CFTC December data shows some big changes in the US retail FX market.
The CFTC has published its December data for retail FX brokers, and it includes some somber news for the US retail FX industry. Overall, US Forex assets shrunk by more than $100 million in December, by about 14%, to $641 million (see table below). A few company highlights and insights:
- Gain Capital (Forex.com), which picked up GFT’s US clients after GFT was basically forced to shut by US regulators, did not really gain much from the acquisition — Gain’s US retail assets were up by only $7 million during the month, or l7%.
- GFT’s US client assets of $81 million basically disappeared, other than the $7 million (or so) which transferred to Gain Capital. It looks like most of those clients were foreign clients of GFT, whose accounts were formally located with GFT in the US, and transferred to other GFT subsidiaries after it abandoned the US market.
- FXDD’s “negative excess capital” reported in November has disappeared, as we reported it would. The NFA decided, on the last day of November, to inform FXDD and others that it had changed the definition of capital to exclude cash held at subsidiaries. That forced the negative November number, unnecessarily scaring FXDD customers. FXDD transferred cash from one of its US subsidiaries back to the regulated parent company on the first day of December.
For more on the global Forex industry see the LeapRate-Dow Jones Forex Industry Report.