By Felicity Ussher, 16 August 2000 00:25
NEWS The future of online currency trading is set to become increasingly competitive with rumours that three of the world's biggest international banks are set to create their own electronic forum in opposition to the existing players. Until now, a 13-strong consortium of leading banks - the FXAlliance - looked likely to dominate the online exchange market. But Chase, Citibank and Deutsche Bank are to take on FXAlliance by creating their own exchange, according to reports. The three companies involved refused to elaborate on the details. A Citibank spokesman told silicon.com: "There is no specific date yet for any announcement." Until now, FXAlliance looked set to seize the $1.3 trillion market in foreign currency trading, by launching the first online forum that was sponsored by banks. Its members include Bank of America, Credit Suisse First Boston, Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, Goldman Sachs, HSBC and the Royal Bank of Scotland. An FXAll spokeswoman said: "We think that there will eventually be several platforms going forward. Each will find their own niche, depending on the services they offer." She claimed FXAll's main advantage was that its 13 member banks had direct input into developing the trading platform. "We know that it's what our clients want - and this is our greatest advantage over other services", she said. Other online currency trading services include CSOWeb and Currenex - but neither of these are sponsored by banks. Version one of FXAll is due to go live early next year.
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