so far unconfirmed, that Greece has conceded to “almost all” of the creditors’ demands in a letter sent last night.

Yen is Running Out of Wiggle Room
Financial Times (subscription)
Investors fed up with over-indebted states and super-low interest rates are unlikely to think of Japan as an alternative. But at least if they turn to Japan they find an over-indebted state with super-low interest rates that sees money flow in when the Greek situation worsens.

 

Press Releases

Accenture: Blockchain Technology Has Significant Potential to Disrupt – What Questions Do You Need to Ask Yourself Now?
Blockchain has the potential to become the critical backbone of the future capital markets infrastructure. So, what is it and is it right for your investment bank?

BTIG Prime Brokerage Adds Pershing as a Global Custodian and Clearing Broker
BTIG has added Pershing, a BNY Mellon company, as a global custodian and clearing broker for its multi-custodial and clearing prime brokerage platform.

Fitch: High FX Mismatch Risk for Latin America Corporates
There is a high foreign exchange mismatch risk for companies in five Latin American countries, according to Fitch Ratings. The company’s “2015 Latin America Corporates FX Sensitivity Analysis” examines the impact from local currency depreciation for Latin American corporates’ capital structure and cash flow generation.

BGC Partners Updates Its Outlook for the Second Quarter of 2015
BGC expects both its quarterly distributable earnings revenues and its pre-tax distributable earnings to be around the mid-point of the range of its previously stated guidance.  BGC’s second quarter 2015 outlook was originally published in a press release dated 29 April, 2015.

 

Industry Events