Citigroup to sell online FX trading platform
LONDON, May 23, 2015
Citigroup said it is selling its margin foreign exchange business, including the CitiFX Pro and TradeStream platforms to US-based FXCM and Danish investment bank Saxo Bank.
"We believe this transaction is in the best interest of Citi's Margin FX clients, who will experience a seamless transition to seasoned online retail specialists that can skillfully service their needs. The sale is expected to be completed in the second quarter," the bank said in a short statement released to Reuters.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
FXCM filed an 8K form with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that the company would "assume the vast majority of margin forex accounts of CitiFX Pro from Citibank N.A. and Citibank International Limited, which traded over $30 billion on average a month during 2014."
In the filing, FXCM said that after the close of trading on Friday, June 26, "accepted CitiFX Pro" accounts will be transferred.
"CitiFX Pro clients will be transitioned to FXCM’s comparable trading solutions and parameters either on Trading Station, the MT4 Platform, or APIs according to their current settings and needs," FXCM said in its filing.
In April, Reuters reported according to a source that Citi was looking to offload its retail foreign exchange brokerage in an effort to streamline its operations.
Industry surveys rank Citi as the single biggest banking player in the $5 trillion a day forex market.-Reuters