EBS shines as volume pressure bites

With the huge increase in turnover in the FX market over the past three years, EBS has held onto its title as best broker in spot FX by focusing on providing fast electronic tools to maintain an orderly market, said its spokesperson in London.

Bank for International Settlements (BIS) figures published in October showed average daily turnover in FX is now up to $1.9 trillion a day, and this has driven client need for "sophisticated and fast" electronic trading tools in FX. "Fundamentally, there is a need for an orderly market in FX and this is EBS's strength. We provide certainty of trade with known but anonymous counterparties," said the spokesperson.

The BIS figures also showed an increase in what EBS terms the professional trading community – large funds and hedge funds, for example. These clients are starting to trade FX as an alternative to other asset classes and as a hedging tool, and this has also driven up volumes, said the spokesperson.

With more growth in places such as Mexico, Eastern Europe and South Africa, the firm developed EBS Prime, its prime brokerage model, to give access to EBS to more clients from emerging and established markets. "This is a major development for FX and will create more counterparties, drive liquidity and broaden access to the market to the benefit of all," said the spokesperson.

Some 2,000 traders on 750 floors in 38 countries use EBS technology to trade an average of $100 billion in spot FX every day.

Tullett Liberty and Prebon Yamane, which are currently being integrated into a new business unit within parent Collins Stewart Tullett (CST), won the awards for forwards and emerging markets respectively.

A spokesperson for CST said its brokers operate in very complex markets and understanding the wider context has helped them to succeed in this area. "Banks use forward FX trading in conjunction with other instruments such as interest rate swaps to manage their overall risk portfolio. Our brokers have a keen understanding of the wider set of market dynamics to satisfy our customers' needs." The spokesperson added that Prebon has a strong team in emerging markets.

TFS-Icap won the award for best currency options broker, but was unavailable for comment.