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European Banks Build Out FX Options Platforms

Written by Terry Flanagan | Aug 22, 2013 5:03:28 PM

Netherlands-based financial services group Rabobank has selected SDX from SuperDerivatives (SD) derivatives technology and valuation services for its global FX options trading operations.

Deploying SDX will enable the bank’s sales teams in 15 international offices to communicate with traders in London, New York and Hong Kong and quickly price, quote and execute a trade, as well as drive efficiency and productivity throughout the workflow.

“As one of the largest financial institutions in the world, it is essential that we invest in the appropriate technology to ensure the highest levels of synergy between our sales and trading desks in offices across the globe,” said Martijn Sorber, managing director for corporate risk and treasury management within Global Financial Markets at Rabobank. “SDX gives us the tools we need to enhance internal connectivity and the confidence that we can accurately price and manage a wide range of FX derivatives throughout the lifecycle of the deal.”

“In the current financial climate, our ability to provide Rabobank with a tool that offers them flexibility and connectivity in a cost effective manner ensured that we stood head and shoulders above the competition,” said Amit Shalev, regional sales manager at SuperDerivatives. “Our expansive global reach allowed us to collaborate on local levels with various stakeholders to thoroughly analyze individual workflows and tailor our functionality set and solutions to address wide-ranging pains head-on.”

Separately, Saxo Bank, an online trading and investment specialist based in Copenhagen, has launches two new crosses to its OTC FX options offering, USDRUB and EURRUB. With these, clients can now implement strategies that combine both spot and options in the Russian ruble, all from the same account.

Saxo Bank offers FX vanilla options for currency crosses including gold and silver, and FX binary touch options on six of the most traded currency crosses. Having launched FX Options in 2001, Saxo Bank has now become a major OTC option interbank market player with access to deep pools of liquidity. The two new crosses complement Saxo Bank's offering to support clients' trading strategies and to enable them to manage complex portfolios.

"The Russian ruble is attractive to many investors, and we have now made options trading possible for our clients,” said Didier Abbato, vice president, product management at Saxo Bank. “Saxo Bank offers FX options on 43 currency pairs as well as a full suite of tools and services that had hitherto only been available to professional FX options traders. The newest addition of the two crosses is testament to our ambition to offer a product that is unmatched in the online trading world."

A fully licensed and regulated European bank, Saxo Bank enables clients to trade FX, CFDs, ETFs, stocks, futures, options and other derivatives via three specialized and fully integrated multi-asset trading platforms: the browser-based SaxoWebTrader, the downloadable SaxoTrader and the SaxoMobileTrader application.

The USDRUB and EURRUB FX Options are available on the SaxoTrader platform. Minimum trade size for FX Options is 10,000 units of the base currency.