LMAX Exchange bucks trend with PoP launch
FX Week, March 2015 – Foreign exchange trading platform LMAX Exchange has launched a prime-of-prime (PoP) service, aimed at providing retail brokers, hedge funds and asset managers with credit, liquidity and market access.
The launch comes amid turbulent times in the prime brokerage (PB) space as banks tighten up credit and pull back from smaller clients in the wake of the Swiss National Bank’s decision to pull its EUR/CHF floor; a move that left many PB customers nursing hefty losses.
LMAX Exchange says that it will leverage its PB relationships while giving clients access to ‘non-last look’ liquidity on its exchange and other execution venues.
“There has never been more demand for the flexibility and cost advantages of PoP services than in the current environment. As major PB banks are either raising capital requirements, dropping smaller clients or exiting the space altogether, LMAX Exchange is perfectly positioned to connect traders with both the needed credit lines and liquidity on multiple execution venues,” says Gareth Bowles, head of prime sales at LMAX Exchange.
It aims to differentiate its offering by using its proprietary pre-trade risk management tools rather than thirdparty plug-ins.
“As with all the services we offer, what will truly mark LMAX Prime as exceptional is our technology, which will allow clients safe, fast, transparent and efficient execution with unique pre-trade risk management,” says Scott Moffat, chief operating officer at LMAX Exchange.