In the FICC of It

In the FICC of It


In the FICC of It

October 05, 2019

With the disclaimer that one only has a degree in English Literature (the other keeps his 5 O levels quiet) Colin Lambert and Galen Stops ignore their lack of expertise to dive back into the legal world in this week’s podcast.


Stops explains the details that will drive former Citi FX trader Rohan Ramchandani’s case against the bank for “malicious prosecution”, while Lambert discusses the comments he has received from industry sources, which in turn leads him to ask about how the industry views moral or ethical indiscretions that have been found not to be illegal? Can institutions looking to employ people overlook such indiscretions?


Lambert then makes the case for a firmer line to be drawn regarding exactly what an inter-dealer broker can and cannot do as part of the price discovery process. While he fully understands the CFTC case against BGC and GFI that was settled this week for what were effectively “wash” trades, he is concerned that barring brokers from suggesting prices and hinting at interest in the market would serious hinder the price discovery process. Stops challenges Lambert over this, asking if this means the long-discussed electronification of FX swaps markets will not take place.


The podcast closes out with a robust discussion over the similarities and differences in the crypto and FX world – not least, what exactly do we mean by “institutionalisation”?