NatWest Markets Appoints James Marsden as Head of eFX Quant Trading

Finance Magnates learned on Friday that James Marsden has been appointed the head of eFX quant trading at NatWest Markets.

According to a change on his LinkedIn page, Marsden took up the new role last month.

He joins NatWest Markets from the bank's parent company - the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Based in London for his new role, Marsden was formerly head of eFX trading for RBS' Asia-Pacific (APAC) Asia-Pacific (APAC) The Asia-Pacific (APAC) region is one of the fastest growing in terms of population. This region in particular is of great importance to the financial services industry, as it is seen as the largest growth market for clients.APAC is comprised of diverse currency markets that are shaped by various and, at times, competing forces, from global regulation to local capital controls.The region has been seen as one of the hardest to enter by FX brokers for this reason, as well as grappling cultural or The Asia-Pacific (APAC) region is one of the fastest growing in terms of population. This region in particular is of great importance to the financial services industry, as it is seen as the largest growth market for clients.APAC is comprised of diverse currency markets that are shaped by various and, at times, competing forces, from global regulation to local capital controls.The region has been seen as one of the hardest to enter by FX brokers for this reason, as well as grappling cultural or Read this Term) division.

Working from the bank's Singaporean office, he helped grow RBS' eFX trading desk in Asia, eventually ensuring that the eFX trading team was profitable.

Marsden originally moved to Singapore in 2008 to head up the bank's local quant solutions team for fixed income, commodities and currency trading.

Less than a year into that role, the trading executive was appointed the head of eFX trading for the APAC region - a position he would hold for almost ten years.

From Pareto to RBS

The new head of trading originally joined RBS back in mid-2007 as a VP of quant solutions. He held that role for almost two years before heading to Singapore.

Before joining RBS, Marsden spent just under eight years at Pareto Investment Management. Eventually appointed vice president at the asset manager, he helped to develop the firm's currency trading strategies and helped manage clients' risk exposure.

NatWest Markets has made a couple of big changes to its FX trading teams since the start of the year.

In January, the bank confirmed that it had appointed Martin Amann as a director in its US office.

That was followed earlier this month by the announcement that Sudeep Gupta would be head of eFX trading for the bank's APAC division.