FX trading... LIVE!: Dealer behaviour and trading systems in foreign exchange markets

The introduction of electronic broker systems in the foreign exchange (FX) market at the end of 1992 changed the structure of the market and opened new channels for trading. We study the impact of these systems on dealer behavior, using a unique data set on the complete transactions of four FX dealers. We find some support for an information effect in incoming trades conducted directly (bilaterally). For trades executed by electronic broker systems we find no information effects, but we find that sequences of trades in cumulative flow may be informative for prices. The new electronic systems have changed how dealers control their inventories by introducing new channels for this purpose. We find that dealers now control inventory by outgoing trades on electronic brokers, while outgoing trades earlier was regarded as unattractive for inventory control. Comparing our results to previous research indicates that the introduction of electronic brokers have changed the behavior of dealers

Customer trading and information in foreign exchange markets

Recent research point to the possible existence of private information in foreign exchange markets. Dealers claim that customer orders are their most important source of private information, and that banks with a large customer base have a competitive advantage. In this paper we test hypotheses on effects of private information using observations on customer trades, and the identity of the counterparties the dealers trade with. We find that customer trades influence the trading decision. Neither customer trades nor counterparty identity affect pricing decisions. Dealers do not price discriminate between dealers, but they do price discriminate customers. Spreads to customers are wider than to other dealers

Liquidity provision in the overnight foreign exchange market

We presents evidence that non-financial customers are the main liquidity providers in the overnight foreign exchange market using a unique daily data set covering almost all transactions in the SEK/EUR market over almost ten years. Two main findings support this: (i) The net position of non-financial customers is negatively correlated with the exchange rate, opposed to the positive correlation found for financial customers; (ii) Changes in net position of non-financial customers are forecasted by changes in net position of financial customers, indicating that non-financial customers take a passive role consistent with liquidity provision.Microstructure, International finance, Liquidity

Dealer Behavior and Trading Systems in Foreign Exchange Markets

We study dealer behavior in the foreign exchange spot market using a detailed data set on the complete transactions of four dealers. There is strong support for an information effect in incoming trades. Although there is evidence that the information effect increases with trade size in direct bilateral trades, the direction of a trade seems to be more important. The large share of electronically brokered trades is probably responsible for this finding. In direct trades it is the initiating dealer that determines trade size, while in broker trades it is the dealer submitting the limit order that determines the maximum trade size. We also find strong evidence of inventory control for all the four dealers. Inventory control is not, however, manifested through a dealer's own prices as suggested in inventory models. This is different from the strong price effect from inventory control found in previous work by Lyons [J. Fin. Econ 39(1995) 321]. A possible explanation for this finding is that the introduction of electronic brokers allowed more trading options. Furthermore, we document differences in trading styles among the four dealers, especially how they actually control their inventories.publishedVersio

Hva koster det å kjøpe og selge valuta? :

Selv om valutamarkedet er verdens største finansmarked, og ofte brukes som skolebokeksempelet på et marked med «perfekt konkurranse», finner vi at markedsmakt og prisdiskriminering spiller en betydelig rolle. Bankene prisdiskriminerer kundene sine basert på tilgjengelig informasjon. Dette er mulig fordi banken kjenner kundens identitet før den stiller kjøps- og salgskurser. Kunder med god innsikt i hvordan markedet fungerer kan kjøpe og selge valuta til en svært lav kostnad. Tilsvarende oppnår kunder som handler ofte en volumrabatt. Resultatene tilsier at kundene i valutamarkedet, for eksempel import- og eksportbedrifter, kan spare penger ved å vise innsikt i markedet. Dette kan de for eksempel gjøre gjennom å skaffe tilgang til bankens elektroniske handleplattform, og ved å anvende handleplattformer der bankene må konkurrere om kundene

Volume and Volatility in the FX Market: Does It Matter Who You Are?

The relationship between volume and volatility has received much attention in the literature on financial markets. However, due to the lack of data, few results have been presented for the foreign exchange (FX) market. Furthermore, most studies contain only aggregate series, and cannot distinguish between the impact of different participants or instruments. We study the impact of volume on volatility in the FX market using a unique data set of daily trading in the Swedish krona (SEK) market. The data set covers 95 percent of worldwide SEK trading, and is disaggregated on a number of reporting banks’ buying and selling in five different instruments on a daily basis from 1995 until 2002. We find that volume in general shows a positive correlation with volatility. However, the strength of the relationship depends on the instrument traded and the identity of the reporting bank. In particular, we find that trading tends to concentrate around the largest banks during periods of high volatility. These banks are probably also best informed. This is especially the case when volatility is high. We interpret this as evidence that heterogeneous expectations are important to an understanding of the volume-volatility relationship.publishedVersio

Dealer Behavior and Trading Systems in Foreign Exchange Markets

We study dealer behavior in the foreign exchange spot market using a detailed data set on the complete transactions of four dealers. There is strong support for an information effect in incoming trades. Although there is evidence that the information effect increases with trade size in direct bilateral trades, the direction of a trade seems to be more important. The large share of electronically brokered trades is probably responsible for this finding. In direct trades it is the initiating dealer that determines trade size, while in broker trades it is the dealer submitting the limit order that determines the maximum trade size. We also find strong evidence of inventory control for all the four dealers. Inventory control is not, however, manifested through a dealer's own prices as suggested in inventory models. This is different from the strong price effect from inventory control found in previous work by Lyons [J. Fin. Econ 39(1995) 321]. A possible explanation for this finding is that the introduction of electronic brokers allowed more trading options. Furthermore, we document differences in trading styles among the four dealers, especially how they actually control their inventories